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This sustainability topic affects not only our environment and the marine life within it, but human lives as well. Ocean pollution can harm the life within it, which ultimately can harm the seafood we eat. This is a major problem in most places on the coast and even on islands for most of the food eaten is from the ocean. If there are high levels of mercury or other toxic chemicals due to pollution, it can majorly affect the health of many.

I believe this matters to my students because, like I said, it affects their lives too. Most students find ocean life very interesting and I’m sure would be shocked if they found out what was happening to it based on what humans were doing to the ocean. I believe that teaching students about our environment will not only broaden their understanding of our environment, but also what they can do to help it.

Ocean pollution is one of the biggest problems our environment faces. Because of pollution from people on land and natural causes, marine life is dying, and human resources are being compromised. Teaching students the extreme to this problem will encourage future's thinking within students and help them realize that they can help solve this problem. Let's help save our oceans!

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This is a 5 day lesson plan that'll help students understand what ocean pollution is and how it affects our Earth. The purpose of this unit is to educate students on ocean pollution and how they can apply futures thinking in order to help save our oceans. Students will be able to understand what ocean pollution is and how they can help fix it by learning about the different aspects that go into it.

Topic: Disposal: Ocean Pollution
Day 1: What is ocean pollution?
Day 2: Who and what does ocean pollution affect?
Day 3: What is a gyre?
Day 4: What will happen if the rate of pollution in the ocean stays constant or increases?
Day 5: Sea pollution experiment!

4th Grade GE Science
Concept 1: Changes in Environments
Describe the interactions between human populations, natural hazards, and the environment.
PO 1. Describe how natural events and human activities have positive and negative impacts on environments (e.g., fire, floods, pollution, dams).

PO 2. Evaluate the consequences of environmental occurrences that happen either rapidly (e.g., fire, flood, tornado) or over a long period of time (e.g., drought, melting ice caps, the greenhouse effect, erosion).

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For day one, it is important to lay the foundation of what ocean pollution is.

Ocean pollution is the spreading of harmful substances such as oil, plastic, industrial and agricultural waste and chemical particles into the ocean. Oceans take up about 75% of our Earth and are one of Earth's most valuable natural resources. Unfortunately, with all of the waste thrown into it, we aren't able to use our oceans for things that we normally would.

After the students have learned what ocean pollution is, they will create a top-down topic web like the one shown below. The top rectangle will be labeled "Ocean Pollution" and they are to fill out the rest of the boxes based on what is affected by ocean pollution. This will make students go more into depth about what ocean pollution is and it's affects on our environme

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Day 2: Who and what does ocean pollution affect?

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Day 2: Who and what does ocean pollution affect?

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For day two, it is important for students to understand how ocean pollution affects the life within it, and humans as well.

Over the last few decades, surplus human activities have severely affected the marine life on the Earth's oceans. Ocean pollution, also known as marine pollution, is the spreading of harmful substances such as oil, plastic, industrial and agricultural waste and chemical particles into the ocean.

For day two, students will create a food chain diagram. Starting with the polluted water, students will discover how the pollution affects the life within it, which ultimately affects us. This will show students that ocean pollution doesn't just affect the life within the ocean, but our lives as well.

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For day three, it is important for students to learn what a gyre is and how they form.

Ocean gyres are large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation. The world's five major ocean gyres are: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian, North Pacific, and South Pacific.

For day three, students will be learning about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. First, they will watch this documentary for engagement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw). Then, students will watch the videos listed below and will be evaluated based on their Cornell notes they take.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgAGmkJaQXI#action=share
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgAGmkJaQXI#action=share

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Day 4: What will happen if the rate of pollution in the ocean stays constant, decreases, or increases?

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Day 4: What will happen if the rate of pollution in the ocean stays constant, decreases, or increases?

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For day four, it is important for students to understand that ocean pollution is a very serious issue and can continue to head in a bad direction if we don't do something.

The majority of the garbage that enters the ocean each year is plastic—and here to stay. That’s because unlike other trash, the single-use grocery bags, water bottles, drinking straws, and yogurt containers, among eight million metric tons of the plastic items we toss (instead of recycle), won’t biodegrade. Instead, they can persist in the environment for a millennium, polluting our beaches, entangling marine life, and getting ingested by fish and seabirds.

For day four, students will be making a timeline. Students will research statistics about the amount of pollution there is in the ocean using a computer. They then will notice a trend between the amount of waste in the ocean compared to the year. From here, students will create a timeline from the years of 2010-2020 to predict what will happen to the ocean pollution within the next couple years if pollution were to stay consistent, increase, or decrease. This will show students the importance of keeping our oceans clean

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Day five is important because students will get to have a hands on experience that will show them just how bad ocean pollution is for wildlife and human life.

Students will get a mason jar filled with clear water, shells and toy fish with strings tied to them so that they can easily maneuver the fish without sticking their hands in the jar. Next, we will add rubbish (or black food coloring) to represent oil and sewage. How different does our ocean look after pollution has been added? Next, we would add garbage to the jar. Students will be asked again, “How different does our ocean look after garbage has been added?” Students will then be asked to move their fish around and notice how hard it is for their fish to move. This will show the students that ocean pollution greatly affects the water and the life within it.

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Fact 1: Plastic is the most common element that is found in the ocean. It is harmful for the environment as it does not get break down easily and is often considered as food by marine animals.

Fact 2: The biggest source of pollution in the ocean is directly from land based sources, such as oil, dirt, septic tanks, farms, ranches, motor vehicles, among larger sources. Thousands of tons of waste and trash are dumped into the ocean on a daily basis.

Fact 3: Over one million seabirds are killed by ocean pollution each year. Three hundred thousand dolphins and porpoises die each year as a result of becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets, among other items. One hundred thousand sea mammals are killed in the ocean by pollution each year.

Fact 4: Even though much the trash and waste dumped into the ocean is released hundreds of miles away from land, it still washes up on beaches and coastal areas, and affects everything in between. Every marine animal is affected by man-made chemicals released in the water.

Fact 5: There is an island of garbage twice the size of Texas inside the Pacific Ocean: the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California is the largest oceanic garbage site in the entire world. There, the number of floating plastic pieces outnumbers total marine life six to one in the immediate vicinity.

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This video explains what a gyre is and its effects on our oceans. It talks about the many different gyres and the garbage patches within them.

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Ocean Heroes: What is a Gyre? -- 5 Gyres Institute

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This small slide show on National Geographic extends off of the video link to the left- gyres. It talks about some of the largest garbage patches and their impacts on the ocean and life within it.

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in the ocean, seas, and other large bodies of water.

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This article talks about many different solutions to ocean pollution. It includes what we can do (even from our homes), what the government can do, what organizations there are helping the problem, etc. Most importantly though, it lets us know that a little goes a long way.

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Ocean pollution is a major threat to both marine life and ocean ecosystems. Changes can be made on global and individual scales to make a big impact towards preserving the oceans and saving its marine inhabitants.

Large Scale Solutions for Ocean Pollution

It's hard to clean up mass pollution once it has occurred, so the best plan is prevention. Several changes can take place to help keep industry in check and encourage sustainable practices in the US and across the globe such as:

Stricter government regulations on industry and manufacturing is one large scale solution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has enacted several laws to help protect beaches, reduce pollution from ships, reduce marine debris, and prohibit ocean dumping.

Implement renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power, to limit off-shore drilling. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tracks renewable ocean energy projects and offers analysis on how renewable energy can impact oceans throughout the United States.

Limit agricultural pesticides and encourage organic farming and eco-friendly pesticide use. There are several federal laws and regulations that help prevent the sale and use of substandard pesticides. The Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of pesticides on endangered species and their habitats, including those in the ocean.

Proper sewage treatment and exploration of eco-friendly wastewater treatment options, such as recycling sewage sludge to carbon-phosphorous fertilizer, are other solutions. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA offers assistance for recycling biosolids and regulates sewage sludge to help minimize metal concentrations in water.

Cut down on industry and manufacturing waste and contain landfills so they don't spill into the ocean. The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments passed in 1984 set standards for landfills and placed restrictions on where landfills may be located.

Related Articles

According to the National Ocean Service, the largest source of ocean pollution is nonsource pollution caused by runoff. The best way you can help prevent large scale ocean pollution by agriculture, industry, and manufacturing is to elect and support legislators who back legislation to protect oceans and limit environmental pollution.

Changes to Make at Home

Some of the best solutions for ocean pollution starts with you. Even if you live in a place that is landlocked, your actions still affect the ocean's health. You've probably heard a lot about adopting a "green" lifestyle. Most of these basic principles also apply to protecting the oceans.

Help Reduce Ground Leaching

Take these steps to help reduce the amount of chemicals and toxic materials from leaching into the ground and ultimately, the ocean:

Reduce your use of fertilizers and avoid using chemical pesticides in your yard.

Eat organic whenever possible to help ultimately limit the demand for chemical pesticides.

Clean your home with lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar instead of toxic cleaners.

Properly dispose of motor oil, light bulbs, medications, and other hazardous items.

Reduce Carbon Emissions

According to NOAA, carbon emissions lead to ocean acidification which harms some types of marine life. Reduce your carbon footprint by:

Carpooling, walking, or riding a bike and using high-efficiency appliances

Carrying a reusable shopping bag instead of plastic bags

Storing food in reusable containers instead of those you throw away

Avoiding products that come with excess packaging

Not littering

Reducing, reusing, and recycling

Protect Beaches and Marine Life

These steps can help keep coastal areas clean and friendly to marine life:

Cut apart each plastic ring of a six-pack holder to prevent marine life and other wildlife from becoming trapped and strangled.

Eat local sustainable seafood and avoid imported seafood.

Don't buy jewelry or other items made from coral, tortoise shells, or other marine life.

Volunteer to clean-up an area of beach if you live nearby.

Visit the beach; tourism improves coastal communities.

Lobby your politicians on environmental issues.

Donate to an organization that protects the ocean.

Organizations That Protect the Oceans

Another way to get involved is to donate your time or money to an organization that protects the ocean. There are many organizations dedicated to preventing ocean pollution and cleaning up pollution that has already occurred. Don't just watch television and tear-up over images of oil-slicked birds and trash-covered beaches. Get involved, learn more about pollution solutions, and consider donating your money and your time.

Blue Ocean Society

The Blue Ocean Society's mission is to protect marine life in the Gulf of Maine, in particular the Humpback and minke whales. The organization educates communities about how human lifestyle choices impact marine life. It also maintains a whale database and sponsors beach clean-ups, underwater lobster trap clean-ups, school programs, and whale watches.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is dedicated to conserving oceans and marine life across the globe. Its grassroots efforts have resulted in the ban of destructive fishing practices, companies changing their fishing policies, and the creation of whale sanctuaries. It's currently spearheading an effort to zone approximately 40 percent of the ocean as protected areas.

Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA)

ORCA is committed to identifying the origins of nonsource ocean pollution and to developing low-cost pollution solutions. It also has a real time camera that provides up to 72 hours of deep sea video to observe marine life and its surroundings.

Oceana

As an international advocacy organization, Oceana has offices around the globe that work make oceans more biodiverse. They advocate for science-based fishery management and other ocean restoration projects through focused campaigns that influence policy. They also use science to identify ocean threats.

Ocean Conservancy

This organization was founded in 1972. Its mission is to work with citizens throughout the world to bring about positive change that protects the oceans for future generations. It creates science-based solutions that help limit trash in the sea, encourage sustainable fisheries, reduce ocean acidification, and preserve ocean parks and marine protected areas.

Small Changes With Big Impacts

Oceans are resilient, but not indestructible. If they're to last for generations to come, humans must work together to reduce pollution and its impact. The best way to fight ocean pollution is to educate yourself on its causes and make small changes at home to reduce your carbon footprint. It's never too late to work to improve the ocean's health.

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Solutions for Ocean Pollution | LoveToKnow

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Ocean pollution is a major threat to both marine life and ocean ecosystems. Changes can be made on global and individual scales to make a big impact towards preserving the oceans and saving its marine inhabitants. It's hard to clean up mass pollution once it has occurred, so the best plan is prevention.

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This is a short vocabulary matching game for elementary students. Students are to match the words given with the corresponding pictures given to get a better understanding of important vocabulary when learning about ocean pollution.

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Match the English word with the correponding illustration.

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This website is perfect for teaching elementary students about ocean pollution. It has many different shocking facts that may ultimately encourage students to reduce the amount of waste in the ocean.

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Ocean Pollution Facts

Ocean pollution occurs when potentially harmful or harmful sources of pollution reach the water. These sources of pollution can include residential waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, chemicals, particles, and invasive organisms. Most of the sources of ocean pollution originate on land, from runoff, blowing debris, dust, and contamination from excessive nutrients, toxins such as pesticides and metals, and particles. Many of the most harmful ocean pollutants are not the ones we can see, but instead are the ones that leach into the marine ecosystem, causing diseases and mutations, not only in the marine life but in the humans and animals that consume them.

Some of the ocean pollution that we can see includes floating plastic, oil spills, and trash.

Plastic is one of the most common ocean pollutants. It does not break down rapidly and marine life often eats it after mistaking it for food.

Land based pollutants include oil, septic sludge, dirt, and trash.

Each day thousands of tons of trash and waste are dumped into the oceans of the world.

Ocean pollution kills more than one million sea birds each year.

Discarded fishing nets kill approximately 300,000 dolphins and porpoises every year. The dolphins and porpoises get tangled in the nets and die.

Much of the waste that is dumped into the ocean will wash up on the coast polluting everything it comes into contact with, including beaches, animals, and sea life.

There is an ocean garbage site off the coast of California twice as large as the state of Texas. It is called the North Pacific Gyre and is the largest garbage site in the ocean in the world.

Although oil spills pollute the ocean, they only account for approximately 12% of the oil polluting the ocean. The rest reaches the oceans from land, through drainage.

Toxic metals reach the ocean and contribute to ocean pollution, destroying reproduction, behavior, growth and the biochemistry of the ocean's marine life.

The plastic debris that reaches the ocean is capable of absorbing the toxic chemicals polluting the water. The sea life that consumes the plastic is then poisoned. Because plastic never completely disappears and breaks down into smaller pieces, it is often seen as food to marine life.

Radioactive waste and industrial waste such as acids and toxins often reach the ocean adding to the pollution and substantial loss of marine life.

The ocean's oxygen content is depleted by the runoff of fertilizer that causes an increase of algae growth.

When little sea creatures consume toxins in their food, they absorb those chemicals. They are then consumed by larger marine animals. The amount of toxins is concentrated in the larger marine animals. This continues up the food chain until the largest sea creatures have such extreme contamination, often millions of times higher than the water itself.

There are dead zones in the oceans that have been created by pollution making life in those zones impossible for marine or plant life.

It is estimated that every square mile of ocean has more than 45,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.

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Ocean pollution occurs when potentially harmful or harmful sources of pollution reach the water. These sources of pollution can include residential waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, chemicals, particles, and invasive organisms. Most of the sources of ocean pollution originate on land, from runoff, blowing debris, dust, and contamination from excessive nutrients, toxins such as pesticides and metals, and particles.

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This is a video of kids at the beach helping pick up the pollution. This is a good video to show elementary students to show that they can make a difference in ocean pollution.

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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This article discusses the amount of pollution that enters the ocean and which pollutants are the worst. These pollutants include oil, fertilizers, seas of garbage, sewage disposal, and toxic chemicals.

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Seas of garbage
Solid garbage also makes its way to the ocean. Plastic bags, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material - if not disposed of correctly, almost everything we throw away can reach the sea.

Plastic garbage, which decomposes very slowly, is often mistaken for food by marine animals. High concentrations of plastic material, particularly plastic bags, have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of many marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles. Plastic six-pack rings for drink bottles can also choke marine animals.

This garbage can also come back to shore, where it pollutes beaches and other coastal habitats.

Sewage disposal
In many parts of the world, sewage flows untreated, or under-treated, into the ocean. For example, 80% of urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean Sea is untreated.

This sewage can also lead to eutrophication. In addition, it can cause human disease and lead to beach closures.

Toxic chemicals
Almost every marine organism, from the tiniest plankton to whales and polar bears, is contaminated with man-made chemicals, such as pesticides and chemicals used in common consumer products.

Some of these chemicals enter the sea through deliberate dumping. For centuries, the oceans have been a convenient dumping ground for waste generated on land. This continued until the 1970s, with dumping at sea the accepted practise for disposal of nearly everything, including toxic material such as pesticides, chemical weapons, and radioactive waste.
Dumping of the most toxic materials was banned by the London Dumping Convention in 1972, and an amended treaty in 1996 (the London Convention) further restricted what could be dumped at sea. However, there are still the problems of already-dumped toxic material, and even the disposal of permitted substances at sea can be a substantial environmental hazard.

Chemicals also enter the sea from land-based activities. Chemicals can escape into water, soil, and air during their manufacture, use, or disposal, as well as from accidental leaks or fires in products containing these chemicals. Once in the environment, they can travel for long distances in air and water, including ocean currents.

People once assumed that the ocean was so large that all pollutants would be diluted and dispersed to safe levels. But in reality, they have not disappeared - and some toxic man-made chemicals have even become more concentrated as they have entered the food chain.

Tiny animals at the bottom of the food chain, such as plankton in the oceans, absorb the chemicals as they feed. Because they do not break down easily, the chemicals accumulate in these organisms, becoming much more concentrated in their bodies than in the surrounding water or soil. These organisms are eaten by small animals, and the concentration rises again. These animals are in turn eaten by larger animals, which can travel large distances with their even further increased chemical load.

Animals higher up the food chain, such as seals, can have contamination levels millions of times higher than the water in which they live. And polar bears, which feed on seals, can have contamination levels up to 3 billion times higher than their environment.

People become contaminated either directly from household products or by eating contaminated seafood and animal fats.

Evidence is mounting that a number of man-made chemicals can cause serious health problems - including cancer, damage to the immune system, behavioural problems, and reduced fertility.

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Seas of garbage Solid garbage also makes its way to the ocean. Plastic bags, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material - if not disposed of correctly, almost everything we throw away can reach the sea. Plastic garbage, which decomposes very slowly, is often mistaken for food by marine animals.

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This packet is good for elementary school classrooms. It has multiple pages of information and activities that students can do to help understand water pollution and how we can help prevent it.

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This article talks about the pollution in our ocean: where it comes from, where it goes, what we can do to help, etc. It also discusses how ocean pollution affects our marine life and human life.

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Each year, billions of pounds of trash and other pollutants enter the ocean.

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In this TED Talk, Diana Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and how it affects both the marine lives and our lives. She also talks about what we can do to save us from the plastic gyre.

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Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution

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Artist Dianna Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and in our lives -- and some thoughts on how to free ourselves from the plastic gyre.