Teach Primary Issue 18.5

It’s estimated that over 12 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in our oceans every single year. It flows everywhere, from rockpools to the very depths of the seabed. Whether it’s turtles tangled in ‘ghost’ fishing gear, or birds ingesting microplastics, uncontrolled use and dumping of plastic is one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems. In this lesson, children will explore what plastic is, the effects it has on the environment, and how we can track plastic pollution. As well as learning and practising geographical skills, pupils will also explore what they can do to combat plastic pollution. 1 | UNDERSTANDING PLASTIC To be able to work out where it is accumulating and what problems it creates, we need to understand plastic better. Discuss the information contained in slides 3 and 4 with pupils. Display slide 5 . Ask the children to think of some life-changing plastics that they couldn’t imagine living without; examples are given on the PowerPoint notes. Talk about the David Attenborough quote. What does he mean? The problem is the quantity of plastic produced; single-use plastics, lack of recycling and poor waste management allow plastic to travel into our oceans and causes significant damage to habitats, endangering wildlife and polluting communities. Use slide 6 to introduce the focus of this lesson: floating plastic and where it accumulates. (We won’t be looking at the spread of microplastic or submerged plastic.) Focusing on where plastic accumulates, explain the term ‘gyres’ and look at the map to understand how these currents trap plastic ( slide 7 ). Ask pupils to work with a partner or small group to think about the geographical factors affecting UK coastlines and how these might also transport plastic waste from the seas back to land. Finally, explore ocean currents and prevailing winds and their impact on UK shores in more detail ( slides 9 and 10 ). START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l Geographical skills, including use of the eight points of a compass and grid references l How to locate and find the name of UK cities on a map l How human activity influences natural systems and how pupils personally contribute to this Explain that in this lesson you’re going to find out where floating plastic pollution is building up around the UK coast. Plastic has become such an established part of our lives, but what exactly is it? Use the PowerPoint provided ( tinyurl. com/tp-PlasticPollution ) to give a brief introduction; teacher notes are provided with the slides. Ask pupils to work with a partner to try to answer the question ‘What is plastic?’. It may be useful to have a wide variety of plastic products available, e.g. water bottle, pen, chair, carrier bag, computer. Share answers and the diversity of responses before revealing the dictionary definition. Environmental science – on the plastics trail Lara Jeffries from Surfers Against Sewage explores the issue of marine pollution and plastic use KS2 LESSON PLAN sas.org.uk Geography @sascampaign 78 | www.teachwire.net