Free, hands-on environmental education lesson plans and labs.
Resources for teaching effective environmental education.
Featured Lesson!
How and where are plastics made?
Find out how plastics are produced in the US and learn how this process impacts communities using FracTracker Alliance's interactive, digital map. Applicable subject areas: Geography, Environmental Science, Social Science, Civics, Chemistry, Synthetic Materials
Co-created with FracTracker Alliance
Grades 7 and up
30 to 60 minutes
Includes an editable student worksheet
Free and ready-to-use classroom lessons and labs
These lessons are designed to fit in one class period. All materials can be downloaded, edited, printed, and uploaded to your Learning Management System (LMS). Click on the lessons below to access.
Synthetic or Natural?
Contemplate the difference between synthetic and natural materials that make up common items and explore the pros and cons of synthetic materials.
Grades 5 and up
30 to 60 minutes
Sources and Sinks
How does plastic get into and impact ecosystems?
Grades 4 and up
30 to 60 minutes
The Problem with Plastics
Brainstorm and discuss the benefits and consequences of plastic for human societies.
Grades 6 and up
30 minutes
How and where are plastics made?
Find out how plastics are produced in the US and find out how it impacts communities using geography tools like our GIS interactive map.
Co-created with FracTracker Alliance
Grades 7 and up
30 to 60 minutes
Trash Cam LIVE
Monitor plastic pollution in Alamitos Bay and find out how environmental conditions influence the flow of plastic through the environment.
Co-created with Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research
Grades 4 and up
30 to 60 minutes
Can it be recycled?
Find out why less than 10% of plastic gets recycled globally and what we can do about it.
Grades 5 and up
60 to 90 minutes
How is plastic production connected to climate change?
Analyze how plastics production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions using our interactive map.
Co-created with FracTracker Alliance
Grades 9 and up
60 to 90 minutes
Standards Alignment Guides
Suggested outlines for incorporating our free materials into your standards-aligned curriculum.
AP Environmental Science Unit 8: Plastic Pollution and Solid Waste
This guide outlines our suggestions for how to incorporate our resources into your Advanced Placement Environmental Science Unit 8 curriculum on aquatic and terrestrial pollution.
Grades 10 to 12
2 to 6 hours
NGSS MS-PS1-3 Synthetic Materials
This guide will outline our suggestions for how to use a few of our resources to teach about the following Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Performance Expectation: MS-PS 1-3 Gather and make sense of info to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
Grades 6 to 8
Variable Timing
“Algalita has opened my eyes and I am even more motivated to continue teaching the new generations how we can save our planet. There is hope, if we start with education.”
-Laura Bermudez, Educator