Blue - Without Blue There Is No Green

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

• communication
• creativity
• global citizenship

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 5 English:

• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

Year 6 English:

• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1714)

Year 5 Science:

• Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)

Year 6 Science:

• Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE100)

Syllabus outcomes: EN3-2A, ST3-7PW.

General capabilities: Critical and creative Thinking, Literacy.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

Relevant parts of Year 5 English achievement standards: Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for different purposes and audiences.

Relevant parts of Year 6 English achievement standards: Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences.

Relevant parts of Year 5 Science achievement standards: Students discuss how scientific developments help us solve problems. 

Relevant parts of Year 6 Science achievement standards: Students explain how scientific knowledge helps us to solve problems.

Unit of work: Blue The Film: Inquiry – Years 5 & 6.

Time required: 60 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – lead activities and guide 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
• Small piece of recycled paper (half A4 size)
• Pencils

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 industrialisation 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.