"More than material matters. You must change your ways."
- Joy Williams, 1989, "Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp"
Just like Eckels from "A Sound of Thunder" didn't truly understand the value of environmental conservation until he stepped on a butterfly, this lesson begins our look at how humans - due to things like selfishness (i.e. overfishing for an international delicacy: shark fin soup) or negligence (i.e. pesticide use) - really do lack adequate recognition of species importance until hit with an unfortunate circumstance, which - in real-life - often takes the form of an endangered species classification.After a Latin element mini-lesson on "de-" to ground several key unit terms - "biodegradable" and "decomposition" and a whole-class look at the five ocean trash gyres, students rotate through four stations, diagramming food chains that include plastic bags, analyzing a TedxTalk by teenage scientist Boyan Slat, and grouping photographing that depict different ways plastic pollution can effect marine life. A lab report on biological magnification follows up students' look at the multifaceted problem of plastic pollution.
VOCABULARY LATIN ELEMENT: DE-
Continuing our work with Greek and Latin elements, we looked at the Latin prefix "DE-." By brainstorming example words that began with that prefix, we filled out the graphic organizer to the right. The chosen Latin element originates from our "decomposition" timelines. Therefore, as a follow-up to that introductory activity, we deduced the specific meaning of the Latin element from our understanding of what it meant for garbage to "decompose" in the ocean. We linked it to the other words we brainstormed to find a commonality. The Latin element will reappear in key unit term in a future lesson. DE (Latin): reduce, away, remove
"DECOMPOSITION," "BIODEGRADABLE," and "DEHUMANIZATION"
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Whole-Class Introduction to Stations: Oceanic Trash Gyres Before breaking up into stations to get closer look at the effect of plastic's extremely slow decomposition rate - and possible solutions to its oceanic pollution - we looked at the "5 Gyres" website (the teacher read aloud "What's the Problem? - "Circulation") and a Kickstarter video on a Sargasso Sea documentary to look at the problem of oceanic plastic pollution on a global scale. Located in the North Atlantic Garbage Patch (#5 in the left picture), the Sargasso Sea harbors both seaweed mats and entangled garbage, leading to a very unique ecosystem. After the teacher read-aloud, we watched the a 1 minute clip from the video from 1:26-2:15. |
Decomposition: the process of decay by which the process by which organic substances are broken down into simpler forms of matter.
Nonbiodegradable: incapable of being naturally decomposed by bacteria or other biological means.
Biological Magnification: Concentrations of a harmful substance increase in organisms at higher trophic levels in a food chain.
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STATION 1:
Hands-On Timeline: Fast-to-Slow Decomposition Rates of Common Marine Debris To model the requirements and setup of a prediction-based decomposition rate timeline, we looked at a self-professed PSA webcomic by The Awkward Yeti. From the information in the comic, we placed the banana and the red solo cup on a timeline that progressed from fastest to slowest decomposition rate. Once we understood the timeline setup, groups received nine (9) items that represented some of the most common ocean pollution items. The items are identified below in a chart. After ordering the physical items from fastest to slowest decomposition rate (on either the floor, tabletop, or in the hallway), each group recorded their predictions on the graphic organizer timeline below and inserted specific numbers (a predicted decomposition rate in terms of days, months, or years) to accompany the general order. |
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STATION 2:
Group & Label: Effect on Marine Life Photograph Sort In this station, we deduced the effect of ocean plastic pollution based on a collection of photographs documenting the relationship between plastic items and marine life. The photographs provide many examples of how plastic pollution affects both different animals in the same way and different animals in different ways. After browsing through or spreading out all of the photographs, group them by not by animal, but by how they portray the different effects of plastic debris on marine life. Label each group accordingly. Some group labels to consider when sorting the photographs:
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Watch from 2:41-3-24 and 6:25-10:25.
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STATION 3:
Conservation Efforts Biodegradable Packaging & Boyan Slat The first main approach to combating plastic ocean pollution: reduce plastic use by finding alternatives that naturally decompose or even dissolve in water. At this station, there are photographs of two of Tomorrow Machine's futuristic, biodegradable food package prototypes from their "This Too Shall Pass" series: a Basmati Rice pyramid and an Extra Virgin Olive Oil dome. For comparison, the current packaging of rice and olive oil - in their plastic-dominated forms - were provided. In addition, to bring the biodegradable packaging to life and offer a hands-on experience, oranges were provided for peeling, since the process parallels how the futuristic rice containers would work. For the Extra Virgin Olive Oil dome, the caramelized sugar container has a beeswax coating that can be opened by cracking it like an egg. It takes only minutes for the sugar to dissolve in liquid, so drain disposal is possible. Treated beeswax coats the Basmati Rice pyramid in a paper-thin shell that can be torn off just like an orange peel. The second main approach to combating plastic ocean pollution: extract the plastic from the oceans. At this station, there will also be a laptop with 19-year-old Boyan Slat's TEDxTalk on his proposal to clean up the trash gyres. Watch from 2:41-3-24 and 6:25-10:25. After interacting with the biodegradable packaging and watching the clip from the TedxTalk, the station concludes in a questions that brings the two approaches together: which is the better solution - cleaning up the current plastic in the ocean or preventing more plastic from entering the oceans by replacing plastic packaging with alternative materials? |
STATION 4:
Public Service Announcement Analysis Effect on the Food Chain Given two Public Service Announcements - one from the Surfrider Foundation and another from the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles - this station addresses the effect of plastic ocean pollution on the marine food chain. By merging the visual and verbal components of the Public Service Announcements, diagram the food chains presented by each. Be aware that some trophic levels may be implied, not directly stated. In a short response question, you will also examine the two ways that the Public Service Announcements present environmental concerns to society and which - generally speaking - is a more effective, persuasive lens: appealing to human egocentrism by illuminating how the environmental concern impacts us or appealing to human compassion by illuminating its effect on other living beings? Are more prone to care if the PSA makes us realize that we are affected? If yes, is it because it makes the cause more personal or because we are more egocenrtric |
LAB REPORT
Textbook Excerpt: 6-3: Biodiversity "Bio-Magnification" To introduce the concept of "biological magnification," we read-aloud the associated textbook excerpt from chapter 6-3: Biodiversity. After circling the "interesting words," we examined Figure 6-16, which is similar to the picture on the right. The excerpt specifically focuses on the chemical pesticide, DDT, since it is the most common. However, the lab report extension captizalizes on Boyan Slat's brief mention of both DDT and PCB being absorbed by plastic to expand the textbook's overview of the pollution's effects. You can download a PDF file of the textbook excerpt below.
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Lab Report "Beads & Beakers: Biological Magnification" In station 3, Boyan Slat mentioned plastic's natural absorbancy of chemical pesticides, like DDTs and PCBs, so in this lab report, we explored the effect of these non-biodegradable chemicals on the food chain when ingested with plastic mistaken by marine life for food - which often occurs, as seen in station 1's group and label photograph sort. Once the chemicals enter the food chain, it undergoes a process called "biological magnification" at each successive trophic level, from producors (absorb DDT or PCB right out of the water) or carnivores (ingest the chemicals through plastic consumption) to apex predators. To understand how the process occurs and whom it affects most, we used sand to represent digested food, plastic beads to represent DDT or PCB, and small, medium, and large paper cups to represent the species in a self-selected aquatic food chain (which - for unit uniformity - continues the use of cups to bring to life the food chain, since styrofoam "nesting cups" were first introduced in the biome lesson and later reappeared in the keystone species lesson). Download the full instruction sheet below. Although we worked in groups of three, each student will be required to submit a recoding sheet individually. |
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