Standards:
Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration
Synopsis:
What’s the deal with plastic in the ocean? In this episode, we learn about how much plastic is in the ocean, why that’s a problem for animals, how it got there, and most importantly, how kids can help combat plastic pollution.
Activity: Collect Data
We learned from Dr. Jambeck how important data is for scientists. Interview your classmates, friends, or family about plastic pollution. Here are some ideas for questions you can ask:
- Do you use single-use plastic?
- Do you want to use less single-use plastic?
- Have you ever seen littered plastic on the ground?
Think of what you want to know more about and ask!
Once you collect the data, you can make a chart. One type of chart you can make is a pie chart. It’s called a pie chart because it looks kind of like a pie! You can make a pie chart using this program: https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/classic/
Our pie chart looks like this.
In this example, we asked ten people if they use single-use plastic. Nine people said yes, and one person said no.
Activity: Log Trash
Take a walk around your school or your block and look for litter. Log it all, either on marine debris tracker, or in a notebook.  What sort of trash are you seeing? How much of it is plastic? Where do you think that trash is coming from? How can you try to reduce the amount of trash you’re seeing?
Activity: Be an Activist
In this episode, we learned ten different things that kids can do to combat plastic pollution. What steps would you take to help reduce plastic pollution? Is it one of the ten you learned about, or do you have another you want to do? Choose one that you want to do, and do it! Write about what you chose, and the steps you plan to take. You can send what you write to the Cool Facts About Animals podcast at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com.