Working creatively with youth to achieve zero waste, climate-smart communities and a plastic free biosphere.
Cafeteria Culture
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  • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • Host a screening
    • Creative Team and Credits
    • The Plastic Pollution Crisis
    • Recipe for #plasticfree Change
    • Educational Resources - Overview >
      • Microplastic Madness GAMES! >
        • Crossword Puzzle MPmad
      • NO-SEW T-SHIRT BAG +mask
      • Remote Learning resources
    • Youth Comments from around the world
    • Movie Feedback
    • Japan! Microplastic Madness
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    • Plastic Free Lunch
    • Press Release: Plastic Free Lunch Day Nov 2, 2022
    • PFLD School Food Service
  • Take Action
    • TAKE ZERO WASTE ACTION
    • Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act - Teach-in
    • DIY DATA ACTION litter cleanup >
      • DATA +ACTION litter clean up
      • Student and Teacher Litter Data Collection
    • Save Our Compost NYC
    • Skip the Straw
    • NY Bag Bill
    • NYC Foam Ban >
      • Foam Trays Out of Schools
      • Trayless Tuesdays
    • Youth Action on Plastic Pollution
    • Plastic Water Bottle ban NYC
    • Alternative Messaging >
      • No-Styro Puppets
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  • RESOURCES/TOOLKITS
    • Resource Library
    • Educational Resources - Overview
    • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS Toolkit
    • Desktop Lunch Survey
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Educational Resources - Overview 
CafCu's Zero Waste/Climate
⬇︎ toolkits, lesson plans, movies, activities, games ⬇︎
for teachers, students and families

Microplastic Madness - movie
Cafeteria Culture's award winning movie - shown in 45 countries!
 watch the trailer->
Be inspired to take action!
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS - the movie
Sign up to host a screening
!

Inspire your students and staff to take action! Free for all under-resourced schools. Or, invite another school and we will waive your fee. Screening details ->
TEACHERS:
  • Screen the entire movie (76 mins) as an extended lesson or in 3 parts (about 20 minutes each), allowing time for a discussion following each section (see our Guiding Questions). 
  • For grades 3 and 4. we recommend screening the movie in 3 parts.
  • See the lesson plans from the companion Toolkit in action!
ABOUT                                    
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS is the story of 56 fifth graders from P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn - living on the frontline of the climate crisis - whose actions on plastic pollution morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories. With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms. (watch the trailer, learn more ->)

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Curriculum, Lesson Plans, Activities


​MICROPLASTIC MADNESS 
​Toolkit 
Sign up-> 
- curriculum for a plastic free future!
Climate Education with data, problem solving, and action!
Complete this short form to get immediate access to our free toolkit 

 - Lessons and activities as seen in our MICROPLASTIC MADNESS movie.
 - Students take real-world meaningful climate action right in school!
 - Help reduce plastic from school lunches!
 - Connect Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies, and Art to climate education with standards-rich, project-based learning.
 - Put students in the lead of tackling the plastic pollution crisis!


Sign up-> 
More units are coming soon! Follow us on social media for updates.
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​Easy-to-use 

Guiding Questions
for grades 3 - 12

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MICROPLASTIC MADNESS - grades 9-12 
​Guiding Question and writing prompts ->
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​Games!

Life-Cycle of Plastic 
 a board game for 2-4 players
Ages 10+
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Print out the PDF and play!
Pictureonline: "Versión en Español"
Life-Cycle of Plastic 
How to play:
Download and print out the PDF with game directions, cards, and the board! All you need are 4 bottle caps. (link to Print&Play)
​

PLAY ONLINE ​in English or Spanish!
--One person controls the board; keep score on scrap paper /
​---¡Juega online en inglés o español! ¡Una persona controla el tablero y puedes llevar la puntuación en cualquier papel de desecho que tengas!

English Version –  + Instructions
Versión en Español – + Instrucciones

** Tip: Find the "i" symbol for  instructions! / ** Sugerencia: busque este símbolo ("i") en el juego en línea para acceder a las instrucciones.
2048 MICROPLASTICS MULTIPLIED (online)
​Like the powers of two, plastic litter breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of microplastics, increasing exponentially. See for yourself → (warning, this online game is addictive).
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MICROPLASTIC MADNESS Crossword Puzzle - play online or download a printable PDF. Test your knowledge of microplastic pollution vocabulary.
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS Crossword Puzzle -
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS Word Search  -Download and print!  Teachers, email us for the Word Search Solutions PDF and Vocabulary doc.
​
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Get Ready for
PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY!
Collect baseline data with a
Cafeteria Plastic Survey
learn how to here ->

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For Youth!

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Youth POV +action on climate, racial justice, human rights, policy, public school & more!
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Adapt the slides for your own presentation
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"Community Science"​​
collect litter
​+ litter data
 

and share to
inform policy! 
Earn Community Service hours!


For Families and Teachers

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Make a no-sew
reusable bag

from an old t-shirt 

 - 5 steps in 10 minutes!

Watch our short how to video
 
 * Cafeteria Culture's Recipe for #plasticfree Change -
Start your #plastic-free action with a simple, one-week home waste audit!


* CafCu’s YouTube Channel, CafCu Media
​
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Videos made by and featuring NYC students: 
  • ​We are Citizen Scientists
  • Got Reusable Bags?
  • Do You Really Need a Straw?
and  featuring students in JAPAN!
  • School Lunch in Japan, It's Not Just About Eating 
          (34 million views!)
FOLOW CAFCU FOR UPDATES!
YOUTUBE ->
 VIMEO ->
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Creative Commons License
Cafeteria Culture's Remote Learning Resources are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at info@cafeteriacultue.org.
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Take Action|Youth Advocates |Contact 
​
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Our VISION
We envision a plastic free, equitable zero waste future where landfill and incinerator garbage as we know it no longer exists;
where post consumption waste from food to packaging is drastically reduced
and what remains benefits our schools, communities, and the environment. 


Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) is a Project of The Fund for the City of New York, a charitable organization.
Founded in 2009 as Styrofoam Out of Schools.
Donations to Cafeteria Culture are eligible for charitable deductions under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Cafeteria Culture is a vendor of New York City Department of Education via Fund for the City of New York

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