Blue - Ocean Guardians Saving the Shearwater Bird

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 3 & 4 HASS Inquiry and skills:

• Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issues (ACHASSI052, ACHASSI073).
• Locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations (ACHASSI053, ACHASSI074).
• Interact with others with respect to share points of view (ACHASSI059, ACHASSI080).
• Reflect on learning to propose actions in response to an issue or challenge and consider possible effects of proposed actions (ACHASSI060, ACHASSI081).
• Present ideas, findings and conclusions in texts and modes that incorporate digital and non-digital representations and discipline specific terms (ACHASSI061, ACHASSI082).

Year 3 Science:

• Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE051).

Year 4 Science:

• Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions (ACSHE062).

Year 3 English:

• Identify the audience and purpose of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts (ACELY1678).

Year 4 English:

• Identify characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (ACELY1690).

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.4, OI.5, OI.7, OI.9

Relevant parts of Year 3 achievement standards:

HASS Year 3: Students pose questions and locate and collect information from sources, including observations, to answer these questions. They examine information to identify a point of view and interpret data to identify and describe simple distributions. Students draw simple conclusions and share their views on an issue. They reflect on their learning to suggest individual action in response to an issue or challenge. Students communicate their ideas, findings and conclusions in oral, visual and written forms using simple discipline-specific terms.

English Year 3: They understand how language can be used to express feelings and opinions on topics.

HASS Year 4: Students recognise the significance of events in bringing about change and the importance of the environment. They identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment. Students locate and collect information and data from different sources, including observations, to answer these questions. They share their points of view, respecting the views of others. Students reflect on their learning to propose action in response to an issue or challenge, and identify the possible effects of their proposed action. They present ideas, findings and conclusions using discipline-specific terms in a range of communication forms.

English Year 4: Students create structured texts to explain ideas for different audiences.

Unit of work: BLUE The Film: Inquiry – Years 3 & 4

Time required: 3.5+ hours

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – lead students in discussion and class activities, oversee group work.

• Student Worksheet – one copy per student
• Device capable of presenting a website and video to the class
• Student computers
• A3 paper and textas
• Lesson presentation, Environmental Scan table, Survey of Plastic Use
• Materials for student prototyping, such as paper, cardboard, ice-cream sticks, pipe-cleaners, Blu-tack, sticky-tape, pens, textas, paper clips, staplers, scissors, sticky-notes, string, rubber bands 

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

• Communication
• Community Engagement
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Digital Literacy
• Empathy
• Ethical Understanding
• Global Citizenship
• Initiative
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Social Skills

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.