Case Study

This worksheet helps students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 explore the real-world impacts of plastic pollution through an engaging coastal case study. Learners strengthen reading comprehension, environmental science understanding, and critical thinking as they analyze how plastic waste affects marine life, tourism, and local economies while connecting human actions to ecosystem health.

Learning Goals

• Marine Ecosystem Impact (Grades 4-6) – Students identify how plastic pollution harms ocean animals, habitats, and food chains.
• Informational Text Analysis – Learners read a case study and answer questions that require recall, inference, and interpretation.
• Human-Environment Connections – Reinforces understanding of how individual and collective actions influence environmental outcomes.
• Problem-Solving & Solutions – Students propose realistic actions individuals and governments can take to reduce plastic pollution.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary science and social studies standards.
• Real-World Relevance – Uses an authentic environmental issue to increase engagement and understanding.
• Balanced Question Types – Includes comprehension, analysis, and solution-focused prompts.
• Flexible Classroom Use – Ideal for independent reading, small-group discussion, homework, or assessment.

This plastic pollution case study worksheet helps students connect environmental science concepts to real community challenges through thoughtful reading and analysis. By examining impacts on marine ecosystems, tourism, and local economies, students strengthen science literacy, critical thinking, and environmental responsibility. Whether used in a classroom or homeschool setting, this printable resource offers meaningful, low-prep practice that encourages informed problem-solving and awareness of human roles in protecting the environment.

This worksheet is part of our Pollution Worksheets collection.