Blue - Ocean Acidification

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• collaboration
• communication
• creativity
• critical thinking
• problem solving

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 8 Science:

• Chemical change involves substances reacting to form new substances (ACSSU225).
• Identify questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and make predictions based on scientific knowledge (ACSIS139).
• Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140).
• Communicate ideas, findings and evidence based solutions to problems using scientific language, and representations, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS148).

Syllabus outcomes: SC4-16CW, SC4-4WS, SC4-5WS, SC4-6WS, SC4-9WS

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.7, OI.8

Relevant parts of Year 8 Science achievement standards: Students compare physical and chemical changes. Students consider safety and ethics when planning investigations, including designing field or experimental methods. They identify variables to be changed, measured and controlled. They explain how modifications to methods could improve the quality of their data. They use appropriate language and representations to communicate science ideas, methods and findings in a range of text types.

Unit of work: Blue The Film – Science – Year 7 & 8.

Time required: 120 mins +

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – oversee experiments, lead students in discussion.

Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

• Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

• Student Worksheet – one copy per student
• Device capable of presenting a website to the class
• String, masking tape or chalk
• Ocean Acidification Experiment – Option 1
• Ocean Acidification Experiment – Option 2
• Ocean Acidification Image
• Poster making materials
• Scientific Poster Assessment Rubric

Blue is a feature documentary film charting the drastic decline in the health of our oceans. With more than half of all marine life lost and the expansion of the industrialization of the seas, the film sets out the challenges we are facing and the opportunities for positive change. Blue changes the way we think about our liquid world and inspires the audience to action. Find out how to screen or download the film here. Along with the film is an ambitious global campaign to create advocacy and behaviour change through the #oceanguardian movement. To become an ocean guardian, see the website.

How To Teach Sustainability With Hope

Quick summary: This course is for both primary and secondary teachers of all subjects, but especially for English, Science, Humanities and Geography teachers who are covering climate change and the cross-curriculum priority of sustainability.