PBS LearningMedia: Investigate the Plastic Problem (Engineering for Good)
A full project-based unit for grades 3–8 in which students engineer a solution to a local plastic problem; video, lesson plan and handouts.
Video
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PBS LearningMedia: The Plastic Problem (NOVA Beyond the Elements) and The Lowdown
Short NOVA and KQED videos with support materials for grades 6–12 on what plastic is and how it took over the world.
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TED-Ed: What really happens to the plastic you throw away (Emma Bryce)
The canonical four-minute animation following three bottles to three endings, with a quiz and discussion prompts.
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Cool.org: Blue — Plastic Not So Fantastic (Years 5–6)
An Australian Curriculum v9 lesson for Years 5–6 with printables, experiments and video, built around the documentary Blue.
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Cool.org: The Majestic Plastic Bag flipped classroom (Years 7–10) and Clean Up Australia unit
A flipped-classroom lesson on the satirical short ‘The Majestic Plastic Bag’ plus an 18-lesson Clean Up Australia unit, all Australian Curriculum (AC) v9 mapped.
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Keep Scotland Beautiful: Live Lesson on plastic pollution
Recorded live lessons for Early Years to secondary, with infographics, a sea-turtle game, a comic template and a campaign letter.
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5 Gyres: Trash Academy video series and TrashBlitz app
Two seasons of short YouTube episodes (English and Spanish) and a community-science litter-logging app.
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The Story of Plastic: animated short, feature film and learning guides
An Emmy-winning systems-level documentary for 13–18s, a four-minute animated short for 9+, and screening, research and action guides.
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PBS NewsHour: The Plastic Problem documentary and student-inventor lesson
A 54-minute documentary and a 3–4 lesson plan (grades 9–12) on how student inventors can tackle plastic, with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) codes…
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Oak National Academy: Plastic pollution (Year 9 Geography, Anthropocene unit)
A fully reusable, quality-assured Key Stage 3 (KS3) Geography lesson with slides, worksheet, starter and exit quizzes and a video with transcript.