Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Sustainable fishing

15 minutes

Find Out: Collaborative work

30 minutes

Take Action: STEM challenge and design

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions:

Students will:

understand what unsustainable fishing practices are and how they can negatively impact the oceans
identify sustainable fishing practices and understand how they would benefit the oceans.

Success criteria:

Students can:

understand what overfishing is and why it is a problem in our oceans
think of creative solutions to the problem presented
use technology as part of their solution
work collaboratively with others to solve a problem
express ideas as part of a group
design using STEM techniques.

Tune In: Sustainable fishing

Step 1

Begin this finding out lesson by writing up the words 'sustainable' and 'unsustainable' on the board for the class to see. Invite responses from the students to find out what these words mean. Share the meaning suggested by the students and create a clear definition for the words.

Suggested definitions:

What does 'sustainable' mean? - Explain to the students that the word sustainable can be broken down to ‘sustain’ and ‘able’, meaning to have the ability to go on and be sustained at a certain level. When we talk about our environment, being sustainable is also about reducing the impact on other living things or systems.
What does 'unsustainable' mean? - When something cannot be sustained at a certain level.

Step 2

Now, watch the following clip as a class. As they watch, invite students to focus on and record the different types of fishing that they can see (e.g. boats using nets, long lines, pole and line fishing techniques).

Unsustainable fishing (https://vimeo.com/1056608479/d7c167898e)

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around their thoughts about the clip. Consider the following questions in your discussion:

What did you see in this clip?
What types of fishing did you see in this clip?
How were the words 'sustainable' or 'unsustainable' used in this clip? How do you think these terms could be applied to fishing?
What ways has technology changed the way humans take fish from our oceans?
How have boat and net designs harmed our marine life?
What did this clip make you think about?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

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

Find Out: Collaborative work

Step 1

Break the class into four groups and assign each of the groups with one of the following commercial fishing techniques:

Trawling
Longlining
Potting
Netting

Each group has 5 minutes to undertake research online to find out as much as they can about this fishing technique. Groups should look for the pros and cons of this fishing method, particularly in terms of environmental health.

Step 2

Once complete, groups must present their research to the class so that all students have an understanding of the different types of fishing techniques that are currently used and causing harm to our oceans.

Step 3

After all groups have had the chance to present their research, engage students in a class discussion around the following questions:

How could we change current fishing practices for the better?
What could we do to improve the way we fish?
How could we fish and still protect the ocean?

Record student suggestions on the board.

Take Action: STEM challenge and design ideas

Step 1

Explain to students that they will now take part in a STEM challenge. Explain that STEM is about using Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills creatively to solve problems. Students can work in collaborative teams of 3-5 students for the challenge.

Read out the STEM challenge guidelines to the students:

STEM CHALLENGE: To design a new sustainable fishing device or technique to help catch fish without catching non-target species (by-catch). This may include a new type of fishing net to collect the species you want and exclude others, a new boat design with a sorting system or a special way to remove the fish from the water without the use of nets.
TARGET SPECIES: A new fish species is discovered called Tiny Tuna. The target size for this species is 15cm and at this size the Tiny Tuna is 5 years old. Tiny Tuna reach breeding age at 2 years old. At this time they are 10cm in size, meaning they are big enough to eat. Tiny Tuna are found in the world’s oceans and are important for local fishing villages around the world.
RULES: All large scale fishing ships are not allowed to be used.

Step 2

Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet and each group with one piece of A3 paper to draw their design. Invite each group to follow the instructions on the Student Worksheet and answer the questions in the table as a group. Once the questions have been answered and students have discussed their design they should draw it on the A3 paper.

Note: Students can share and discuss their ideas in their groups; however, each student is responsible for completing their own worksheet.

Hot Tip: To promote student thinking during the design process ask them to think about how their design specifically targeted the Tina Tuna and reduced by-catch.

Step 3

Bring the students back into a circle to share their STEM designs with the class. Providing opportunities for students to listen to each other is an effective way to share information and ideas to solve problems.

Each group should shares their design with the class. Encourage groups to highlight their innovation, reflecting on these questions:

How is the design sustainable?
How does the design specifically target the Tina Tuna?
What special features does it have to reduce by-catch?
What materials would they need to complete their design? The materials that they choose are important as they will affect the function of the design. Are the materials sustainable?

Learning extension: Determine if more time is needed to develop these designs further. Develop prototypes of the designs that the students have invented. Mixed ability groups work well for this activity: ensure students requiring assistance are teamed with more able students.

Reflection

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

How are the ideas and activities presented in this lesson connected to what I already knew?
What new ideas or activities extended my thinking?
What was challenging for me in this activity?
What questions do I still have about this activity?

Assessment

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

Watching a clip for meaning.
Contributed to creating solutions to problems.
Participation in discussions to express ideas.
Working collaboratively with others.
Using STEM techniques to solve problems.

For summative assessment, visit the Drawing Conclusions lesson: Blue: We Owe The Ocean - Years 5 & 6.

Blue - Sustainable Fishing STEM Challenge

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