IDEA SET
IDEA SET
Tracking Our Plastic: Sea to Source
Tracking Our Plastic: Sea to Source
How can we stop plastic waste from entering and traveling through the world's waterways? How does plastic go from me to the sea? Students examine the world's plastic problem and learn from National Geographic's “Sea to Source: Ganges” expedition as it tracks the radiating impacts of plastic. Students follow the movement of water and the waste it carries, and practice collecting geospatial, observational, and social science data on local plastic waste.
Grades
5 - 8
DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP via Getty Images
The Power of Plastic
Students synthesize themes in a series of images depicting plastic pollution. Next, they perform a classroom waste audit. Finally, students categorize what they know and need to know in order to address the problem of local plastic pollution. Click here to view the activity.
Sea to Source: A National Geographic Expedition
Students learn about National Geographic’s expedition, "Sea to Source: Ganges", an international female-led effort to understand how plastic pollution moves along one of the Earth’s largest waterways. Generating ideas from the data-collection approaches in this mission focused on the Ganges River, students brainstorm and refine methods they will use to understand the movement of plastic within their own watershed. Click here to view the activity.
Where the Rivers Run
Students map watersheds to understand the movement of water and the plastic debris it may carry from source to sea. Next, they practice collecting geospatial data and apply their understanding of watersheds to the movement of plastic debris, using their geospatial data and observations of the flow of water to predict where plastic pollution will move next. Click here to view the activity.
Watching Water
Students create an initial model of the water cycle, and refine this model based on an examination of transitions between the three states of matter. Next, they practice collecting observational data associated with plastic debris. Click here to view the activity.
Why People Matter
Students consider one community’s production of and response to plastic pollution, and then analyze their own use of plastic. Next, they practice collecting social science data on plastic use by interviewing peers about consumption. Finally, students compare, contrast, and refine their geospatial, observational, and social science data collection strategies. Click here to view the activity.
Diving Into Data Analysis
Students compare and contrast information from encyclopedic entries on quantitative and qualitative data. Next, they examine graphical representations of plastic pollution to understand the importance of visual data presentation, and create their own graphical representations of data from the classroom plastic waste audit and data collection practice in previous activities. Click here to view the activity.
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Last Updated
September 10, 2024
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