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People & the Sea

Once Upon a Seashore: Chapter 12

Elementary, Middle

Description

Students read, discuss and make decisions about hypothetical dilemmas concerning wildlife and natural resources. The activities are designed to give students the opportunity to examine their own values and beliefs and make reasoned judgements related to wildlife and marine ecosystems.

Students will:

  • Identify ocean related foods utilized by coastal native and Inuit peoples
  • Investigate Early Native lifestyle and how they respected and protected the natural environment
  • Visit a local fish market
  • Create bulletin boards
  • Interview people who rely on the ocean for their livelihood
  • Invite parents, elders and resource persons for a seafood celebration
  • Discuss many of the endangered ocean animals and the causes for endangerment
  • Play the oil spill game
  • Recreate an oil spill in the classroom, and try to clean it up
  • Take part in a beach clean up, and graph and analyze the garbage that they find.

This chapter is part of the larger compilation, Once Upon a Seashore A Curriculum For Grades K-6.

General Assessment

What skills does this resource explicitly teach?

  • This resource explicitly teaches what a metaphor is.
  • This resource explicitly teaches the names of a variety of different endangered species and the difference between an endangered, extinct and threatened.

Strengths

  • This resource provides students with multiple opportunities for students to take their learning out of doors, and experience the issues first hand.
  • Lessons are well laid out and organized.
  • Lessons are easy to read and follow.
  • Students participate in a variety of hands on activities that will help to engage students in their learning.
  • Topic is authentic and locally focused for students.
  • Resource encourages personal affinity with the Earth and non-humans.

Weaknesses

  • There are no case studies or background knowledge provided for the teacher within this chapter.
  • Assessment tools are not provided.
  • Differentiated instruction is not utilized.
  • Action projects for students are not the emphasis for learning.
  • Students do not have the opportunity to choose components of the learning.
  • Inter-disciplinary approach is not thoroughly outlined, although multiple opportunities are available.
  • Students are not given the full complexity of the problems and solutions associated with pollution of the seashore.

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      • Math
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Concrete items can be represented, compared, and interpreted pictorially in graphs.
      • Science
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        • Science 2: Water is essential to all living things and it cycles through the environment
      • Social Studies
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        • Regional and Global Communities: Local actions have global consequences, and global actions have local consequences.
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      • Math
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • The likelihood of possible outcomes can be examined, compared, and interpreted
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Math
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Analyzing and interpreting experiments in data probability develops an understanding of chance
    • Grade 5
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Math
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Data represented in graphs can be used to show many-to-one correspondence
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Canadian Issues and Governance: Natural resources continue to shape the economy and identity of different regions of Canada.
    • Grade 6
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Math
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Data from the results of an experiment can be used to predict the theoretical probability of an event and to compare and interpret
        • Linear relations can be identified and represented using expressions with variables and line graphs and can be used to form generalizations

Themes Addressed

Ecosystems (2)

  • Appreciating the Natural World
  • Endangered Species

Food & Agriculture (1)

  • Local Food

Human Health & Environment (1)

  • Environmental Contaminants & Health Hazards

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle Rating Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Satisfactory
  • This chapter is biased in the direction of non-humans, and watershed protection.
  • The resource does not talk about economic needs of businesses, or people relating to costs or technology.
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
  • Satisfactory: absence of bias towards any one point of view
  • Good: students consider different points of view regarding issues, problems discussed
  • Very good: based on the consideration of different views, students form opinions and  take an informed position
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions Satisfactory
  • This resource does not address multiple dimensions of solutions and problems. 
  • The lessons do discuss some changes that the students could choose to make to protect the seashore creatures and environment, but are not thoroughly discussed.
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions:

Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.

  • Satisfactory: resource supports the examination of  these dimensions
  • Good:  resource explicitly examines the interplay of these dimensions
  • Very Good:  a systems-thinking approach is encouraged to examine these three dimensions
Respects Complexity Satisfactory
  • Students gather information and do discuss some ways that they could solve the problems addressed, but do not examine these thoroughly.
Respects Complexity:

The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected.

Acting on Learning Satisfactory
  • Possibilities for action projects within extension activities are provided but are poorly developed.
Acting on Learning:

Learning moves from understanding  issues  to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community,  or for the planet

  • Satisfactory: action opportunities are included as extensions 
  • Good: action opportunities are core components of the resource
  • Very Good: action opportunities for students are well supported and intended to result in observable, positive change
Values Education Satisfactory
  • Students are not provided with enough of a range of perspectives to create fully informed opinions.
  • Students will develop values through visits to the seashore, observation of seashore creatures, and the impact that pollution could potentially have on them and their environments.
Values Education:

Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values.

Empathy & Respect for Humans Good
Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.).
Personal Affinity with Earth Good
Personal Affinity with Earth:

Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.  

  • Satisfactory: connection is made to the natural world
  • Good: fosters appreciation/concern for the natural world
  • Very Good: fosters stewardship though practical and respectful experiences out-of-doors 
Locally-Focused Learning Very Good
  • Students make trips to the seashore that is near their homes.
  • Field trips to the local fish market.
  • Discuss the food that they eat that comes from the ocean.
Locally-Focused Learning:

Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community. 

  • Satisfactory: learning is made relevant to the lives of the learners
  • Good: learning is made relevant and has a local focus
  • Very Good: learning is made relevant, local and takes place ‘outside’ , in the community 
Past, Present & Future Good
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle Rating Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction Satisfactory
  • Students are steered towards discovering how detrimental pollution is to the environment.
  • Students are not given any information on the economic prosperity of big businesses or modernization that affects the seashore.
Open-Ended Instruction :

Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer.

Integrated Learning Good
  • Interdisciplinary approach is taken within the lessons, allowing for graphing, data collection and management and social studies outcomes to be met.
  • Many of these skills and outcomes are not explicitly taught to the reader.
Integrated Learning:

Learning brings together content and skills  from more than one  subject area

  • Satisfactory: content from a number of different  subject areas is readily identifiable
  • Good:  resource is appropriate for use in more than one subject area
  • Very Good:  the lines between subjects are blurred 
Inquiry Learning Satisfactory
  • Lessons are essentially teacher directed, but within this students have the opportunity to come to their own decisions about the issues that are addressed.
Inquiry Learning:

Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.   

  • Satisfactory: Students are provided with questions/problems to solve and some direction on how to arrive at solutions.
  • Good: students, assisted by the teacher clarify the question(s) to ask and the process to follow to arrive at solutions.  Sometimes referred to as Guided Inquiry
  • Very Good:  students generate the questions and assume much of the responsibility for how to solve them.  . Sometimes referred to as self-directed learning.

 

Differentiated Instruction Satisfactory
  • Differentiated instruction is not addressed within this chapter to meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles and abilities.
  • Hands on activities and field trips will engage a wide variety of learners.
Differentiated Instruction:

Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.

  • Satisfactory:  includes a variety of instructional approaches
  • Good: addresses  the needs of visual, auditory &  kinesthetic learners
  • Very Good: also includes strategies for learners with difficulties
Experiential Learning Good
Experiential Learning:

Authentic learning experiences are provided

  • Satisfactory: learning takes place through ‘hands-on’ experience or simulation
  • Good: learning involves direct experience in a ‘real world context’
  • Very good: learning involves ‘real world experiences’ taking place’ beyond the school walls.
Cooperative Learning Satisfactory
Cooperative Learning:

Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.

  • Satisfactory:  students work in groups
  • Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught and practiced
  • Very Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught, practiced and assessed
Assessment & Evaluation Satisfactory
  • Student assessment strategies are not provided.
  • Students demonstrate their knowledge through group discussions, and research projects.
Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc.
Peer Teaching Satisfactory
Peer Teaching:

Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.

  • Satisfactory: incidental teaching that arises from cooperative learning, presentations, etc.
  • Good or Very Good: an opportunity is intentionally created to empower students to teach other students/community members. The audience is somehow reliant on the students' teaching (students are not simply ‘presenting')
Case Studies Poor/Not considered
  • Although the chapter does mention the Exxon Valdez clean up, the resource does not provide information on this particular case study for students or educators.
Case Studies:

Relevant case studies are included.  Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore  concepts in an authentic context.

Locus of Control Satisfactory
  • Many of the lessons within this chapter are very teacher directed.
  • Students have the opportunity to choose an endangered animal that they would like to research.
  • Students experiment with ways to clean up a mock oil spill, but are provided with the equipment that they may use.
Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue.

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