ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Teacher Resource
Plastic Pollution
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1. Discuss the BTN story with another student. Share your thoughts with the class.
2. What organisation recently launched a campaign to cut back on plastic pollution?
3. How many pieces of plastic do Australians throw out every year?
a. 9 thousand
b. 9 million
c. 9 billion
4. Which plastic items make up the majority of Australia’s plastic pollution?
5. In Australia where does most of our plastic end up?
6. In some places overseas why is plastic pollution a massive problem?
7. How is plastic pollution affecting sea life?
8. Complete this sentence. Experts say if something isn't done soon there'll be more ___________ than fish in the ocean by 2050.
9. What are people doing to tackle plastic pollution?
10. What did this video make you wonder? Discuss as a class.
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Class Discussion
Hold a class discussion about the information raised in the Plastic Pollution Problems story. Create a class mind map with PLASTIC in the middle. Use the following questions to guide discussion:
• What are the benefits of plastic?
• What impact does plastic have on the environment?
• How much plastic do people in Australia throw away every year?
• What are the alternatives to using plastic?
• What are some solutions to the plastic pollution problem?
Glossary
Students develop a glossary of words and terms that relate to the plastic pollution. Below are some words to get them started.
|Reduce |Reuse |Recycle |Pollution |
|Waste |Biodegradable |Microplastics |Landfill |
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Plastics Research
|Define: What do I want to know? |
|Key questions to research |
|Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own: |
|How much plastic goes into the ocean? |
|How long does plastic last in the ocean? |
|What impact does plastic have on marine animals? |
|What are microplastics? What impact do they have on the marine environment? |
|What are some solutions to the problem of plastic pollution? |
|Locate: Where do I find the information? |
|What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a |
|reliable source is. |
|Select: What information is important for the investigation? |
|Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information. |
|Organise: How do I make sense of the information? |
|Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. |
|Record the information found for each question. |
|Present: How do we let others know about this information? |
|Each group needs to discuss then decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include: |
|A `Did You Know’ Facts sheet |
|Infographic |
|Oral presentation |
|Prezi presentation |
|Create an infographic using Canva |
|Evaluate: What have we learnt? |
|Each group reflects on what they have learnt about plastic pollution during their investigation. Students will reflect on their learning |
|and respond to the following. |
|What I learned... |
|What I found surprising... |
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Kids making a difference
Students will investigate ways they can make a difference to the problem of plastic pollution. Working in pairs brainstorm some solutions to the problem. For example, conducting a beach clean-up or reducing the amount of plastic packaging they use.
They can take a look at kids who are making a difference on an environmental issue. Go to Molly’s Straw No More campaign website and check out her Ted Talk.
BTN has featured kids who are passionate about the issue with these stories Plastic Ocean Campaigner Plastic Bag Ban War on Waste School
Discuss ways to present the information. Some ideas include:
• Make a news report. Visit the BTN Rookie Reporter page for some ideas.
• Create a website using Wix
• Create a podcast using PodOmatic, Buzzsprout to share with the school community.
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Watch the Microplastic Oceans story then answer the following questions:
1. What are microplastics? Give some examples.
2. What are microbeads and in which products might you find them?
3. About how many microbeads are there in a bottle of face scrub?
4. What percentage of plastic in the environment is microplastic?
5. Describe the impact they can have on marine animals.
6. What are some Australian supermarkets doing to help tackle the problem?
Watch the Ocean Rubbish story then answer the following questions:
1. How many pieces of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every day?
2. How does plastic get into the ocean?
3. What can happen when plastics stay in the water for a long time?
4. What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
5. Explain Boyan Slat’s idea to clean up the garbage patch.
Watch the Plastic Packaging story then answer the following questions:
1. How much rubbish does the average Aussie throw away in one year?
2. How did the company respond?
3. What is `nude food’?
4. What are the benefits of `nude food’?
5. Describe what the kids in the BTN story are doing to reduce the amount of food packaging they take to school.
6. How can you make a difference? Working in pairs, come up with some ways you can avoid or reduce the amount of food packaging you use?
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Recycled Art
Students will explore ways to reuse plastic to create a piece of art or something useful.
Discuss with students the benefits of reusing plastic to create objects. Here are some suggestions:
• Reduces the amount of waste and therefore landfill
• Reduces the need for production using new or raw materials
• Saves money
Below are examples of ways plastic bottle tops can be used to create a mosaic artwork or soft drink bottles can be transformed into a vertical garden and pot planters. For more great ideas for reusing plastic bottles, go to the deMilked website or watch the Make pot planters from plastic bottles video on the ABC Education website.
Source: deMilked
Source: deMilked Source: deMilked
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ABC Rural – Plastic straws to be shelved by Woolworths this year as Coles commits to 90pc diversion from landfill by 2022
SBS News – How Woolworths, Coles are ramping up war on plastic
BTN – Plastic Ocean Campaigner
BTN – Plastic Bag Ban
BTN - Ocean Rubbish
BTN – Plastic Packaging
BTN – Microplastic Oceans
BTN – War on Waste School
BTN – Landfill
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Episode 16
12th June 2018
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Students will investigate the impact plastic has on the environment and explore solutions to the problem.
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Geography Year 4
The use and management of natural resources and waste, and the different views on how to do this sustainably.
HASS – Year 4
Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actions.
Science Year 4
Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions.
Science – Year 5 & 6
Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions.
Science – Year 7
Solutions to contemporary issues that are found using science and technology, may impact on other areas of society and may involve ethical considerations.
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