Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: For the love of sharks

15 minutes

Find Out: What is the role of sharks in the oceans?

30 minutes

Take Action: Making an 'action shark'

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions:

Students will...

understand the role that sharks play in our oceans
recognise that sharks are under threat from human behaviour and identify actions we can take to help sharks.

Success criteria:

Students can...

identify what an apex predator is
understand how fishing is impacting on sharks in the world
create and present a visual art piece to share their ideas.

Tune In: For the love of sharks

Preparation: Before students arrive, prepare the device that is used to display text to the students. Ensure that pages 6-9 of Sharks At The End Of The Line are clearly visible (or provide copies for the students to read as a shared reading activity).

Step 1

Begin this session by organising the students in pairs to interview each other about what they currently know and think about sharks.

Step 2

Distribute one copy of the Student Worksheet to each student and ask them to record each other’s responses to the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What do you already know about sharks?
Do you like sharks?
What do sharks do in the ocean?
Are sharks good for the ocean?
How harmful are sharks to humans?
Have you ever eaten a shark?

Step 3

As a class watch the following clip:

For the love of sha r ks (https://vimeo.com/1056609005/fd59bf4c92)

Step 4

Once complete, take a few moments to discuss this clip with students. Consider the following questions:

What did you see in this clip? What happened in this clip?
What did this clip make you think about?
How did this clip make you feel?
What questions do you still have about this clip?

Tip: You could record student thoughts and use some of these ideas to guide further discussion or inquiry.

Step 5

Now, invite students to revisit the questions they asked to their partner. Encourage the students to think about their original answers and if their thoughts changed as a result of watching the clip.

Consider inviting student volunteers to share their thoughts with the class.

Find Out: What is the role of sharks in the ocean?

Step 1

Display or provide a visual copy of page 6 of Sharks At The End Of The Line for students. Share the text and read sections together to discuss the features of sharks as a species.

Explain to the students that sharks are apex predators. This means that sharks are at the top of the ocean food chain, and that no other marine creature eats them. The role of a shark in the ocean is to prey on (eat) fish that are less healthy, such as fish that are not able to swim quickly, or fish that are sick or injured. Sharks remove these fish from the population. This decreases the possibility of them breeding again and passing on their biological (genetic) information. This is important for our oceans as this means oceans can stay healthy over long periods of time.

Step 2

Now move to page 7 of Sharks At The End Of The Line. This page shows different species of sharks and their size. Share the text focusing on the information box at the bottom of the page.

Step 3

Continue to move to pages 8 and 9 of Sharks At The End Of The Line which describe how we use sharks in the ocean. As a group, read the text. Provide clarity to the class as you read. Keep a list of new words. Discuss the meaning of the new words encountered.

Step 4

Now, discuss with students that in Australia we commonly eat shark as part of fish and chips. Shark is regularly served as Flake. Conduct a quick hands up survey to see who has eaten shark before by asking the students to respond to the question:

Who has flake when they eat fish and chips?

Conduct a quick count. How many students have eaten Shark?

Step 5

As a class, continue to read the text in the blue box on page 9 of Sharks At The End Of The Line which talks about shark fin soup. What does the text say about shark fin soup? Share student ideas as they emerge in the group discussion.

Take Action: Making an 'action shark'

Step 1

As a class, watch the following clip:

Who is Madison Stewart (https://vimeo.com/1056608696/f87d86ca45)

Once complete, invite students to share their thoughts about this clip, including:

What did you see in this clip?
What do you think this clip was about?
What did you find important or interesting about this clip?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

Step 2

Now display the following image to students:

Explain to students that this is an 'action fish' and it has been designed to inspire people to help fish. Remind students that Madison Stewart (aka Shark girl) wants people to help sharks.

Explain to students that their task now is to make an 'action shark' that responds to the following question:

How can we help sharks?

Students can work in pairs or individually to create their 'action sharks'. You can find out more about how to take action for our oceans here: https://bluethefilm.org/take-action/.

Step 3

Regroup the students as a whole class. Invite each student/pair to share their 'action shark' with the class. Once complete, invite students to engage in a class discussion around how you could share your 'action sharks' with others and spread the message about helping sharks, for example:

Create an exhibition
Upload to school or class blog
Include in your school newsletter.

Reflection

Step 1

Invite students to pair up with the student they conducted their first interview with. Pairs need to ask each other the following questions and record their answers (questions also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is the most interesting or important thing you learnt about sharks?
How has your thinking about sharks changed since our first interview?

Step 2

Invite student volunteers to share their answers with the class.

Assessment

Teachers can use the following items as part of their formative assessment:

Sharing knowledge about sharks as an apex predator.
Responses to interview questions.
Participation in discussions.
Watching and responding to a video clip.
Creating an action shark for an audience.

For summative assessment, visit the Drawing Conclusions lesson - Blue: Ripples of Change - Years 3 & 4.

Blue - For The Love Of Sharks

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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