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Plastic is made from fossil fuels, and most of it cannot be recycled. Let’s learn together how long it takes for plastic to break down, and how plastic contributes to climate change.

Grades: 4th Grade, 3rd Grade, 2nd Grade

Subjects: Science

Student Instructions

First, click: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GenC_ebook.pdf and read pages 31 and 32 of the free ebook: Generation Carbon: It’s time to start. Next, click the add button to start a new submission. Let’s have a scavenger hunt… look around the room you are in and hunt for signs of plastic. Find at least 10 items. Use the drawing drawing tool to draw how those plastic items will look in 200 years (hint: pretty much the same as they do now!) - and where they will be.

Teacher Notes (not visible to students)

This activity is for grades 2-4. This activity is designed to increase awareness about plastic and the problems with recycling. Materials are from The Carbon Alamanac's free Kids' Edition. For more free climate change teaching resources, see the resources below: - To learn more about The Carbon Almanac visit: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/ - To learn more about the free kids' ebook visit: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/kids- To learn more about the free educator's guide (featuring full lesson plans) visit: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/177/

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Plastic is made from fossil fuels, and most of it cannot be recycled. Let’s learn together how long it takes for plastic to break down, and how plastic contributes to climate change.

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