Grade 4 Beach Clean

Sharing the Planet – Protecting Life Below Water

As part of our Sharing the Planet unit, Grade 4 students took action to protect our planet by participating in a beach clean-up at Qian Shui Wan Beach. This learning experience connected deeply with our central idea: "The health of the ocean impacts life on Earth and human actions play a role in its sustainability."

Before heading to the beach, we inquired into the causes and effects of ocean pollution. We explored how human actions, like littering and using single-use plastics, can harm marine life. We also connected our learning to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water, which reminds us of the importance of protecting ocean ecosystems.

At the beach, students worked in teams to collect trash. We were surprised by how much litter we found, even in a place that looks clean at first glance! Every piece of trash we removed was one less danger for sea creatures like turtles, crabs, and fish.

After the clean-up, we took time to reflect. We asked ourselves:

• What role do we play in keeping our oceans clean?

• How can our everyday choices help protect marine life?

Many of us thought about our core book, The Wild Robot Protects. Just like Roz, the Wild Robot, we can make choices to live in harmony with nature and protect the environment around us. We made Self to Text Connections by thinking about how Roz cared for her island—and how we can care for our island, too.

Our reflections showed that we’re not just learning about ocean sustainability, we’re becoming part of the solution!