ZAMASAMA PRESENTS
A Guide for Teachers and Parents
Written and Illustrated
by
Michelle Lord
Children will:
- Understand the link between human behavior and ocean pollution.
- Learn how small individual actions can make a difference to marine life.
- Gain vocabulary around ocean health and sustainability.
- Feel empowered to make better choices about waste.
Discussion Questions
Warm-up Questions:
- What do you know about life in the oceans?
- Have you ever seen litter on a beach or near water?
Questions During Reading:
- How does the trash get into the ocean?
- What do the sea animals feel or do?
- How does marine life get affected?
Questions After Reading:
- What is one thing you can do at home to reduce plastic?
- What part of the story made you feel hopeful?
- Who else can help clean up the mess?
Activities:
- Plastic Hunt: Ask children to find plastic items at home/school and sort which ones can be reused or recycled.
- Verse Writing: Let students create their own short poem about caring for nature.
- Ocean Poster: Create awareness posters about protecting marine life.
- SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 13 – Climate Action
- SDG 14 – Life Below Water
SDG Explanation:
- SDG 12: Encourages more thoughtful consumption and better waste disposal.
- SDG 13: Tackling plastic pollution is part of climate-related environmental action.
- SDG 14: The story directly shows how plastic pollution threatens ocean ecosystems and marine life.
Children will become more conscious of their daily plastic use and recognize the power of their choices. They’ll feel capable of being part of the solution to ocean pollution.
Zamasama is a nonprofit platform that brings together stories from around the world to help children discover that beneath our differences—of culture, language, or belief—we share the same hopes, joys, and dreams.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens, and the responsibility of building a more peaceful, tolerant, and empathetic world lies with them.
That’s why it’s vital to instill these values early—through stories that help them rise above the biases they inherit, and see diversity as a strength that unites us all.