Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
01/25/2016
Oceans Could Hold More Plastic Than Fish By 2050, Report Says
If the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans continues to increase, there will be more pounds of plastic than there are pounds of fish in the ocean by 2050, according to a new report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. It’s estimated almost 9 million tons of plastic wind up in the ocean each year, which the foundation says "is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute.”
■Class discussion: Look around. How many of the things you see and use are made of plastic? Do you try to recycle your plastic trash? How much of it gets actually gets recycled and how much ends up dumped? What is recycled plastic used to produce? Does dumped plastic end up in the food chain? Can plastics harm animals and people if they consume it? What do you expect the world to be like in 2050? What will you and your children face?