Microplastics

For educators

These classroom materials help students understand sources, pathways, measurement, and uncertainty without using fear as a teaching tool.

A young visitor concentrating while looking through a portable microscope
Observation is a starting point. Classroom investigations should distinguish visual sorting from chemical identification. Gary Peeples / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Present the lesson

45–60 minute lesson · ages 12–18
A nine-slide presentation to project, covering learning objectives, three activities, an evidence-strength discussion, and an exit ticket. Arrow keys move through it, F fills the screen, and N shows teacher notes on your machine without putting them on the projector.
Printable handout
The same lesson prints one slide to a page with the teacher notes attached—use the print button in the presentation, or the Markdown pack if you would rather edit it first.
Open the presentation

Lesson areas

Particle classification
Compare fragments, fibres, films, beads, pellets, and foam using size and shape.
Product lifecycle
Follow a synthetic garment or tire from manufacture through use, shedding, transport, and disposal.
Reading a study
Identify sample size, controls, detection limits, units, and what the design can support.
Local investigation
Map litter pathways or audit classroom materials without claiming to chemically identify particles by sight.

Inside the pack

Lesson · Microplastics: particles, pathways & evidence
45–60 minutes, ages 12–18, with teacher notes and an exit ticket.
Activity 01 · Sort by size, shape, and source
Students classify particle forms and record why visual classification is not chemical confirmation.
Activity 02 · Read a study without overclaiming
Method, finding, limitation, next question—four columns students fill in for any paper.