Back to school season is here!
Students are excited to go shopping for new school supplies, locker decorations, and trendy accessories. Educators are eager to fill their classrooms with the materials and resources needed to make learning fun. Guardians are busy getting students out of summer vacation and into the classroom! No matter what, there can be a lot of waste associated with back to school shopping in the form of single-use plastic and packaging materials that can ultimately end up in our ocean and Great Lakes.
As you prepare your classroom and check off your back to school shopping list, the NOAA Marine Debris Program has resources for both students and educators to prepare for the school year ahead. Our online resources are a zero waste must-have for this back to school season!
Watch and Learn!
These videos are engaging, educational tools to help provide students with a better understanding of marine debris issues as well as how we can all work towards a solution!
Trash Talk is a Regional Emmy® award-winning video series created in partnership with NOAA Ocean Today. These short videos cover a range of topics for marine debris such as What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?, Impacts of Marine Debris, What Can We Do About Marine Debris?, and even a Webinar for Educators.
Tropical Islands Partnering on Solutions (TIPS) for Marine Debris is an online webinar series hosted by the NOAA Marine Debris Program to help tropical island communities connect and share perspectives on common marine debris issues and proposed solutions. The next TIPS webinar will be held on Tuesday, August 13 at 6 P.M. Eastern time and the topic is “Back to School!”. You’ll hear from guest speakers on how different island communities engage their students and the public on the marine debris issue. Register here.
How To Start School Waste Sorting Stations is outlined by One Cool Earth as an easy way to help your school reduce waste! These waste stations help reduce marine debris by maximizing recycling and composting, while also helping students understand the importance of disposing of their waste properly.
Science Update: From Talking Trash to Taking Action: The Science of Marine Debris highlights the science of marine debris and classroom resources to share that science in a special webinar for educators hosted by the National Science Teaching Association and NOAA.
Turtle Trash Collectors provides students and educators with an interactive, virtual sea turtle necropsy, or animal dissection. With this video and the accompanying Program Activities Guide, students learn how trash can get to the ocean and impact sea turtles, and learn how we can all help stop marine debris!
Resources for Teachers:
Inside and outside of the classroom, these resources can help educators incorporate marine debris in lesson plans and potentially class field trips!
Access disciplinary lesson plans and full curricula designed to support your needs and learning for students of all ages! All curricula and lesson plans are free and available to download and print.
The Coastal Pollution Tutorial is an online resource developed by NOAA’s National Ocean Service and Office of Response and Restoration that explores the sources and impacts of three major types of pollution that affect the nation’s coasts: oil spills, marine debris, and harmful algae blooms.
Making a Marine Debris “MAP”: A Guide to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project for Educators is a resource for educators looking to take their students outside of the classroom. By implementing NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) surveys, students can participate in recording the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines. See if MDMAP is right for your students and get started with this introductory video tutorial, available in English and Spanish!
The NOAA Sea to Sky Database has more than 1,300 lesson plans, activities, and other resources created by NOAA and partners! Search for topics, filter by disciplinary ideas, and more with this comprehensive database of educational resources.
Fact Sheets are available for download and print that cover topics on marine debris, the NOAA Marine Debris Program, and other related content to display in your classroom.
Discover Marine Debris webpages are filled with information about the different types of marine debris, where it comes from, and the ways it impacts wildlife, habitats, and people. Your class can get answers about garbage patches, and learn how you can make a difference and help solve the marine debris problem, whether you live on the coast, or hundreds of miles away!
Hands-On Activities for Students:
Check out these activities to get your students engaged and keep your classroom free of debris!
Our Annual Art Contest is a great way for students to share their knowledge and raise awareness about marine debris. The next contest opens on October 15, and it’s open to students in grades K-8 in all U.S. states and territories. You can also check out this year’s calendar, featuring 2023 winners, and stay tuned for the 2025 calendar coming soon!
What is your classroom throwing away? If you want to reduce the amount of waste your class produces by understanding what you already throw away and recycle. Figure out how much waste your class creates through a trash audit! This is also a great way to incorporate math skills.
Keep lunches debris-free with more tips to reduce waste at home, in the cafeteria, and more.
Let the creativity flow with crafts using repurposed materials. These are great ways to practice hands-on learning and community building, all while reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown away!
With these resources, your school year is set up for success! Inside and outside of the classroom, the NOAA Marine Debris Program wishes you a great year free from marine debris.