| Featured Resource
 Photo Credit: Washed Ashore
Integrated Arts Curriculum
Engage your class in marine debris through the power of art! Washed Ashore, a group that creates and exhibits marine debris art to raise awareness of plastic pollution, has created an Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum with funding from the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Using the language of the arts, this curriculum works to educate students about marine debris, plastic use in our society, and how to prevent marine debris both individually and as a community.
Although it's geared toward middle school students, the Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum can be easily adapted for all grade levels and includes many activities and lessons that can be used as stand-alone classroom resources. Check it out and get your class involved!
Featured Activity
 Watershed Model
Use a watershed model to teach your students that we're all connected to the ocean, even if we don't live on the shore. If you have one handy, that's great! If you don't, it's easy to make one yourself using a variety of materials-- it can even be as simple as using objects of various heights with a tarp draped over them. Decorate your watershed with houses, cars, factories, etc.-- make it relatable to your students.
To make your watershed come to life, have students add debris in the places they think make sense-- maybe near some houses where trash may have blown out of the garbage cans or in the park where people might picnic. You can use whatever you like to represent debris, including oatmeal, rice, or lentils. Using a spray bottle to simulate rain, show your students how debris ends up in the same place-- down the watershed and into the water, likely leading to larger and larger water bodies potentially far from where the debris originated. Talk to your students about how we can all contribute to-- and help prevent!--marine debris, regardless of where we live.
Check out other activities in the Trash Talk Webinar for Educators!
Marine Debris Craft Corner
 Tank Top/T-shirt Bags
Get your students involved in preventing marine debris by reusing and repurposing old materials! If you have some old tank tops or t-shirts lying around, revitalize them by creating new reusable bags. They could even make the perfect gift for someone special during the upcoming holiday season.
Instructions:
Step 1: Grab an old t-shirt or tank top. If it has sleeves, cut them off.
Step 2: If you're comfortable with sewing, cut your shirt to your desired height (this will be the depth of your bag). Don't forget to leave some room for the hem! If you'd prefer the no-sew route, then cut the bottom of your shirt into 1-inch strips up to your desired height (basically creating fringe at the bottom of your shirt).
Step 3: Turn your shirt inside out. If you're using needle and thread, sew across the bottom. Otherwise, start tying the strips of fabric you created together (so one strip from the front of the shirt is tied to the corresponding strip on the back of the shirt).
Step 4: Turn your shirt/bag inside out again, so the design is facing the outside. If your shirt doesn't have a design or you'd like to spruce it up, decorate the outside with fabric markers.
Step 5: Enjoy your fabulous, reusable bag!
|
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page.