Download Kathryn Stirk C4 LESSON PLAN Name: Trash – How Harmful Is It

Kathryn Stirk
C4
LESSON PLAN
Name: Trash – How Harmful Is It?
Date: November 12, 2010
Grade Level/Subject: 3rd/Science
Prerequisite Knowledge: Informal definition of marine and trash; addition; how to understand data;
physical characteristics of different materials
Approximate Time: 2 – 3 days
Student Objectives/Student Outcomes:

Content Objectives: Students will define “marine debris” through a discussion. Students will
learn the types and amounts of marine debris found each year in national beach cleanups in the
United States. Students will explore the effects of marine debris on animals. As a class, students
will determine which types of marine debris are most harmful.

Language Objectives: Students will explain to the teacher which types of marine debris are most
harmful either in English or Spanish using the new vocabulary learned in this lesson.
Illinois State Standards:
As a result of their schooling, students will be able to:
11.A.1e Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.
11.A.1f Compare observations of individual and group results.
12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their
environments.
12.E.1c Identify renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.
13.B.1e Demonstrate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials.
Key Vocabulary:
Key vocabulary words will be displayed on the board with visuals, if possible.
Debris
Marine debris
Medical waste
Buoyancy
Foamed plastic
Trash
Entanglement
Recycling
Materials/Resources/Technology:
 “1997 Beach Cleanup Results” handout (one per student)
 Large box
 “How Harmful Is It?” handout (one per student)
Marine
Ghost fishing
Ingestion
Endangered & threatened species
Kathryn Stirk
C4
Implementation:
Time
Opening of lesson:
Explain that for the next few classes, students will be exploring a real world
problem, its causes, effects, and possible solutions. Make sure to explain
behavior expectations.
Provide students with a background on marine debris. Ask students the
following questions and establish the subsequent answers through discussion:

What is marine debris?
Marine debris is trash that gets into the marine environment as a result
of careless handling or disposal. Two characteristics of trash, its
buoyancy and ability to be blown around, affect how easily trash
becomes marine debris. Marine debris includes all the objects found in
the marine environment that do not naturally occur there. Although
items such as tree branches and the bones of land animals can be
considered marine debris, the term generally is reserved for trash. The
most common types of marine debris are plastic, glass, rubber, metal,
paper, wood, and cloth.

Where does marine debris come from?
Marine debris comes from many different sources. Any trash that is
improperly disposed of can become marine debris. The main sources
of marine debris are: beach-goers, improper disposal of trash on land,
stormwater sewers, ships and other vessels, industrial facilities, waste
disposal activities, and offshore oil and gas platforms.
Every year, thousands of people visit our bay area beaches. Many of
them leave behind materials that become marine debris, such as food
wrappers, cans, cigarette butts, and toys like shovels, pails, and beach
balls. This trash can be blown into the ocean, picked up by waves, or
washed into the water when it rains.
Boats are also sources of marine debris. Sometimes, trash is
purposefully thrown overboard. One major reason for the overboard
disposal of trash is that there is limited storage space aboard these
vessels. Most of the time, however, trash is disposed of in the ocean by
people who are unaware of the problems we can cause. Trash can also
accidently fall, blow, or wash off vessels into the water.
Once debris has found its way into the ocean, it is very difficult to
trace the source of the debris. A plastic cup, for instance, could have
been left by a beach-goer, littered in a city street and washed into a
storm sewer and out to sea, blown off of a recreational boat, and so on.
Kathryn Stirk
C4
Clearly, marine debris is a complex problem whose answer will require
that many sources of marine debris be controlled.

What are some ways to reduce marine debris?
Recycling is one way to reduce trash. Recycling is the collection and
reprocessing of materials, so they can be used again. Before materials
can be processed for reuse, they must be separated into different types,
such as plastic, glass, and metal. Although recycling has become
widespread, not every type of material can be recycled.
Paper is the most frequently recycled type of trash. Metals also are
commonly recycled, particularly aluminum cans. All types of glass
currently can be recycled. Overall, very little plastic waste is recycled.
Even better than recycling is adopting pollution prevention strategies
that produce less waste in the first place. Ways to produce less waste
include reusing materials, using reusable items rather than disposable
ones, and reducing the amount of packaging we use.
We can also take steps to keep waste from getting into the ocean. Most
importantly, littering should be prevented. Beach-goers and boaters
should ensure that trash and other items are not blown or washed
away. Before trash is left out for collection, it should be tightly secured
in bags or trash cans to ensure that trash stays in its proper place.

How can marine debris affect wildlife?
The two primary problems that marine debris poses to wildlife are
entanglement and ingestion. Entanglement results when an animal
becomes encircled or ensnared by debris. Entanglement can occur
accidently, or when the animal is attracted to the debris as part of its
normal behavior or out of curiosity. For example, an animal may try to
use a piece of marine debris for shelter or as a “toy” or as a source of
food (if other animals and plants are already trapped in the debris or
if the debris resembles prey that is a normal part of its diet).
Entanglement is harmful to wildlife for several reasons. Not only can
entanglement cause wounds that can lead to infections or loss of limbs,
but it may also choke or strangle wildlife. In addition, entanglement
can impair an animal’s ability to swim, which can cause drowning or
difficulty in moving, finding food, and escaping predators.
Ingestion occurs when an animal swallows marine debris. Ingestion
sometimes happens accidently, but generally animals feed on debris
because it looks like food. Ingestion can lead to starvation or
malnutrition if the ingested items block the intestinal tract and prevent
digestion, or accumulate in the digestive tract and make the animal
Kathryn Stirk
C4
feel “full,” lessening its desire to feed. Ingestion of sharp objects can
damage the stomach and cause infection or pain. Ingested items may
also block air passages and prevent breathing, which suffocates
animals.
Marine mammals, turtles, birds, fish, and crustaceans all have been
entangled in or have eaten marine debris. Many of the species most
vulnerable to the problems of marine debris are endangered or
threatened. Endangered species are plants or animals that are in
immediate danger of becoming extinct because their population levels
are so low. Threatened species are plants and animals that may
become endangered in the near future.
Procedures:
Ask every student to bring in a nonfood piece of trash. Tell students to be sure
that the trash is clean and dry, does not have food stuck to it, and is not sharp.
Note: To prevent accidents, you may want to tell students not to bring in glass.
Instead, you can bring in a few glass articles, so the discussion of debris will
be complete.
Have each student bring his or her piece of trash to the front of the room,
display it to the class, and put it in the large box. Ask the students what these
items have in common. Through this discussion, identify the characteristics of
“trash” and develop a definition. Write the definition on the board, then ask
Students to think of synonyms for “trash.” Help them come up with the term
“debris.” List all of the synonyms on the board. Ask students to define
“marine.” Write this definition on the board. Ask the students to list synonyms
for marine and write them on the board. Now, combine the terms and discuss
the meaning of “marine debris.” Write this definition on the board. Use the list
of synonyms to come up with other terms that describe the concept of “marine
debris,” such as “sea trash” and “ocean waste.”
Take a piece of trash out of the box one-by-one and ask students to classify
the type of debris they are – plastic, glass, metal, etc.
Distribute the “1997 Tampa Bay Beach Cleanup Results” handout to the class.
Inform the students that the Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) sponsors
beach cleanup campaigns all over the country. Explain that volunteers record
the items they find when they clean up beaches and send this information to
CMC to create this list each year. Have the students add the total number of
plastic items, the total number of glass items, etc., to complete the handout.
Note: If students have difficulty adding such a long list of numbers, you can
give them the totals: plastic items, glass items, rubber items, metal items,
paper items, wood items, and cloth items. This handout is simply to show
students the large amounts of marine debris found each year in national beach
cleanups in the United States.
Kathryn Stirk
C4
Next, distribute the “How Harmful Is It?” handout to the class. Make sure
students are familiar with the types of debris in the table. Use examples of the
actual debris from the large box of trash brought in by the students. Place
each example along the bottom of the board. Above each example, write the
name of the type of debris in both English and Spanish. This creates a
connection between the vocabulary and ELL students’ native language as well
as with a visual.
Review with the students the instructions at the top of the page. Have students
fill out the table. Note: Only have the students complete the part of the table
addressing how harmful each type of marine debris would be for the animals.
Do not have them complete the part of the table about how harmful the marine
debris is for people, vessels, and places.
Collect the handouts and calculate class subtotals for each type of debris on
the handout. Add together the students’ subtotals and divide by the number of
students in the class to calculate the class average. Note: Do this on your own
and present the totals to the class the next day.
Write the class subtotals on the board. As a class, analyze the results of the
tally. Initiate discussion by asking questions, such as the following:
 According to the class results, which types of marine debris are most
harmful to manatees? Sea turtles? Seagulls?
 According to the class results, which type of marine debris seem to be
the most harmful to animals in general? Do you agree? Why or why
not?
 According to these results, which type of debris is the least harmful?
Do you agree? Why or why not?
Summary/Closing:
Discuss with students how their individual results might have varied from the
class results. Help them to understand that people may have different opinions
about how harmful certain debris is based on their own attitudes. This
discussion should also introduce the concept that the abundance of certain
types of debris may make them more harmful on a large scale than other types
that appear to be more dangerous. For example, while hospital needles are
extremely dangerous, they are less common than debris, such as fishing lines
and nets. Therefore, they may have less of an overall effect on marine animals
and communities.
Note: The numbers that students arrive at by doing this exercise do not
represent objective data on marine debris effects. Instead, they help students
explore the many ways that debris can harm the different components of
marine communities. Students should come away with the knowledge that
certain types of debris may have a greater effect on specific animals, but that
almost all marine debris can be harmful to some part of the community.
Kathryn Stirk
C4
Student Assessment:
The primary form of assessment for this lesson is the “How Harmful Is It?”
handout. On this worksheet, students should clearly demonstrate their attitude
about how certain types of marine debris can effect animals. Furthermore, an
ongoing informal assessment will be completed through the class discussions
defining vocabulary and identifying why particular debris is harmful to
animals. Assess ELL students’ understanding of the vocabulary by asking
them to explain which types of marine debris are most harmful either in
English or Spanish using the new vocabulary learned in this lesson.
Found through The University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science at:
http://www.marine.usf.edu/beachbuddies/index.html
Rationale for ELL Strategies:
There are many ways to integrate specific strategies into individual lessons as well as into
a whole unit to teach English Language Learners (ELLs) more effectively. By simply including
all of the students in class discussions, each individual student’s culture can be incorporated into
the lesson. For example, in this lesson, when we discuss which type of marine debris is the most
and least harmful for animals, students may hold different opinions. Some students’ attitudes
may be strictly based on a cultural belief. It is important to understand that culture shapes a
student’s view of the world, their behavior, and their interpretation of events. This understanding
among students creates a multicultural classroom and makes learning more meaningful for ELL
students.
Furthermore, in this lesson, a visual reinforcement of the vocabulary is used as a teaching
strategy to help ELL students learn it more accurately and sufficiently. For one, a list of this
lesson’s key vocabulary is explicitly listed on the board for the students to visually reference.
Additionally, the students are asked to bring in physical examples of possible marine debris. This
provides an additional visual reinforcement for ELL students. The physical representations of the
marine debris are then placed beneath the English and Spanish vocabulary term written on the
board. This creates a connection between the vocabulary and the ELL students’ native language,
making it more meaningful and memorable. Each of these strategies is implemented in order to
specifically tailor instruction to meet the academic and social needs of ELL students. These
strategies can easily be adapted to use within a variety of lessons.