Plastics in the Ocean
Audience
Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5
Grade K-2
Subject
Earth science
Resource type
Infographic
Multimedia
Topic
Freshwater
Ocean and coasts
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean pollution and marine debris
An infographic outlining the most common types of plastic marine debris, how they enter the marine environments, and their impacts.
Rains Can Cause More Marine Debris Graphic
Audience
Adults
College+
Grade 9-12
Grade 6-8
Grade 3-5
Grade K-2
Subject
Earth science
Resource type
Infographic
Multimedia
Topic
Freshwater
Ocean and coasts
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean pollution and marine debris
This artistic graphic depicts rain and wind moving debris into waterways.
Wave of Plastic project
Audience
Grade 6-8
Subject
Earth science
Life science
Resource type
Activities, lessons, and units
Module/unit
Topic
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Marine life
Ecosystems
Ocean and coasts
Ocean pollution and marine debris
NGSS DCI
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
Special categories
Instructional strategies
Outdoor education
Project-based
Collection name
B-WET grantee
How do human choices regarding the consumption and disposal of plastics impact ecosystems and our communities and what actions can we take to minimize those impacts? The Wave of Plastic Project includes five lessons to tackle this question. This unit helps students make sense of the core ideas related to issues of plastic pollution (particularly those relevant to the Chesapeake Bay watershed) by engaging in authentic interdisciplinary practice culminating in comprehensive, student-driven, informed action projects.
Audience
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
Subject
Earth science
Resource type
Activities, lessons, and units
Lesson plan
Module/unit
Topic
Climate
Climate change
Climate data monitoring
Cryosphere
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean chemistry
Ocean currents
Ocean pollution and marine debris
Weather and atmosphere
Hurricanes
Weather observations
NGSS DCI
ESS2: Earth’s Systems
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
ETS1: Engineering Design
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
Special categories
Grantee resource
Instructional strategies
Hands-on
Outdoor education
Uses data
Collection name
B-WET grantee
This collection of six separate lessons includes tutorial videos for each themed lesson, except ecological field modeling.
- Density dynamics:Experiment by creating four model bodies of water and observe how they compare.
- Ecological field monitoring:Get into the field and investigate the ecosystems in your local community using field equipment.
- Glaciers:Investigate how topography came to be through glacial activity 33,000 years ago. Use geologic and physical tests to uncover the evidence left behind by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Track and hunt down the path laid by ice giants of the past.
- Marine debris & microplastics:Discover how marinedebris impacts the environment as you experiment with buoyancy and design a modelocean with circular currents.
- Watersheds: Explore how we impact our water systems and the watersheds that sustain our population. Create a model coastal community and observe how pollutants travel within a watershed
- Weather & climate:Explore the differences between weather and climate, look at real-time NOAA weather and climate data, experiment with sea level rise, and create coastal resiliency models.
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution resource collection
Audience
Grade K-2
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults
Subject
Earth science
Social studies
Resource type
Collection
NOAA Education resource collection
Topic
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
This resource collection from NOAA Education explores watersheds, flooding, and pollution.The water in your watershed quenches thirst, grows food, washes clothes, and powers industry. However, too much water can cause raging floods and flush pollutants and soil into rivers and streams. How do we interact with the water in our watershed?
Ocean Today: Flooding on a sunny day? Here's how (1 Minute)
Audience
Grade 3-5
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults
Subject
Earth science
Resource type
Multimedia
Video
Topic
Climate
Climate change impacts
Resiliency and mitigation
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean and coasts
Sea level rise
Tides
Collection name
Ocean Today
Flooding. It’s often associated with heavy rains and severe storms. But with rising sea levels, flooding in some coastal communities is now occurring during high tides and sunny days.
Earth Genius marine debris lesson plans
Audience
Grade K-2
Grade 3-5
Subject
Earth science
Social studies
Resource type
Activities, lessons, and units
Lesson plan
Collection
Topic
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean and coasts
Ocean pollution and marine debris
NGSS DCI
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
Special categories
Grantee resource
Collection name
B-WET grantee
This series of standards-aligned lesson plans explores issues related to marine debris and environmental stewardship. Each of these lessons focus on experiential, project-based learning to support student engagement and action.Each of these lessons are also available in Spanish or in a virtual format.
HEART Force: Colorado environmental hazards collection
Audience
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
Subject
Earth science
Social studies
Resource type
Activities, lessons, and units
Lesson plan
Module/unit
Collection
Multimedia
Game/online activity
Topic
Climate
Climate change
Climate change impacts
Resiliency and mitigation
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Weather and atmosphere
Drought
Fires
Hazards and safety
NGSS DCI
ESS2: Earth’s Systems
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
Special categories
Grantee resource
Instructional strategies
Inquiry
Project-based
Collection name
ELP grantee
Environmental hazards — such as wildfire, flood, and drought — are increasingly affecting communities in Colorado. With this rise in hazardous events, there is a pressing need for communities to become more resilient through education, preparation, and planning.The Hazard Education, Awareness, and Resilience Task Force (HEART Force) lessons and education resourcesengage rural Colorado middle and high school students, teachers, and communities to take proactive steps in preparing for and responding to natural hazards.
National Ocean Service student tutorials
Audience
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
Subject
Earth science
Engineering and technology
Life science
Physical science
Resource type
Background information
Collection
Topic
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Marine life
Coral reef ecosystems
Life in an estuary
Ocean and coasts
Ocean currents
Tides
Technology and engineering
GPS and geodesy
Dive into tutorials on corals, estuaries, global positioning, pollution, ocean currents, and tides. Learn the basics about these topics and how they are a part of NOAA's work.
U.S. coastline to see up to a foot of sea level rise by 2050 (2022)
Audience
Grade 6-8
Grade 9-12
College+
Adults
Subject
Earth science
Social studies
Resource type
Related story
Topic
Climate
Climate change impacts
Freshwater
Watersheds, flooding, and pollution
Ocean and coasts
Sea level rise
Report projects a century of sea level rise in 30 years.
