Students will investigate how consumer choices, population growth, and global waste systems contribute to ocean plastic pollution, with attention to impacts in the Eastern Hemisphere. Using evidence from Trash Vortex, A Plastic Ocean, and additional scientific, historical, and cultural sources, they will identify root causes and evaluate context-specific solutions. Students will refine a proposed solution through feedback and present an argumentative essay that supports a clear claim with evidence and reasoning.

Students will analyze how population growth, per-capita consumption, and global waste systems affect ocean ecosystems, with attention to communities and systems in the Eastern Hemisphere. They will investigate the root causes of ocean plastic pollution through scientific, historical, geographic, and cultural lenses. Students will brainstorm, evaluate, and refine context-appropriate solutions, using feedback and setbacks to improve their proposals. They will write an argumentative essay that supports a proposed solution with credible evidence and addresses competing claims, feasibility, and potential impacts.

Student teams will create a systems map tracing how consumer choices, population, resource use, and global waste systems contribute to ocean plastic pollution, with examples from the Eastern Hemisphere. They will develop and test a prototype solution, document feedback and revisions, and evaluate its scientific, historical, and cultural fit for a specific community. Each student will write an argumentative essay that uses evidence to identify root causes, compare possible solutions, and defend a recommended course of action. Teams will present their refined solution through a visual model or public-awareness product for a classroom showcase.

Stage a classroom “trash vortex” using one day’s clean, collected packaging, then have teams trace selected items from production and consumption in the Eastern Hemisphere to ocean accumulation. Students rotate through image, map, data, and first-person account stations to examine scientific, historical, and cultural dimensions of plastic pollution. Teams build an initial cause-and-effect web connecting population, consumption, waste systems, and Earth’s systems, then brainstorm context-appropriate interventions. Students choose a preliminary claim about responsibility and solutions to revisit, test, and refine for their final argumentative essay.

Host an “Ocean Solutions Summit” where students present their argumentative essays and visual solution prototypes to families, peers, and local environmental partners. Each student will defend a claim about how consumer choices and waste systems affect ocean pollution, using scientific, historical, and cultural evidence from the Eastern Hemisphere. Guests will use feedback cards to evaluate each solution’s feasibility, context, and likely impact. Students will revise their final recommendation based on audience questions and display the completed essays on the class page.