Overview
Duration
60 minutes
Lesson Objective
- Explore how plastics enter the environment and move through a food web, threatening ecosystems and living organisms in the process.
Lesson Outcomes
- Understand that the natural world is not a separate entity from humans, but that both are interconnected aspects of a whole.
- Describe a food web and the critical roles of each organism in keeping an ecosystem healthy.
- Describe the process of bioaccumulation in terrestrial and aquatic organisms.
- List ways that plastic pollution threatens the health of animals and humans.
- Make informed decisions about avoiding or reducing microplastics in ways that benefit the living world and are respectful of the natural life cycles of the animals they share the Earth with.
The Lesson
Sequence
- Starter: The Anthropocene: What is it?
- Task 1: All About Plastic | Class Discussion | Thinking Questions
- Task 2: Gigapixel Exploration | RCGS
- Task 3a: Bioaccumulation Simulation | Experiential Learning.
- Task 3b: Simulation Review
- Task 4: Bioaccumulation Online Game
- Review: Game Reflection Questions