EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Participants in the Florida and Caribbean Marine Debris Collaborative offer links and downloadable educational materials for people of all ages to learn about marine debris. Whether you are a formal educator or just interested in learning more, there are general and region-specific resources available.
Activites and curricula for all ages and audiences are available at the NOAA Marine Debris Program's website. These resources focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) standards and were developed or funded by the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Both formal and informal educational resources are available.
This assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers, and coloring activities has been adapted for use in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It helps children understand the local problem of marine debris while having fun at the same time.
Nature’s Academy created this Standards-Based Curriculum as part of their Science Literacy Project, part of an effort supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
This curriculum incorporates lessons on marine debris into a broader investigation that helps students make the connection between the various parts of an aquatic ecosystem, as well as understand how people can impact such environments. It is designed to be used by fifth-grade teachers that are participating in the Nature’s Academy hands-on educational program in Florida, detailed in this project profile. It outlines the specific standards that are covered by the included lessons, provides background information meant to best prepare students and teachers for participation in the field trip activities, and includes comprehensive lesson plans that utilize the Nature’s Academy Citizen Science Database.
The Marine Debris Monitoring Toolkit for Educators was created through a collaboration between the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. This toolkit provides many useful marine debris resources and adapts the MDP's Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project, a robust citizen science monitoring initiative, for classroom use. The Toolkit is designed to assist teachers in educating their students about marine debris and involving them in marine debris research and outreach. Using the Toolkit, students conduct marine debris surveys, which can help to provide valuable information on where, when, and what kind of debris is showing up. Students can enter their data into a national database, analyze monitoring results, and become involved in marine debris stewardship within their communities. You can find the toolkit below, or on the NOAA Marine Debris Program website here.