This OCEAN CIRCULATION AND PLASTIC POLLUTION READING AND WORKSHEET helps students understand how ocean currents form and how they redistribute plastic pollution around the globe. Students explore real-world cargo spills (rubber ducks, sneakers, Lego pieces) while learning how surface currents, gyres, and thermohaline circulation connect directly to human impact on Earth’s systems.
Provided in both PRINT and GOOGLE SLIDES versions!
⭐ Get this at a discount in my Atmospheric & Oceanic Circulation COMPLETE UNIT!
In this activity, students will:
- READ an article titled The Ocean Never Forgets. The text briefly explains uneven solar heating, convection cells, wind-driven surface currents, the Coriolis Effect, ocean gyres, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, microplastics, and thermohaline circulation. Real-world examples are used to show how plastic pollution travels across the planet.
- ANSWER text-dependent questions on the provided worksheet. All answers come directly from the text, so no prior knowledge is required.
Topics Covered:
- Uneven solar heating and global wind systems
- Wind-driven surface currents
- The Coriolis Effect
- Formation of ocean gyres
- The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
- Microplastics and marine organisms
- Thermohaline (deep ocean) circulation
- How ocean circulation redistributes pollution globally
Teacher Notes:
- Check out my Atmospheric & Oceanic Circulation COMPLETE UNIT!
- Makes a great sub plan for an Ocean Currents, Climate, or Human Impact unit!
- Aligned to NGSS MS-ESS2-6 (global patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation) and MS-ESS3-3 (human impacts on Earth systems).
- INCLUDES ANSWER KEY.
- All questions are text-based, so no outside knowledge is required.
- Please note that this Ocean Circulation and Plastic Pollution Reading is not editable.
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