Pollution Solutions (3rd - 6th) | Series 1, Lesson #3
Pollution Solutions
Key Topics/Vocabulary: Pollution/Litter, [Point vs. Nonpoint Source], Human Impact, Marine Debris, Degradable, Non-biodegradable
Grade Level: 3rd-6th
Lesson Bridge:
Connect this lesson (3) to ‘Weather Science’ (2) by discussing how litter might travel with wind and water. Ask students how water might be able to move pollution into the ocean where it then [becomes marine debris. Close the loop by connecting back to Lesson #1 (Is Soil Alive?) by discussing how certain microbes are unable to decompose certain types of waste.
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson students pose questions about the nature of the litter found around their school, make predictions, do a campus cleanup to cultivate environmental stewardship, and then brainstorm solutions to prevent litter.
Suggested Activities and Learning Objectives by Grade Level
- 3rd Grade: 3-LS4-4 Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change. (Examples of environmental changes could include changes in land characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms)
- 4th Grade: 4-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment
- 5th Grade: 5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
- Middle School: MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).]
Essential Question(s) that Connect CCCs and SEPs
- What can we do to cause less littering on campus? (Cause & Effect; Asking Questions & Defining Problems)
- Why is it important to collect data on what types of trash we find at our school? (Analyzing & Interpreting Data)
Vocabulary:
Pollution/Litter -Trash or something with a harmful effect that enters an environment
Marine Debris- Trash, litter, or pollution that ends up in the ocean
Degradable - Material or objects that are capable of being broken down or decomposed (ex. Organic food waste, organic matter)
Non-biodegradable- Material or objects that are not capable of being broken down or decomposed (ex. Metal, plastic)
Materials
- One 5-gallon bucket
- Garden Journals (Optional)
- One Trash bag or a second 5-gallon bucket
- Litter Grabbers if you have them
- Hand Sanitizer
- Compostable or reusable gloves
- Campus map (Optional: If needed, ask for a copy at the front office)
Prep
- This lesson is to be done primarily outside. Figure out what route you will be taking beforehand and identify areas with a lot of litter. Make sure to include these on your tour.
- If it rains, have students look at campus maps and talk about possible areas of pollution from street/campus/community activities.
- Print out a Campus Cleanup Data Collection Sheet
- Print out any additional worksheets (found at the bottom of this lesson) that you would like students to work on.
- Fill one of your buckets full of water
- Have a good amount of natural and human-made objects ready
Activity Procedure
Engage:
Pass around your natural and human-made objects, one to every two students. Have students pair up and discuss whether the object would be considered pollution. Why or why not? Would your item float? Could it decompose into soil? Could the wind carry it?
Sentence Frame: This object would be considered _________________________ because ___________
(pollution/not pollution)
Explore:
Call on a few students to test their hypothesis by setting their objects in a bucket of water to see if they float. Allow the student to describe to the class whether it floats and discourage students from rising from their seats even if they cannot see. You can also test if the wind would blow their item (if it’s not windy, you can use a piece of cardboard to make a draft).
Explain:
When the water, air, or land is contaminated or “yucked up” by either synthetic or biological material(s), we call this pollution. Examples can include: leaf litter built in the gutters and storm drains, plastic baggies floating around, oil stains on the asphalt, etc. The most harmful type of litter is that which is non-biodegradable (define).
Think, Pair, Share: Where have you seen a lot of pollution?
There are two main types of pollution: point source and non point source. Point source is when you know exactly where pollution is coming from. For example, if you see polluted water coming through a pipe, or smoke coming from a smoke stack, you know where the pollution is coming from and how it’s getting into the environment. Non-point source is the pollution that is harder to identify where it comes from. For example, smog caused by cars in a city or the chemicals that runoff the road during a rainstorm are considered nonpoint source pollution.
Ask the class if our animals and people can be harmed by environmental pollution. Try to focus on stories that are relevant to the ecosystems your school campus is located in. If it is in an oak woodland, discuss how lizards can get trapped in bottles and skunks, and other critters can eat plastic. If it is on the coast, discuss how seabirds can get suffocated in plastic, and fish can be harmed by rainwater runoff and chemicals from oil on the road or farm fertilizers. A litter that makes its way to the ocean is called ‘marine debris.’ Can you say “marine debris?” Define the remaining vocabulary words.
Thumbs up/down: Do you think litter at our school could end up as marine debris?
Action: Trash Pick-up Tour
- Review your Garden Agreements
- Explain to students that you are about to go on a campus trash pickup, but in order to do so, we have to make sure that we are quiet and respectful.
- Go to areas of the campus where there is a lot of trash.
- Clean up litter and place it into your waste receptacle.
- Record the type of trash items you find (wrappers, paper, etc) on your Campus Cleanup Data Collection Sheet.
- If time allows, you can separate recycling, compost, and landfill waste.
- Dispose of waste into the proper receptacle.
- Dispose of gloves and sanitize hands
Reflect:
What sort of pollution did we find? Could this pollution leave the school? Where would it go? What are ways we can help reduce pollution at our school? How can we prevent marine debris?
Extension Activities:
- Marine Debris Word Search
- You Are What you Eat Marine Animal Cards
- Make colorful signs encouraging recycling and “zero waste” lunches with less packaging, and the connection of land-based litter to watershed/ocean pollution.
- Create mosaics by gluing found litter in the shape of marine life or other native animals with sayings that will remind other students not to litter.
- One Cool Earth’s Marine Debris Prevention Manual
Cited Curriculum:
- Do the Rot Thing, Environmental Lunch (Page 8 has the template for documenting items found)
- MERITO Ocean Conservation & Education
- One Cool Earth Directors were trained in the MERITO curriculum and have a partnership with this team in Southern California
This lesson was prepared by One Cool Earth under award
NA20NOS4290033 from the Bay Watershed Education and Training Program
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S.
Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and
recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of NOAA or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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