LESSON PLAN

Your Name: Devon Yourgulez

Title of Lesson: Marine Biome Pollution A Turtles Tale
Grade: 3
rd
grade

STANDARDS
NGSS 3-LS4-4: Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of
plants and animals that live there may change.
NGSS 3-LS2-1 & 3-LS4-3: Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.D: Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Students will discuss pollution, view a video clip about an oceanic oil spill, and discuss littering pollution to the oceans. Students will
watch a video clip about the Pacific Trash Vortex and discuss responses. Students will demonstrate learning by illustrating an ocean
scene before and after an oil spill by completing a worksheet. Students are challenged to use futures thinking within the lesson.

OBJECTIVES
SWBAT define biome, biodiversity, pollution, crude oil, and littering by answering teacher questions.
SWBAT identify sources and consequences of pollution like oil spills and littering in marine biomes by answering teacher questions
and illustrating a before/after oil pollution worksheet.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Teacher questions.
Oil Pollution Illustration worksheet.

PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
Plants and animals live in the ocean and need clean water to live.

MATERIALS
Document camera and white board.
Student copies of Oil Pollution Illustration worksheets
A Turtles Tale: Sammys Adventures (movie)
Television to view movie

VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS
Biome: A very large area of land or water with a certain kind of climate and organisms living there.
Biodiversity: The different species of plants and animals living in an area.
Pollution: Anything in the environment that can harm living things or damage natural resources.
Oil spills: The accidental pouring of crude oil into the ocean, due to underwater oil well leaks or crude oil ships leaking or crashing.
Littering: Trash that people throw on the ground or in the water.

TEACHING PROCEDURES
Opening: Yesterday, we learned about sea turtles and their habitat. Now, were going to watch a video clip about a sea turtle named
Sammy in A Turtles Tale: Sammys Adventures. (20:10-24:31)
Teacher Will:
1. Does anyone have any comments about what we just
saw?
2. Who can tell me what pollution means?
3. Pollution from oil spills is a big problem to the
environment and the plants and animals that live in it.
There was an oil spill in the Gulf coast in 2010. (point
to map and discuss the event)
4. How do you think oil spills affect the animals and
plants that live in the ocean?
5. How else do you think people pollute the oceans?
6. Show Pacific Trash Vortex video clip (:20-1:05).
7. What do you think about those trash vortexes in the
ocean?
8. Do you think there would be trash vortexes in the
oceans if people werent here?
9. Today, were going to draw a before and after picture
of what the ocean looks like before and after an oil spill,
Students Will:
Watch video clips attentively.
Define pollution.
Discuss how oil spills affect the animals and plants that
live in the ocean.
Discuss trash like soda can rings, water bottles, plastic
bags, etc.
Offer more ways people pollute oceans.
Discuss responses to trash vortex video.
Respond that trash vortexes would not exist if people
didnt exist.
Take out colored pencils when instructed.
Complete Oil Pollution Illustration accurately according
to what students saw in the A Turtles Tale video clip.
just like we saw in A Turtles Tale.
10. Pass out Oil Pollution Illustration worksheet to students
and tell them to get out their colored pencils.
11. You have 20 minutes to finish. About how long is that
per picture? (pause for student response)



RESOURCES
Achieve, Inc. (2014). Next generation science standards. Retrieved from
http://www.nextgenscience.org/3ire-interdependent-relationships-ecosystems.
Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2014). Common core state standards. Retrieved from
http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/.
Needham, F. (Ed.). (2005) ScienceSaurus: a student handbook. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Great Source.
Planet 100: The Pacific Trash Vortex Explained. (2012). [Pacific trash vortex video June 7, 2010]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6LvdsyJ4U.
Rio cinema education. (2011). A Turtles Tale: Sammys Adventures teaching resource. Retrieved from
http://www.riocinemaeducation.org.uk/resources/Sammy.pdf.

WAYS OF THINKING CONNECTION
Students will utilize futures thinking by observing the current impact that human pollution has had on the oceans. This will give them
a base knowledge and understanding to be able to consider that there is a cause and effect relationship between human pollution and
degradation of the marine biome. Understanding cause and effect helps students to think about how their behavior affects the oceans,
which leads to thinking of ways humans can help prevent or mitigate the effects of pollution. Students should consider how oil spills
affect water and land in the short-term and long-term. Is all the oil ever totally cleaned up and what does that mean for ocean biomes?
Students may consider cleaner energy alternatives or think about transportation alternatives.