Eco-Schools Lesson Plan
Lesson title: STOPPING MARINE LITTER
Key Stage: 1
Resources & Preparation:
1. Bookmark Websites – For a general overview of the problem of marine/beach
litter, we suggest:

United Nations Environment Programme – marine litter facts
http://marine-litter.gpa.unep.org/facts/facts.htm

UK Marine Conservation Society (has photos of wildlife entangled in litter)
http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Clean+seas+and+beaches/Pollution+and
+litter+problems/Pollution+and+litter+problems
2. You will need materials to make a poster or a collage. These could include
real examples of litter.
Subjects:
English / Art & Design / Science / Geography
Extension Activities: English / Maths
Lesson Objectives:
Pupils will …
 learn about the problem of marine litter and its long-term and wider effects on
wildlife and people.
 think about how to tackle the problem of marine letter.
 educate others about the problem of marine litter, for example, through
making posters or a class collage for display to the whole school.
Minke whale entangled in plastic – Inner Hebrides. SWF/Peter Evans.
Activities (suggested lesson plan):
1. Introduce marine plants and animals. Before moving on to the topic of
marine litter and, then, how it affects people and wildlife, it might be useful to
introduce the pupils to some common plants and animals seen on the U.K.
coast. To find out what marine plants and animals the pupils already know, try
to elicit some examples from the pupils. Alternatively, use the pictures in
Appendix 1 as a starting point.
2. Introduce the idea of litter. Ask pupils what litter is and elicit some
examples.
3. Introduce the specific problem of marine litter. Ask pupils if they have
been to a beach. For those that have, ask them about any litter they saw on
the beach. For those that have not been to a beach, ask them to imagine
what kinds of litter they might find there, for example, food wrappers, plastic
bottles and fishing lines. Pupils can write/draw a list (in groups or as a whole
class) of what they think would be the “marine litter Top 10”. The lists can
then be compared with the Top 10 results of the Marine Conservation
Society’s Beachwatch 2010 (see Appendix 1)1.
4. Consider the causes and effects of marine litter. Ask pupils about where
they think the litter comes from. What are the possible effects of marine litter?
How could it affect people living near a beach, visiting the beach or swimming
or surfing? How could litter affect animals living on the beach or in the sea?
[birds and marine mammals get entangled or suffer when they swallow
marine litter]
5. How to prevent marine litter. Ask pupils to think about how to tackle the
problem of marine litter. What can they do to prevent marine litter? [not drop
litter; take litter home] What can the community do? [have enough rubbish
and recycling bins; make posters about the problem; do a regular beach
clean] For schools close to a beach see the extension activity on doing a
beach clean.
6. Educating others about the problem. One way to prevent marine litter
would be to raise awareness (help people to learn and understand) about its
causes and effects. The pupils can raise awareness by making a poster on
the topic. The pupils can make the posters in groups. Alternatively, the pupils
could make a large ‘stop marine litter’ poster/collage as a class.
7. Making a poster. Ask pupils to think about what a poster should include.
What will be the slogan? What design, colours and materials would get
attention? Perhaps the poster can make use of superheroes to fight beach
litter, e.g. Miss Marine Clean, or include the ‘thought bubbles’ of wildlife. In
groups, the pupils can discuss their ideas and plan a draft copy of the poster.
Once a draft is agreed upon, the pupils can make the poster using a variety of
materials where possible. When completed, the pupils can reflect on which
techniques, materials or colours used in the posters are most effective and
why.
8. Displaying the posters. The finished posters can be placed around the
assembly hall, dining hall or along corridors. Pupils can do poster
presentations (stand in groups by their poster and answer questions about it).
9. Bringing it all together. Ask pupils what they have learnt about the issue of
marine litter. Will they act differently after learning about the problem? What
action(s) can they take to tackle this problem from now on? (Join a beach
clean; use fewer plastic bags; re-cycle and re-use; talk to others about the
problem).
Extension activities:

Write a poem or story or perform a short play. As a follow-up activity,
pupils could write a poem or story imagining themselves as marine creatures
entangled by and cut free from beach litter. To create interest, you could
show the Youtube video of a young humpback whale entangled in nets that is
cut free by members of The Great Whale Conservancy2. [English]

Listen to a story. Younger pupils may enjoy listening to a story, such as Joel
Harper’s “All the Way to the Ocean” (U.S. English) about how rubbish in
storm drains affects water and wildlife3. [English]
For schools situated close to a beach:

Do a beach clean. One way to tackle marine litter is to do regular beach
cleans. The school or class could organise its own beach clean or sign up for
the Marine Conservation Society’s Adopt A Beach scheme4.

Present beach clean results. The results of the beach clean could be added
to the posters or collage and/or used for Maths activities, for example,
representing the information in simple graphs or diagrams. [Maths]
Curriculum Links:
English
To join in as members of a group, pupils should be taught to:
3(a) take turns in speaking;
(b) relate their contributions to what has gone on before;
(c) take different views into account;
(d) extend their ideas in the light of discussion;
(e) give reasons for opinions and actions.
Art & Design
Pupils should be taught to:
1(a) record from first-hand observation, experience and imagination, and explore
ideas;
(b) ask and answer questions about the starting points for their work and develop
their ideas;
2(a) investigate the possibilities of a range of materials and processes;
(c) represent observations, ideas and feelings, and design and make images and
artefacts;
3(a) review what they and others have done and say what they think and feel about
it;
(b) identify what they may change in their current work or develop in their future
work;
Pupils should be taught about:
4(a) visual and tactile elements, including colour, pattern and texture, line and tone,
shape, form and space.
Breadth of Study
Pupils should be taught the knowledge, skills and understanding through:
5(a) exploring a range of starting points for practical work;
(b) working on their own, and in collaboration with others, on projects in two and
three dimensions and on different scales;
(c) using a range of materials and processes.
Science
Sc2
Pupils should be taught to:
1(b) that animals move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce
[entanglement/ingestion of marine litter prevents this];
2(b) that humans and other animals need food and water to stay alive;
5(c) … care for the environment.
Geography
Pupils should be taught to:
1(c) express their own views about people, places and environments;
3(c) recognise how places have become the way they are and how they are
changing;
(e) recognise how places are linked to other places in the world [litter carried across
seas];
5(a) recognise changes in the environment;
(b) recognise how the environment may be improved and sustained.
Sources
1
:http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Clean+seas+and+beaches/Beachwatch/Beach
watch+-+latest+results
2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBYPlcSD490
3
: http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Way-Ocean-JoelHarper/dp/0971425418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308042030&sr=8-1
4
: http://www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/beachsearch/index.php
Appendix 1: Marine Plants and Animals of the British Coast
Gannet
Oystercatcher
Harbour Porpoise
Jellyfish
Mussel
Grey Seal
Seaweed
Bottlenose dolphin
Appendix 2
Marine Conservation Society Beachwatch 2010 – Marine Litter Top 10
1. plastic pieces (less than 2.5cm in length)
2. plastic pieces (more than 2.5cm in length)
3. plastic rope, cord or string
4. plastic caps and lids
5. crisp, sweet and lolly wrappers
6. polystyrene wrappers
7. cotton bud sticks
8. fishing net / net pieces
9. plastic drinking bottles
10. glass pieces
Source: Marine Conservation Society
http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Clean+seas+and+beaches/Beachwatch/Beachwatch++latest+results