Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Take a walk through different marine habitats

15 minutes

Find Out: What is the role of the ocean?

30 minutes

Take Action: Creative artwork

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions:

Students will...

understand the role of the ocean
identify some of the different ocean habitats and some of the organisms that live in these habitats.

Success criteria:

Students can...

identify how important the ocean is in supporting all life on earth
identify at least four living things found within one habitat type
create and present art piece to share their ideas.

Tune In: Take a walk through different marine habitats

Preparation

Before students arrive, place the marine habitat posters around the room. Do not label these posters. Print additional copies for smaller group and individual work.

Step 1

Begin this lesson by explaining to students that they will be investigating some of the habitats of the ocean. Their first task will be to go on a gallery walk around the classroom to look at posters of different ocean habitats.

A gallery walk is conducted by students walking around the room to view the different posters/artwork. The students move between the posters/artworks as they would in an art gallery (quietly looking closely at the artwork). Gallery walks tune the students into the artwork and to allow them to consider each ocean habitat.

After viewing the posters, invite the students into a discussion circle to share their thoughts. Consider using the following questions in your discussion:

What did you see in these artworks?
What do you think these artworks were about?
Did you see any differences or similarities between the artworks?
Where there any living things in the artworks? Could you identify these?
What materials do you think the artists used in these artworks? How can you tell?
What questions do these artworks leave you with?

Step 2

Direct the students to return to one of the posters to take a closer look and consider the habitat in the artwork. You could direct students to look at different posters or allow students to choose their favourite one. Each poster should have at least three students observing it.

Explain to students that the ocean habitats found in the artworks are: Mangroves, Reefs, Open Ocean, Seagrass Meadows and Kelp Forests.

Invite each group to work together to discussion what they can see. For example:

Can you see any animals?
Can you see any plants?
What other features of this habitat can you identify?

Encourage students to look closely at their poster and attempt to identify the marine life and the marine habitat.

Allow the students time to form their ideas about the marine habitat. Move around the groups to guide discussion and help reveal the correct habitat type. Invite each group to identify the habitat they are looking at and extend their answer by asking: 'How do you know?'

Step 3

Finally, invite each group to share what they observed in the poster with the class, and ask them to reveal what habitat type they believe their poster represents.

Once complete you could again direct students to take another small gallery walk as they return to the discussion circle. You could use this gallery walk is to ensure that the students can see what habitat type is represented in each of the posters.

Find Out: What is the role of the ocean?

Watch the following clip as a class. As they watch, invite students to record things that they think are interesting or important:

What is the role of the ocean? (https://vimeo.com/1056609624/add45a78eb)

Once complete, invite students to share what they observed in this clip. Consider the following points in your discussion:

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

In addition, invite student to consider the main messages that Lucas Handley presented in this clip. On the board, list the main responses the students provide. Students will be using these ideas to create an artwork.

Take Action: Creative artwork

Step 1

Working in small groups or pairs, invite students to select one habitat type to investigate and create an artwork based on this habitat. Ask students to include three to four habitat-appropriate marine creatures and ensure that the artwork also includes algae/plants.

Students should also think about the messages they identified in the clip they watched earlier. Invite students to consider which of these messages is most important or interesting to them, and explain that they should incorporate at least one of these messages into their artworks.

Provide student with opportunities to explore different mediums: collage, poster, 3D creation or ICT.

Step 2

Once complete, invite students to share their work with the class, with students providing peer feedback. When offering feedback, remind students to be kind, specific and helpful:

Tips for providing feedback

Be kind - It can be hard sharing your ideas with other people so make sure you remain kind and supportive.

Be specific - Be clear about what you think and why. Rather than saying 'I like the colours', say something like 'I like the way these colours help create a mood that supports your message.

Be helpful - Try not to just say what is strong or weak, but also make suggestions about how things could be awseome.

Step 3

Invite students to think about how they can share their artworks and ocean messages, for example, could you:

Set up a temporary art gallery and invite others to view the art?
Create a photo book?
Create a blog?

What other ideas do students have?

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is the ocean message of your artwork?
How successfully do you think you managed to include this message in your artwork?
What is your favourite part about your artwork?
How would you like to improve your artwork?
How does this artwork make you feel about oceans?

Assessment

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

Responses to artwork as part of the gallery walk.
Participation in discussions.
Sharing knowledge about marine habitats.
Watched a video clip for understanding.
Creating an oceans message for an audience using art as a medium.
Connection between artwork, marine habitat type and message.

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

Blue - Mighty Marine Habitats

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

In this lesson