Positives

• There is a discussion portion to this lesson that helps students debrief and also talk about presenting and listening in general, making it a nice resource to use for introducing presentations.
• This is part of a larger curriculum that has many great resources available.

Additional Prerequisites

• The lesson materials note the Garbage Investigation and Beach Mysteries as prerequisites to this lesson but students should be able to do this lesson without difficulty on its own.
• Some students, including English language learners and younger students, may need the terms in the vocabulary section introduced ahead of time. English language learners may also need to know the definition of waste as it is used in this lesson.
• The rubric is included in the full K-8 booklet on page 311.

Differentiation

• Students in math classes can use the data to make line graphs that show trends between two data groups (for example, number of beach-goers in relation to the amount of litter).
• Strategic planning can be used to ensure that each group has a strong public speaker and a strong data interpreter.
• In language arts classes, students can use persuasive writing/speaking techniques to improve their initial presentations.
• Students in health or science classes can talk about the effect that animal waste or overflowing sewers can have on the health of beach-goers, aquatic ecosystems, rivers, and lakes.
• After completing the activity with fictional data, students who live near a beach (or park) can collect their own data and come up with solutions to real problems in their area. They can also present it to city officials to give their writing/speaking an authentic purpose.