Background
This lesson is part of the Plastic Pollution and You curriculum developed by the educators from New York Sea Grant.
In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to research and present different perspectives from community members considering a policy on plastic bags. They will utilize a ‘town hall’ style role play to voice the opinions of their character and then together work to decide if their community will or will not implement a policy on plastic bags.
This activity is an exercise in research, public speaking, civic duty, and learning about the roles in community participation.
Objectives
Students will:
- defend a position to peers. organize research findings from various perspectives concerning environmental policy.
- role play to present a voice from a specific perspective.
- decide public policy based on the concerns of a community.
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: W1, W6, WHST1, SL4
New York State Social Studies Learning Standards and K-12
Framework | LINK
SS: 8.8.c, 10.9.a, 10.9.b, 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.
Role Description Cards
One set for the class
Student Response Sheet
One per student
Student Rubric
One per student
PBS.org Research Guide- Assessing Resources
One per student
Plastic Pollution and You
Full Curricula
Time Required
This lesson may require multiple class periods to complete.
Activity Set-Up
Distribute role description cards, instructions, and rubic.
Ask students to develop their character’s perspective by asking questions and conducting research using the articles and resources from previous activities or from the PBS.org Research Guide as needed.
Require students to turn in their prepared materials at least one day prior to the activity to offer feedback and ensure they have properly prepared for the activity.
Lesson
Instructions
- Hold a public hearing. The length of public speaking will vary depending on the age of students.
- The facilitator will open the meeting and introduce the characters.
- The Council members present their statements one at a time.
- The facilitator will invite the community members one at a time to present their opinions.
- The facilitator will address the audience and allow them to ask questions of the Council members one at a time.
- If voting, the facilitator asks each voter to present their decision. 10. The facilitator closes the meeting and states if the bag ban has been passed.
- Have students complete the Student Response Sheets.
Student Roles:
- Two Councilmembers: students will research and prepare a statement of their position and present it.
- Councilmember who supports the plastic bag policy.
- Councilmember who opposes the plastic bag policy.
- These councilmembers would also vote if class is voting
- Three Voting Councilmembers (optional if conducting a vote).
- These councilmembers will listen to all statements from the other councilmembers and opinions of community members.
- After observing, they will be given a set time to deliberate and make a decision. They will then present their decision to the class.
- Notetaker/Facilitator (this can be the same person or divided between two students).
- Note taking is important to create a public record of what was stated.
- Facilitating ensures that the public hearing runs smoothly by keeping time for questions and public statements, calling speakers, keeping order, etc.
- Town Recycling Coordinator
- Community Members: Students will prepare a statement about their perspective and opinion on the plastic bag policy.
- Grocery Store Owner
- Retail Store Owner
- Restaurant Owner
- Non-govenmental organization
- Researcher
- Environmental Activist
- Plastic Bag Manufacturer
- Shopper in support of the bag policy
- Shopper who opposes bag policy
- Audience Members
- Journalists
NOTE:
Suggested roles listed above. The community members listed have role decription cards. If there are more students than roles, feel free to expand beyond or have students develop their own ideas on the blank role cards. Students could also work in pairs or double up to have multiple people with the same role.
Additionally, there are many recordings of local town hall and public hearing meetings available. Many of these recordings contain the entire length of the meeting (ie: 1-2 hours) but you can show students several minutes of a meeting to give them an example of a public hearing.
This lesson is part of a larger curriculum, Plastic Pollution and You.
