A New Way to Fight Plastic Pollution
Ocean plastic pollution is a priority issue for USC Sea Grant. In addition to funding scientific research on the topic and engaging communities in activities to reduce or clean up debris, USC Sea Grant believes that one of the most impactful ways to address plastic pollution is to reach the minds of young learners. To that end, USC Sea Grant, Algalita Marine Research and Education, and the USC Joint Educational Project (JEP) STEM Education Programs recently formed a partnership to create a new curricular focus on microplastics. The partnership designed a three-pronged effort, integrating ocean-themed lessons into second-grade classrooms, hosting a teacher training workshop for high school educators, and presenting a microplastic and plastic-pollution-focused lesson and activity for a K-5th-grade after-school STEM program.
Ocean-Themed Lessons for Second Graders
As part of this partnership, USC undergraduate students and JEP STEM Staff—Keira Zoleta, Mia Moore Walker, and Laney Riley—developed creative ocean-themed lesson plans designed for second graders that bring marine science into local classrooms.
Keira’s second-grade class at the Dr. Theodore Alexander Science Center School sorted ocean materials to understand recycling and pollution. “It’s important to teach students about the environment and what happens beyond the classroom,” said Keira. Using only a comb as baleen, paper dots as krill, foam beads and straws as microplastics, and a tray of water, she was able to demonstrate to students the detrimental impact of microplastics on the ocean and its inhabitants. Students were able to distinguish between microplastics and paper “krill,” but they found it challenging to remove the microplastics from their mini oceans (water trays) using only a comb. Keira noted that one student told her, “It’s impossible to get the microplastics out of the water, Ms. Keira!” And that’s exactly what Keira was hoping to show them. “After the lesson, many of them told me that they would pick up more trash at the beach when they visited,” said Keira. “It’s crucial to teach students at an early age about the importance of sustainability and how we can prevent pollution within our oceans.”
Mia’s second-grade students at the 32nd Street School in Los Angeles built ocean habitat terrariums, exploring ecosystems and biodiversity. She introduced the idea of different trophic levels to her second graders and explained various sources of ocean pollution, how it affects the environment, its impacts on sea creatures, and the role people can play in preventing it. She introduced the topic of sustainability, which was an unfamiliar word to many of her students.
“Sustainability is not something that is taught in the standardized education system,” said Mia. “So, it is something that a lot of people do not really interact with until college…I personally was not aware of what sustainability truly was until my freshman year of college. I wish somebody had introduced the topic of environmental and marine sustainability to me when I was as young as second grade, just so I had that idea in my head that the environment mattered…We could have a classroom full of environmental scientists who will never know that they are meant to be environmental scientists if we do not teach them what environmentalism is.”
Educator Laney introduced the concepts of ocean depth and marine zone to her second-grade students at Vermont and Norwood Elementary Schools by creating layers in a water bottle. For the ocean stratification lesson, she made lava lamps with the students using water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer tablets to create energy or waves. “It was really cool seeing the connections my students were able to make between the ocean and their ‘mini ocean’ lava lamps,” said Laney. “One of my students at the end asked me if there were a bunch of Alka-Seltzer tablets in the ocean like there were in their lava lamps.” Laney explained to the students that it wasn’t exactly how it worked in the ocean, but she “loved how they were thinking.”
Educator Professional Development on Catalina Island
The next phase of this partnership focused on educators, providing a full-day professional development workshop for Los Angeles high school teachers. The teachers were hosted at USC’s Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island on a brisk January day. This immersive workshop, jointly led by USC Sea Grant and USC JEP, focused on marine debris, microplastics, and ocean chemistry.
A core element of this initiative was the integration of Algalita’s Next Generation Science Standards-aligned, 5E-structured lesson plans (an inquiry-based instructional framework comprising Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) that translate current environmental research into classroom-ready experiences. Anika Ballent and Emily Dekin from Algalita were instrumental in designing and refining these lesson plans—“Plastics in the Ocean,” “Microfibers,” and “Synthetic Sand”—ensuring they guide students through hands-on exploration, concept development, and reflection. Each unit translated cutting-edge environmental science into classroom-ready activities aligned with California science standards.
Anika co-led the Catalina Island teacher workshop sessions, supporting educators as they explored how to bring these microplastic and sustainability lessons alive in their classrooms. Her expertise in science communication and curriculum design offered teachers valuable insights into connecting local marine science with global environmental literacy.
Teachers also engaged with Dr. Travis Williams, a Professor of Chemistry at USC, through a live demonstration, where teachers observed two chemicals combine to create an entirely new substance—nylon. The demonstration conveyed how easily plastic products can be created despite their inherent resistance to degradation in the natural environment.
Upon completion of the workshop, participants took home Algalita’s teacher kits, organized by JEP’s Director of STEM Education Programs, Dieuwertje Kast, and team. Participants also received new STEM curriculum resources and continuing education unit credits through the USC Rossier School of Education. Emily Ochoa, Biology Teacher at Eastside High School, said this workshop was “one of the best professional development [workshops] that I’ve been to!” In addition, Irving Middle School Biology Teacher, Ariel Climer, said that “this workshop not only provided me a better understanding of how to make ocean plastic pollution real and tangible but also gave me editable and useful activities. I could use these activities to drop in a small lesson or a large unit.”
Expanding Reach Through WonderKids
The third piece of this partnership involved bringing the topic of microplastics into USC JEP’s WonderKids after-school virtual STEM program, reaching even more K-5 students online. This unit featured USC Sea Grant Marine Debris Extension Specialist Sydney Rilum as a guest speaker, who shared insights on plastic pollution and the global microplastic challenge.
“The kids seemed shocked by the quantity of plastic in the ocean,” said Wonderkids instructor Caleb Clary. “Through doing the activity, they realized that it isn’t possible to clean the ocean of plastic as fast as plastic is being added to it, and some concluded that the only solution is to limit the amount of plastic going into the ocean in the first place.”
Sydney talked with students about plastic pollution and microplastics, how they end up in the ocean, how they impact the environment, and what we can do to address the issue. She then guided the class through an activity in which students pretended to be ocean animals searching for food among plastic in the ocean. “Students [said] that it is incredibly difficult to remove plastic from the water, especially once it has sunk,” said Wonderkids instructor Anamika Nanda. “Many students were worried about how the plastic was harming sea creatures, and many exclaimed they wanted to help improve the environment.”
The Power of Partnerships
These efforts to teach the concepts of plastic pollution to students and teachers demonstrate the power of collaboration in bringing real-world environmental challenges into K-12 education. By engaging students early, equipping educators with meaningful resources, and expanding access through programs like Wonderkids, this partnership is helping cultivate a generation that is not only aware of plastic pollution but also motivated to take action.
USC Sea Grant is proud to be part of this partnership with Algalita and USC JEP to foster the next generation of informed and empowered ocean stewards.
