Plastic Pollution
An Integrated Learning Mural
An
Integration
of
Language Arts
Science
Social Studies
Visual Arts
What are Expected Student Outcomes?
Students will be able to verbally and visually explain what plastic pollution is.
Students will be able to verbally and visually explain how litter travels through the environment and what impact it has on wildlife.
Students will understand the difference between biodegradation and photodegradation.
Students will correlate the relationship between litter and the water cycle as plastics find their way into and travel through our water supply.
Students will collaborate in group settings to create a visual representation of the problem of plastic pollution.
Students will act as stewards of their environment and the school community by picking up litter on the school grounds.
Students will communicate their findings with the larger school community as a means of educating others about environmental issues in our world today.
21st Century Learning and the 6 C’s in Mural Making
Caring for the Environment
Sharing Knowledge with Others
Working Together to Create a Mural
Making a Mural
The Core - Language Arts
4 Reading: Informational Text Standard 7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
5 Reading: Informational Text Standard 7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
6 Reading: Informational Text Standard 7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
6 Reading: Informational Text Standard 8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
4, 5 Reading: Informational Text Standard 9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
The Core - Social Studies
4 Standard 1 Students will understand the relationship between the physical geography in Utah and human life.
Objective 3 Analyze how human actions modify the physical environment.
Explain viewpoints regarding environmental issues (e.g. species protection, land use, pollution controls, mass transit, water rights, trust lands).
6 Standard 4 Students will understand current global issues and their rights and responsibilities in the interconnected world.
Objective 2 Explore current global issues facing the modern world and identify potential solutions.
The Core - Science
4 Standard 1 Students will understand that water changes state as it moves through the water cycle.
Objective 2 Describe the water cycle.
Identify locations that hold water as it passes through the water cycle (e.g., oceans, atmosphere, fresh surface water, snow, ice, and ground water).
5 Standard 1 Students will understand that chemical and physical changes occur in matter.
Objective 1 Describe that matter is neither created nor destroyed even though it may undergo change.
Strand 6.3: Earth's Weather Patterns and Climate
6.3.3 (OCEAN GYRES) Develop and use a model to show how unequal heating of Earth's systems cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. Emphasize how warm water and air move from the equator toward the poles. Examples of models could include Utah regional patterns such as lake-effect and wintertime temperature inversions.
Strand 6.4: Stability and Change in Ecosystems
6.4.4 Construct an argument supported by evidence that the stability of populations is affected by changes to an ecosystem. Emphasize how changes to living and nonliving components in an ecosystem affect populations in that ecosystem. Examples could include Utah ecosystems such as mountains, Great Salt Lake, wetlands, and deserts.
The Core - Visual Art
Strand: CREATE (4.V.CR.) Students will generate artistic work by conceptualizing, organizing, and completing their artistic ideas. They will refine original work through persistence, reflection, and evaluation
Standard 4.V.CR.1: Brainstorm multiple approaches to a creative art or design problem.
Standard 4.V.CR.2: Collaboratively set goals and create an artwork that is meaningful and shows the intent of the makers.
Strand: PRESENT (4.V.P.) Students will analyze, interpret, refine, and select artistic work for presentation. They will convey meaning in the manner in which the art is presented
Strand: CONNECT (4.V.CO.) Students will relate artistic skills, ideas, and work with personal meaning and external context (Standards 4.V.CO.1–2).
Standard 4.V.CO.1: Create works of art that reflect community cultural traditions.
Timeline of Project Events
Materials List
References
Media
Child Friendly Research Sites
YouTube Video Research