Lesson Overview

Students will observe a PHENOMENON in the form of a short film about plastic pollution on Midway Island; write a description of the phenomenon; then construct a tentative explanation; ask questions they would like to find answers to in order to better understand the phenomenon; form a team with students who were curious about similar things; design an investigation to find some answers and then share with the class; explore plastics in the ocean using Algalita’s Ocean Debris Investigation Kit; research sources and impacts of plastic pollution; design a solution to the problem of plastics in the ocean at a local level; and circle back to refine their original explanation.