Let's create continuous conversations about climate change education: Spreading the Sediment of Science!

Ocean Species at Risk Unit (3-5)

Provided by: Ocean Wise

Lesson Plans Grades 3-5

Synopsis

This five-lesson unit, available in English and French, details how pollution, commercial fishing, climate change, and other human activities affect whales, otters, turtles, and sharks.
Students will learn about the importance of whales to the Iñupiat of Arctic Alaska, hear a Tsaagweidf Clan Tlingit legend about the origin of killer whales, learn the Indigenous cultural importance of salmon, understand how plastic pollution affects fish important to Inuit culture, and hear about the hunting of otters that happened concurrently with the mistreatment of the Siletz tribe in Oregon.

Subjects: Science

Authors: Ocean Wise

Region: Polar Regions, Global, Oregon

Languages: English, French

Positives

The kid-hosted news clip is engaging and empowering for students.
Each lesson ends with an action step for students to complete, which may help students with climate anxiety.
Throughout this lesson, students are introduced to the connection between marine life and Indigenous culture.

Prerequisites

This link will take teachers to a landing page for all the grade bands in this module. The elementary (3-5) resources are the first ones listed.
Students should understand the greenhouse effect and how human actions contribute to climate change.

Differentiation & Implementation

Teachers can create a word wall using terms from the glossary for students to reference throughout the unit.
Classes near the ocean can take a field trip to watch for whales or other wildlife and report sightings using the provided link.
After learning how pollution impacts marine life, students can think of ways to reduce pollution in their community.
Students can draw a kelp forest, including species in the related food web.
In videos where there is text and no voiceover, as in "Sea Otters: This Kelp Forest's Best Friend by National Geographic," in the fifth lesson, teachers may wish to slow the video playback speed or read the text aloud to students.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.