Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Part A: Checking in with our oceans

20 minutes

Part B: What type of water is this?

30 minutes

Part C: How big are the oceans?

10 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions:

Students will:

be able to identify the role of the ocean as a valuable resource and be able to articulate how this affects their own lives.

Success criteria:

Students can:

classify water resources into available and potential categories.
identify the volume of the oceans compared to other forms of water resources.
identify the importance of the ocean as a resource for the livability of the planet.
reflect on how their lives are connected to the health of the oceans.

Part A: Checking in with our Oceans

Preparation

This activity requires students to move around the learning space. An ideal space would be a classroom where the furniture can be easily moved to create blocks of working tables and an open floor space. In the open space, it can be really helpful to mark out the centre line with tape on the floor.

Step 1

Begin this lesson by asking students to stand on the line in the centre of the open space. Explain that we will be exploring what we know about oceans by moving to a place away from the centre line after each statement. Emphasise that there are no wrong responses and that you are only interested in finding out what students think, and how differently they may think.

Students will respond to the statements by showing how much they agree or disagree by how far they move away from the line, for example:

If you agree move to your right.
If you disagree move to your left.

Students are not required to talk or explain why they have chosen to stand where they are, but you may like to ask two students to offer their reasoning after each question. At the end of each question, ask students to return to the centre line. Read out a number of statements from the list below. You may notice that the first questions are lower order thinking and progress to higher order thinking. You can treat the first questions as a practise/warm up.

Hot Tip: Because this is a game-like activity, explain that this activity has rules to ensure its success.

A good game is a quick game. Listen carefully and bravely take your side.
Try to make your best choice, and do not to remain on the fence. Even a small step to one side is great.
This is a silent, thinking activity, except when you may volunteer if the teacher asks you to explain your choice.
This is not a debate. Observe and listen to others and respect their choice.

• I prefer swimming in a pool to swimming in the ocean
• Australia is an island because it is girt by sea
• You can't eat seaweed
• An iceberg is made of saltwater
• Seas are bigger in size than oceans
• Oceans cover more of the Earth's surface than land
• The best fishermen take the most fish from the ocean
• Because oceans are large, they are a good place for our waste to go
• Oceans play an important role in reducing global warming
• If there is no blue, there is no green

Step 2

Invite students to watch the following clip from the film Blue (also found on the Student Worksheet). Students are to complete a 'See-Feel-Wonder' thinking routine. They should note down their responses on the Student Worksheet.

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

A suggested starter question to seek student responses may be:

Would anyone like to share what you felt or wondered when Lucas Handley said at the end of the film: ‘The ocean’s health is important to the survival of the human race?’

Step 3

Invite students to reflect on how they use the ocean for leisure. You may begin by discussing Lucas’s passion for free diving, before finding out what other ocean leisure activities the students do, or know about. After a short discussion, ask students to respond to question 2 on the Student Worksheet.

Part B: What type of water is this?

Step 1

Print out two copies of the Water Flashcards and cut out the individual cards. Divide the class into two groups. Organise each group to sit in a circle and place the Water Flashcards in the centre. Explain that classification is the science of putting things in similar groups. During this activity, students will classify water using two different methods.

Using the Water Flashcards, invite the students to classify the different forms of water into blue water, green water and salt water.

Blue water: Fresh water that is above ground, in rivers, lakes and dams.

Green water: Water that seeps into the earth and is available for plant growth as soil moisture.

Salt water: A solution of salt and water, or the water contained in oceans and seas that has a high level of dissolved salt.

Encourage students to show their thinking by asking questions like:

Why do you think it belongs under blue water?
Why doesn't it belong under green water?
What makes it salt water?

You may use these answers to initiate questioning for classification choices:

Blue water: River, Stream, Lake, Dam, Glacier, Snow, Polar Ice cap, Iceberg, Water vapour
Green water: Soil moisture, Groundwater
Salt water: Sea, Bay, Ocean, Gulf, Strait

Congratulate students on problem-solving and sharing their thinking. You can explain that there are many words for water. Geographers need to have a common understanding of these words so that they are clear about what type of water they are studying.

Step 2

Explain that now you would like them to re-classify water in a different way using the definitions below. Explain that we need to do this because it is more useful to use these words when studying oceans. Give students the following definitions.

Available resources: A supply that can be readily drawn upon when needed.
Potential resources: May be able to be used in the future.

Invite students to use the Water Flashcards to classify the water. While students are moving the cards around, ask for their reasoning. Finally, invite students to give their personal reasoning in question 3 on the Student Worksheet.

Use the following answers to confirm students' reasoning.

Available resources: River, Stream, Lake, Dam,*Groundwater

Potential resources: Soil moisture, *Groundwater, Sea, Bay, Ocean, Gulf, Strait, Glacier, Snow, Polar Ice cap, Iceberg

*Groundwater is a good example of how different reasoning can place it under different classifications.

Part C: How big are the oceans?

Step 1

Invite students to consider the Ocean Facts information below (also found on the Student Worksheet).

Explain to students that this numeric information can be used to visually show the relative size of things in relation to each other. Challenge the students to show the volume of saltwater compared to the volume of freshwater using the relevant facts.

Before students begin, use these guided questions to support students to complete the task:

Which are the correct statistics to use?
What sort of visual representation (diagram/graph?) will show this comparison?
How will you produce your visual representation?

Step 2

Support the students to produce a chart or graph. You may like to use the function in Microsoft Excel.

Step 3

Once students have created their visual representation, ask them why they think it's important to conserve water, both fresh water and our oceans. Invite students to answer the following two questions on the student worksheet:

What sort of chart, graph or diagram did you use to create your visual representation to show the comparison of saltwater to freshwater?
What are your thoughts about how important it is to look after our oceans considering their size and their role in the health of the planet?

Reflection

Invite students to articulate their learning around the following questions:

What is the role of the ocean as a resource?
Why do we need to value the ocean?
How does the ocean affect your own life?

Assessment

Explain to students that an ocean guardian is a person who is prepared to care for the ocean by their actions. Invite students to spend some time looking at the Blue website's ocean guardian page. Students should use their knowledge about the ocean to write a piece for the school newsletter to raise readers' awareness of the importance of the ocean. Students should articulate why it is important to them and why we should protect the health of the ocean. The piece should be between 100 and 200 words in length and include:

A Headline
A Fact
An explanation of what it is why it is important

Take it further

Invite students to apply their learning in a real-world context by participating in the Social Action lesson.

Blue - Our Ocean is a Valuable Resource

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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