Engineering Plastic Filters

Unit Overview

Students use the Engineering Design Process to design a plastic filter to reduce the amount of plastic waste that enters a bay from a river. Students apply what they learn about plastic to design a filter that meets the needs of various community members.

Recommended for Grade 5
Setting: In school
Science connection: Ecosystems, pollution
9 lessons
45 minutes per lesson

Standards alignment

YES units align with state and national science standards, integrating seamlessly with popular elementary science curricula. View unit-specific Engineering Plastic Filters Alignment or all Standards Alignments.

Unit Map

Lesson 1: What Is Engineering?

Students are introduced to engineering by designing a model bench for people waiting at a bus stop. They learn about the Engineering Design Process as they reflect on how they solved the problem.

Lesson 2: What's the Problem

Students begin reading a comic about the plastic pollution problem in Mobile Bay. They consider how the problem impacts the community groups in the story and hunt for plastic pollutants around their school grounds.

Lesson 3: Investigate Ocean Ecosystems

Students sort cards to learn how plastics break down in the ocean and how these pollutants affect marine life and the food chain.

Lesson 4: Investigate Plastic Use and Pathways

Students compare the properties of plastic and non-plastic materials to their functions in everyday items. They watch a video to observe how plastic pollutants can move about the environment.