Lesson 3: Gifts From Ocean Communities

Lesson Information

Summary: This brainstorming activity deepens students= appreciation of the benefits they receive from the ocean, particularly its living components. 
Duration: 20 minutes
Group size: Several groups of three to five people
Materials: Resource sheet entitled Gifts From the Ocean, flip-chart paper, and markers

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to identify ways in which people depend on ocean communities.

Background

See Resource Sheet 1: Gifts From the Ocean.

Procedure

1. Ask students to think of ways in which they and other Canadians depend on the ocean. To prime their creative juices, ask them to read the resource sheet entitled Gifts From the Ocean. If students are very young, ask them to discuss the subject with their families at dinner time the night before the activity.
2. Divide the class into groups of three to five students and give each a large piece of flip-chart paper and markers. Have each group brainstorm all the ways in which the students themselves and Canadians in general benefit from the ocean. Younger students can contribute ideas while the teacher records the ideas in simple words or pictures.
3. Ask groups to present their results to the class. Ask for clarification if necessary and discuss the ideas recorded. Correct those that are inaccurate or unclear or have students investigate them further. Post the brainstorming sheets around the classroom. Summarize the results and point out which of the gifts come from living inhabitants of the sea. Though oceans give us many gifts, those that come from living inhabitants are most threatened by human activities.
4. Discuss what human communities would be like without healthy ocean communities. Connect the discussion to lessons 1 and 2, emphasizing these points:
1. Many of the gifts identified come from living ocean communities. They depend on healthy habitats and water quality for their survival.
2. Human communities depend on ocean communities, even if they are far apart.
3. Our acceptance of these gifts carries with it the responsibility to conserve them and use them wisely. Upcoming lessons will explore how human communities help or harm ocean communities.

Evaluation

1. Have students list or illustrate examples of the benefits they receive from the ocean in general.
2. Ask students to identify the benefits they derive from living ocean inhabitants in particular.