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Description
The Seafood Education Kit Middle Years is a seven part lesson where students will be inspired to lead advocacy for sustainable seafood. The following lessons will facilitate learning about how we are connected to the ocean, how the food we extract from the ocean serves us, the technology in place to produce seafood and opportunities to critically analyze the benefits and challenges of aquaculture and wild fishing. Both methods showcase how to conduct seafood from a sustainable and unsustainable viewpoint; allowing the students key opportunities to explore and debate ethical choices when purchasing and consuming seafood. This incredibly well planned unit goes as follow:
Lesson 1: Students will respond to questions about global fishing and aquaculture data, understand how they are connected to the oceans via their seafood choices, and assess where their seafood comes from.
Lesson 2: In this lesson, students will evaluate aquaculture practices, understand key aquaculture terms and use the Think Pair Share strategy to discuss the strengths and challenges of aquaculture.
Lesson 3: Students will develop criteria for sustainable aquaculture and, compare their findings to those of Ocean Wise, explain how the sustainability of aquaculture is determined and identify the short and long term effects of aquaculture on the environment.
Lesson 4: Students will identify the processes and impacts of catching wild fish and raising farmed fish, compare and contrast wild fishing and aquaculture and analyze sustainable seafood practices with a critical eye.
Lesson 5: In this lesson, students will identify life cycles stages of rainbow trout, identify components of recirculating aquaculture systems, and connect life cycle stages to RAS aquaculture systems.
Lesson 6: Students will observe and analyze the social impacts of the seafood industry, demonstrate an understanding of the economic impacts of the seafood industry, and collaborate to explore the range of perspectives within the seafood industry.
Lesson 7: In this last lesson, students will develop an aquaculture practice that follows self developed criteria for sustainability, critically evaluate seafood sustainability and technology, and develop their own interpretation of seafood sustainability.
Above all, these lessons will educate and equip students with a basic understanding of the technology and social connections at play within the seafood industry to enable them to be empowered stewards for ocean conservation.
General Assessment
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?
Students will learn to analyze and explain data, share their opinion, develop their own criteria for assessing the sustainability of aquaculture sites, and build a business plan for harvesting seafood sustainably.
Strengths
- This resource has a well detailed unit plan and a resource guide for teachers which is easy to follow and has all the important information
- Multiple links are included to help with understanding the issue
- A ready to copy student workbook is included in this resource
- A rubric is included for the evaluation of students throughout the unit
- This resource has a multitude of different activities which addresses the needs of multiple students in the classroom
Weaknesses
- Differenciated activities for struggling learners are not provided in this resource.
- No action plan is asked to be put in place by students
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This resource would be excellent when introducing the concept of sustainable consumption in Science and Social Studies courses. As well, it would be great to have some data conversations with students in Math classes.
Relevant Curriculum Units
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
- Step 1Select a province
- Alberta
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Grade 8
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Environmental Investigations
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Knowlege And Employability: Statistics and Probability
- Statistics and Probability
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- Biological Diversity
- Knowledge and Employability Science: Biological Diversity (Social and Environmental Contexts Emphasis)
- British Columbia
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- Grade 7
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- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing data by determining averages is one way to make sense of large data sets and enables us to compare and interpret
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing the validity, reliability, and representation of data enables us to compare and interpret.
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- New Brunswick
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- Grade 7
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- Math
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- Statistics and Probability
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- Social Studies 8 - A Changing Canadian Society: Advocacy and Action
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- Math
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- Grade 7
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- Geography
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- Natural Resources around the World: Use and Sustainability
- Math
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- Grade 8
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- Geography
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- Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability
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- Science 9: Procedural Knowledge
- Social Studies
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- Interdependence: Atlantic Canada in the Global Community: Environment in the Global Community
- Quebec
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
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- Math
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- Statistics and probability
- Science & Technology
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- The Living World
- Grade 8
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- Statistics and probability
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- The Living World
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- Math
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- Statistics & Probability
- Saskatchewan
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- Grade 7
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- Math
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- Mathematics 8: Statistics and Probability
- Science
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- Science 8: Water Systems on Earth
- Social Studies
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- The Individual in Canadian Society: Resources & Wealth
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
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- Math 9: Statistics and Probability
- Social Studies
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- The Roots of Society: Resources and Wealth
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
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- Math
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- Data from circle graphs can be used to illustrate proportion and to compare and interpret.
- Linear relations can be represented in many connected ways to identify regularities and make generalizations
- Science
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- Science 7: Earth and its climate have changed over geological time
- Science 7: Evolution by natural selection provides an explanation for the diversity and survival of living things.
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing data by determining averages is one way to make sense of large data sets and enables us to compare and interpret
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing the validity, reliability, and representation of data enables us to compare and interpret.
Themes Addressed
Citizenship (1)
- Sustainable Consumption
Ecosystems (1)
- Biodiversity
Food & Agriculture (1)
- Aquaculture
Land Use & Natural Resources (1)
- Fisheries
Sustainability Education Principles
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Very Good | This resource demonstrates well the different sides of sustainable aquaculture. It offers relevant information that come from many aspects of the issue which helps students to make an informed reflection. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
| ||
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Very Good | In this Seafood Education Kit, students will get a chance to effectively explore many environment dimensions, especially when talking about sustainable aquaculture. Students will observe and analyze the social impacts of the seafood industry and demonstrate an understanding of the economic impacts of the industry as well. |
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
| ||
| Respects Complexity | Very Good | The seafood industry is an expansive business that touches many corners of human life; ranging from supplying protein in our diets, to providing employment for communities, to being a tool of creativity and history for seafood chefs. Choosing to eat sustainable seafood helps to ensure that we will be able to continue to enjoy seafood for generations. |
| Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
| Acting on Learning | Poor/Not considered | Even though students will be looking at how to make a business plan to harvest sustainable seafood students do not put it into action. |
| Acting on Learning: Learning moves from understanding issues to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community, or for the planet
| ||
| Values Education | Very Good | This resource has a multitude of opportunities for students to share their values and express their own beliefs. As well, students will get a chance to build their own criteria for sustainability and develop their own opinion on the subject. |
| Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
| Empathy & Respect for Humans | Satisfactory | In lesson 6, students will look at what social groups are connected to the seafood industry and how different scenarios could influence them. |
| Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.). | ||
| Personal Affinity with Earth | Good | This resource centers around the marine environment and our concern for our natural world with the seafood industry. Unfortunately, all lessons take place in the classroom. |
| Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
| ||
| Locally-Focused Learning | Good | In this resource, students will need to think about their consumption of seafood. They will analyze data from all over the world, and think about how to make seafood farming sustainable. |
| Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
| ||
| Past, Present & Future | Very Good | tudents will see the breadth of the seafood industry via maps and statistics to comprehend the significance seafood upholds in supporting human life. |
| Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. | ||
Pedagogical Approaches
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Ended Instruction | Good | This resource provides students with multiple opportunities to share their opinion. As well, students will build their own business model. |
| Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
| Integrated Learning | Good | This resource is appropriate to use in multiple subject areas like Math, Social Studies, Geography, and Science. |
| Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
| ||
| Inquiry Learning | Good | Each lesson provides students with critical questions to process to arrive at solutions to the growing demand of seafood within declining fish populations. |
| Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
| ||
| Differentiated Instruction | Good | The multitude of different activities in this resource addresses well the needs of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. However, there are no strategies for learners with difficulties. |
| Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
| ||
| Experiential Learning | Satisfactory | The lesson plans provide some hand-on and inquiry based activities. |
| Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
| ||
| Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | Students will work in groups throughout this unit. |
| Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
| ||
| Assessment & Evaluation | Good | A rubric for evaluation is provided to teachers in order to assess students learning throughout the unit. |
| Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc. | ||
| Peer Teaching | Satisfactory | Students will often learn from other groups presentations. |
| Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
| ||
| Case Studies | Good | |
| Case Studies: Relevant case studies are included. Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore concepts in an authentic context. | ||
| Locus of Control | Good | Students get to choose what their business will look like in the last lesson of the unit. The lesson prompts students to get creative to form their own version of sustainable aquaculture. The objective for them is to take the knowledge they have cultivated from the lesson plans and apply it with their own interpretation. |
| Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue. | ||
