About This Lesson
Activity: The cost of convenience
Description | 1 hour
Media: Today we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic per year! But what is plastic and where does it come from? We are headed to Vancouver, British Columbia to find out how and why plastic is made, and learn about the many ways we use it. Clean up the beach with Jay and Tanya from Ocean Wise, and learn how plastic ends up in our ocean and waterways.
Activity: Scavenger hunt - Plastic is all around us. In this activity, students begin by listing as many plastic objects around them as they can in 1 min. Then they identify which items are single-use plastics, and use their critical thinking skills to suggest ways those items can be reused. In the second part of the activity, students learn about four types of plastic: clear, opaque, rigid and flexible and photograph examples of each type. After identifying single-use items, they then reflect on how plastic can be categorized in more than one way.
See the media Each activity is linked to a piece of media. You can watch the video by visiting the Ocean School website or by visiting the direct link here. If you like this activity you can see all of the available resources in the Ocean School Resource Catalogue. Everything in Ocean School is provided free to the public.
About Ocean School
This is a free educational resource from the Canadian Government about the ocean, through the Ocean Frontier Institute at Dalhousie University and the National Film Board of Canada. Ocean School provides free, media-rich, ocean-based resources in multiple subjects for students in grades 5–12. Created by educators, scientists and storytellers, these interactive learning materials help students understand our influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on us.
Available in French
Check out the Resources tab for the French activity sheets and media.
Or check out the French Ocean School page.
Please note: Ocean School activities are not stand-alone lessons (they do not cover all aspects of one topic or subject) but instead supplement learning through dynamic and engaging experiences.
