General resources for all grades

Marine Debris Program, Educational Materials - NOAA,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

A valuable set of materials which include puzzles, brain-teasers, coloring activities, and formal curricula for Grades 1-12.  All materials are available for download and to print. An Educator’s Guide to Marine Debris  Designed as a stand-alone teaching tool or to supplement lessons for educators in both formal and informal settings. Appropriate for students grades K-12, with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) objectives.  Also available in Spanish. Ocean Pollution Tutorial  Learn about non-point source pollution – what it is, history and types, methods used to detect pollutants and assess and reduce their damaging effects on the environment. What We Know  How is Plastic Pollution different than NOAA’s definition of Marine Debris? Find out about Types and Sources of Marine Debris, how it moves in the oceans, Impacts and Solutions to the problem. What’s Being Done?  The problem is immense. The work that is being done is important, but it is resolving the problem? Learn about NOAA’s efforts at Prevention, Removal, Research, Emergency Response and Outreach

Materials also available in Spanish

Plastic Pollution Teaching Kits to Educators  

Algalita delivers science-based education to thousands of elementary, middle and high school students across SouthernCalifornia. We teach about the sources and impact of plastic pollution, and empower the next generation to reduce plastic waste in their schools and communities. We also host teacher training workshops and provide free, reusable Plastic Pollution Teaching Kits to educators.  Get your kit or sign up for a workshop! 

Grades 1-12

  TeachWild - Marine Debris Education Kit

TeachWild is an enquiry based learning program addressing the impacts of marine debris on our marine environment. The program actively engages students in becoming citizen scientists and this includes hands-on learning in scientific methodology, data collection and analysis of marine debris. This data will be uploaded onto the TeachWild website to become part of the Australian National Marine Debris database. Download the PDF at the bottom. 

Grades 5-10

 The Lonely Whale Foundation 

• Designed to scientifically engage middle and high school students in their communities through the lens of plastic pollution. Whether by the ocean or in the middle of the country, our single-use plastic trash ends up polluting our waterways, at great expense to our environment and ourselves

Save Our Shores 

STEM Educational Programming near Monterey Bay, California

Offers educational programming that is grade level specific with curriculum NGSS aligned curriculum. Each grade experience includes two classroom visits and one beach field trip in the 

Monterey Bay, CA area.

Grades 1-12

Ocean Guardian Schools

An Ocean Guardian School makes a commitment to the protection and conservation of its local watersheds, the world's ocean, and special ocean areas, like national marine sanctuaries. The school makes this commitment by proposing and then implementing a school- or community-based conservation project.

Engineering for Good - PBS LearningMedia ™ California - The Plastic Problem  - Ten Lesson plans based on Project Based Learning for developing solutions to the plastic issue.  
Grades 5 - 12+

Smog of the Sea for Educators 

Educators and their students can search for a variety of resources to dive deeper into the topic of plastic ocean pollution and solutions. Resources types include lessons plans, pledges, programs, events, toolkits and more, and are organized under the main categories of Science, Solutions and Art in Action.

Turning the Tide on Trash - A Learning Guide on Marine Debris - US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Oceans and Coastal Protection Division and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program

This interdisciplinary guide was designed to provide maximum flexibility in the classroom and includes lessons for
Grades 1 - 12.

Lessons by Grade Level UNIT ONE: The Definition, Characteristics, and Sources of Marine Debris Coming to Terms with Grades 1-6 Marine Debris Trash Traits Grades 1-6 A Degrading Experience Grades 5-8 Marine Debris – Grades 6-8 Data Mining Waste Inventory Grades 3-9 Sources of Marine Debris – Grades 5-9 From Street to Surf, From Hand to Sand UNIT TWO: The Effects of Marine Debris Marine Animals and Grades 2-4 Harmful Debris All Tangled Up Grades 1-4 How Harmful Is Grades 3-7 Marine Debris? UNIT THREE: Working Towards Solutions Nations and Neighbors Grades 4-7 A Scientific Cleanup Grades 9-12 Communicating for Grades 8-12 a Clean Future Taking Action Grades 5-12