Background
This lesson is part of the Plastic Pollution and You curriculum developed by the educators from New York Sea Grant.
Students will learn about public outreach campaigns and the communication tools that are used to educate and encourage the public to change their behavior.
Students will then utilize their creative talents to explore and develop a component of an outreach campaign to educate consumers about New York State’s Bag Waste Reduction Law.
Objectives
Students will:
- explore public outreach campaigns and the communication tools that are used to educate and encourage the public to change their behavior.
- develop a component of an outreach campaign.
Lesson Alignment
This lesson is part of the Plastic Pollution and You curriculum and is aligned to the following standards document:
New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards & Next
Generation Science Standards | LINK
SCI: MS-ESS3-3, HS-LS2-7
New York State Social Studies Learning Standards and K-12
Framework | LINK
SS: 8.8.c, 10.9.a, 10.9.b, S5-KI #3, S5-KI #4
English Language Arts Standards & Literacy in History/
Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Standards | LINK
ELA: W1, W6, WHST1, WHST7
Materials
Access printed copies or electronic versions of lesson materials below.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation BYOBagNY Campaign
Link
Create Your Own Outreach Campaign Sheet
One per student
Create Your Own Outreach Campaign Templates Set One
Make Available to All Students
Create Your Own Outreach Campaign Templates Set Two
Make Available to All Students
The Conservation Article: Plastic Free Campaigns
Additional Resource
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Reducing Plastic Pollution Campaigns That Work
Additional Resource
Plastic Pollution and You
Full Curricula
Time Required
This lesson may require multiple class periods to complete.
Activity Set-Up
As a class, review the different communication tools created by New York State for the BYOBag campaign.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of their different methods used.
Encourage students to consider who the audience is and what the message is for each tool.
Lesson
- Next, have students complete the questions on the “Create Your Own Outreach Campaign Sheet”.
- Encourage your students to think about who their target audience is (i.e., shoppers, store owners, etc.) beyond the general public (i.e., parents, students, teachers, etc.). What messages would work in their community versus state- or nation-wide campaigns?
- Students then design and can share their campaigns with the class (slide presentation), their school (in a display case or school event), or even their community by partnering with a local business or other institution (public library, sports complex, etc.)
- Optional: Record presentations and post to the school website or share broadly within the community.
- Additional resources: The Conversation article: Plastic Free Campaigns Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Reducing Plastic Pollution Campaigns That Work
Additional Recources
The Conversation article: Plastic Free Campaigns Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Reducing Plastic Pollution Campaigns That Work
This lesson is part of a larger curriculum, Plastic Pollution and You.
