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Description
In The Harvest, students will try to answer the big question: How can we take a little and leave a lot for nature?
Students will watch an introductory video by youth host, Jordan who invites them and lead scientist Dr. Boris Worm to his Heiltsuk homelands to take part in the harvest. They’ll learn how herring, salmon, and Heiltsuk people are interconnected in the rich ecosystem of what is now known as British Columbia’s Central Coast.
Once students have watched the video, they will choose from three lines of inquiry, each with a focus question, media, and accompanying activities. The three lines of inquiry are:
1. Don’t overharvest: How can we ensure the harvest is sustainable?
- Students will watch a short clip called Herring census where they will learn how to estimate the number of herring in the water. They will then be challenged to determine which herring stock will most likely have a healthy population in the future. They will perform a herring census using a simplified version of the methods used by scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
- Students will quest their way through an interactive notebook, following the small-in-size, but large-in-school herring through every stage of its life and migration journey. They will then create a food web for each stage of the herring life cycle.
- After, students will watch a short film called The trap and the gift where they will take to the seas to try a more modern method of bringing in the catch. Students will then develop a concept map to show what ‘giving back’ to nature can look like.
- Then, students will watch in 360o as surveyors search for signs of herring spawn from the air.
- After watching a short clip on herring eggs students will then weigh the pros and cons of the herring roe industry and debate which herring roe harvest method is best.
- Finally, students will create a scrapbook that illustrates what they’ve learned from their family or friends.
2. Taking Care: How are we part of the cycle?
- Students will watch a video called Something fishy about the forest where they will learn the role of dead fish in life on land. They will then explore the role of nitrogen in the stream systems. They will use what they have learned to predict which stream system will have the most salmon and attract predators.
- Next, students will join Jordan to tally salmon, both living and dead. They will then be challenged to conduct a survey of a species in a nearby habitat, using similar methods as to those shown in the video.
- Students will then discover the connections between land, sea, and people through a 360o view. They will then build their own photo tour where they will demonstrate what they’ve learned by adding information points or narration to the tour.
- Finally, students will interview an adult about their career and then reflect on their own career goals.
3. All the ways of knowing: How can we ensure multiple perspectives in our inquiry?
- Students will watch a short clip to learn why the local Guardian Watchmen are conducting more studies of herring stock. They will then analyze maps and graphs to determine which herring populations will be at risk if the herring fishery opens.
- They will then take an immersive boat ride with Guardian Watchman Jordan Wilson who will gather observations and use traditional knowledge to inform marine protection and management throughout the Central Coast. Students will learn about the significance of different carved poles including the Watchmen poles. They will write about the knowledge, skills and values that a watchman must have.
- Students will then learn about the HaíÉ?zaqv’s struggle to win back their rights to manage herring and then they will create a postcard that captures the details of one event in the WánÌ“aíchronicles timeline.
- Next, students will catch up with the current news on threats facing salmon along the coast of British Columbia. Students will then identify what they think is the most important finding or idea from the current news.
- Finally, students will learn more about cÌ“isá??a and create a comic that illustrates people taking care of and giving back to nature.
As a culminating activity, students are given a call to action. Students are encouraged to get outside, identify habitats that are threatened in the local area, investigate, and help to restore the habitat! This resource is also accompanied by inquiry tools to explicitly target inquiry skills. It is important to note that The Harvest module was filmed and developed on Hailzaqv homelands and waterways.
General Assessment
What skills does this resource explicitly teach?
Dependent on which line of inquiry the students choose, they will learn a multitude of new skills. Students could learn how to conduct a census, create a food web, a scrapbook, build a photo tour, conduct an interview, analyze maps, create a postcard, and much more.
Strengths
- This lesson plan is extensive and provides teachers and students everything they need to complete the module
- This resource gives students the option to decide which line of inquiry they want to choose out of three providing them with voice and choice.
- This resource is accompanied with Inquiry tools to explicitly target inquiry skills. As well, each inquiry tool has an educator guide and lesson.
- This resource can be linked to a Google Classroom or used as is.
- There is a take action lesson that accompanies this module
- The lesson has students doing a multitude of different activities in different formats which lends itself well to different learning styles.
- This resource is available in both official languages
Weaknesses
- Students and teachers need to sign up to Ocean School in order to use this resource. This can be particularly tricky in jurisdictions with strict privacy acts
Recommendation of how and where to use it
This resource would be excellent to discuss marine environments, endangered species, and habitat loss in Science classrooms. The Ocean School experience begins by presenting learners with a big question – a challenge that guides their inquiry. Each piece of media comes with a customizable activity that educators can assign via Google Classroom or download to use in class. At the end of a module, learners develop a “Take Action” plan to address the critical, social, and environmental problems they’ve been learning about.
Ocean School empowers the next generation of ocean citizens, researchers, and innovators, with the knowledge and tools to investigate and design innovative solutions for the accelerating challenges that face the world’s ocean.
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: Commitment to Action
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Environmental Core
- Environment and Outdoor Education: Environmental Investigations
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Knowlege And Employability: Statistics and Probability
- Statistics and Probability
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Biological Diversity
- Knowledge and Employability Science: Biological Diversity (Social and Environmental Contexts Emphasis)
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 10-4 (Knowledge and Employability Science): Investigating Matter and Energy in Environmental Systems
- Science 10: Energy Flow in Global Systems
- Science 14:Investigating Matter and Energy in the Environment
- British Columbia
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data from circle graphs can be used to illustrate proportion and to compare and interpret.
- 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.
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them.
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Foundations of Mathematics and Pre-calculus: Representing and analyzing situations allows us to notice and wonder about relations.
- Workplace Mathematics: Representing and analyzing data allows us to notice and wonder about relationships
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics and Probability
- Grade 9
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Learning and Living Sustainably (STSE)
- Science 10 Science for Sustainable Societies
- Science 10 Science for Sustainable Societies: Scientific Literacy
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Grade 8
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Analyzing the validity, reliability, and representation of data enables us to compare and interpret.
- Statistics and Probability
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Biological Diversity
- Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them.
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Experiential Science 10, Terrestial Systems: Ecology of the Land
- Experiential Science 10, Terrestial Systems: Resource Management and Population Dynamics
- Science 10-4 (Knowledge and Employability Science): Investigating Matter and Energy in Environmental Systems
- Science 14:Investigating Matter and Energy in the Environment
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Grade 8
- Grade 9
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Experiential Science 10, Terrestial Systems: Ecology of the Land
- Science 10-4 (Knowledge and Employability Science): Investigating Matter and Energy in Environmental Systems
- Science 14: Investigating Matter and Energy in the Environment
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Life Systems: Interactions in the Environment
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Data
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Earth and Space Systems: Water Systems
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics and probability
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- The Living World
- Grade 8
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics and probability
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- The Living World
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics & Probability
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Statistics and probability
- Science & Technology
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Applied Science & Technology:The Living World
- Environmental Science & Technology: The Earth and Space
- Environmental Science & Technology: The Living World
- Science & Technology: The Earth and Space
- Science & Technology:The Living World
- Science and the Environment: The Living World
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 7
- 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.
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them.
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Math
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Foundations of Mathematics and Pre-calculus: Representing and analyzing situations allows us to notice and wonder about relations.
Themes Addressed
Ecosystems (3)
- Appreciating the Natural World
- Habitat Loss
- Wildlife Protection
Indigenous Knowledge (1)
- Rituals, Spirituality and Worldviews
Land Use & Natural Resources (2)
- Fisheries
- Habitat Restoration
Water (1)
- Marine Environments
Sustainability Education Principles
| Principle | Rating | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Very Good | The multitude of activities in this resource provide students with a complete view of the issue. Students can then form their own opinion and take an informed position on the subject. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
| ||
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Very Good | Throughout the three different lines of inquiry, students will look at different dimensions of how herring, salmon, and HaiÌÉ?zaqv people are interconnected in the rich ecosystem of what is now known as British Columbia's Central Coast. |
| Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
| ||
| Respects Complexity | Very Good | Students examine the complexities of the cycles that connect land and sea, and learn how traditional ecological knowledge can guide us into a more sustainable future. |
| Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
| Acting on Learning | Very Good | A take action lesson accompanies this module where students are asked to get outside, identify habitats that are threatened in the local area, investigate and help restore the habitat. The Take Action is the culminating activity of the module. Students are asked to reflect about what they've learned and how they can put their learning into action. This activity is designed to support inquiry, leadership and collaboration. |
| 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 | Students' opinions and beliefs are at the center of this resource. Students have many opportunities to express themselves and there is no right answer. |
| Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
| Empathy & Respect for Humans | Good | Students will learn about the reciprocal relationship between the Hailzaqv people and these keystone species, a relationship that's over 14 000 years old therefore fostering empathy and respect for diverse groups. |
| 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 | Students will take a look at the marine environment and therefore foster an appreciation and concern for the natural world. However, all activities are completed inside the classroom via videos and simulations. |
| Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
| ||
| Locally-Focused Learning | Good | Activities in this resource are centered around British Columbia which would make it relevant to our Canadian students. However, all learning takes place inside the classroom. |
| Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
| ||
| Past, Present & Future | Very Good | |
| 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 | Very Good | As an inquiry-based learning platform, Ocean School is designed to allow students to choose their own path according to their groups decisions. Also, each path has a multitude of opinion questions and students get to share their ideas. |
| Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
| Integrated Learning | Good |
|
| Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
| ||
| Inquiry Learning | Very Good | Inquiry based learning encourages students to take the lead in their learning experience. Posing their own questions and gathering evidence, learners practice the skills they need to participate in knowledge creation. On the Ocean School platform, the media experiences are designed to support open-ended investigations into a question or a problem. Students and educators share responsibility for identifying problems that students can investigate further. Together, they engage in critical thinking, collection and analysis of evidence, logical reasoning, and creative problem-solving. |
| Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
| ||
| Differentiated Instruction | Good | This resource has a multitude of different activities for students to do and therefore addresses the needs of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. However, strategies for learners with difficulties are not provided. |
| Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
| ||
| Experiential Learning | Good | This resource includes multiple simulations and videos that bring a real world context. However, no real world experiences take place. |
| Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
| ||
| Cooperative Learning | Satisfactory | Some of the activities provided involve group work. |
| Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
| ||
| Assessment & Evaluation | Very Good | The resource suggests four types of assessment.
|
| 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 | Poor/Not considered | This is not a focus of this resource |
| Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
| ||
| Case Studies | Very Good | This resource follows youth host Jordan and lead scientist Dr. Boris Worm to his Hailzaqv (Heiltsuk) homelands to take part in the harvest. |
| 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 | Very Good | In this resource, students will get to choose their own learning path and question to answer. |
| 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. | ||
