Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A. Activating prior knowledge
20 minutes	Part B. Understanding ocean acidification
60 minutes	Part C. Ocean acidification experiment
20 minutes	Part D. What is the difference between ocean acidification and coral bleaching?
10 minutes	Reflection

Preparation - Flipped Classroom

Using a flipped classroom strategy, invite students to watch the following clip before coming to this lesson. Students are to answer the prompts below (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye | National Geographic (https://youtu.be/EtW2rrLHs08)

One thing presented in this clip that was surprising or interesting
One thing I didn’t understand
Any vocabulary that I want to know
One thing that reminded me of something that I already know

Part A. Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by inviting students to share some of their thoughts in response to the preparation clip.

You could record student thoughts and use some of these ideas to guide further discussion or inquiry.

Step 2.

Next, invite students to participate in the following 'Stand on the line' activity. This teaching strategy can be used as a barometer to test students' prior knowledge on the topic of ocean acidification.

Read the following statements to students. Use the additional notes to engage students in further conversation around each point:

I have heard about climate change.
Climate change is a change in the pattern of weather, and related changes in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, occurring over time scales of decades or longer. It is true that the climate has changed many times in the past; however, the climate change we are experiencing now is believed to be a result of human activity. Rising levels of greenhouse gases – particularly CO₂ – caused by burning fossil fuels, are heating the atmosphere to an extent where the climate is changing.
I understand some of the ways climate change might affect our environment.
Melting glaciers and sea ice, earlier flowering and ripening dates, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, and migration of plants and animals towards the poles.
I have heard about ocean change.
Ocean change describes the way our oceans are changing due to rising greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, which are causing our oceans to experience a rise in temperatures, affecting coral reef ecosystems and organisms such as krill. Oceans also absorb CO₂, causing a change in the chemical composition of the oceans. Our oceans are becoming more acidic, resulting in changes to shellfish and coral reefs.
I have heard about coral bleaching.
Rising ocean temperatures can result in coral bleaching. As waters get warmer, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) that lives in their tissues. This causes the coral to turn completely white, a process known as coral bleaching. This doesn’t mean that the coral is dead: corals can survive a bleaching event but it does mean they are under stress and are more prone to mortality.
I have heard about ocean acidification.
Oceans absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere. The additional CO₂ in the ocean alters the chemical composition in the ocean, making the ocean less alkaline.
Ocean acidification doesn’t really affect me.
Many sea creatures rely on carbonate to grow shells and skeletons. As the ocean become less alkaline there is less carbonate available for these animals to grow shells and skeletons. This means there will be fewer marine creatures. This in turn will affect those animals that eat these marine creatures, and those people whose livelihoods depend on the ocean.
We can’t do anything about ocean acidification.
Doing something about ocean acidification means doing something about climate change, and we can all do something about that!

Part B. Understanding Ocean Acidification

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will be looking at ocean acidification in more detail. They will begin by watching the following clip and participating in a guided discussion around it.

Allow students to watch the clip through once uninterrupted. You can watch it a second time pausing at the timings below to engage students in the guided discussion.

Ocean Acidification by the Alliance for Climate Education (youtu.be/DLg2NMjzh2o)

Guided discussion suggested timings and topics:

0:14 - How is the way we are living filling up our air with carbon dioxide?
CO₂ (carbon dioxide) is released into the atmosphere through power generation, transportation, industrial sources, chemical production, petroleum production and agricultural practices. Many of these activities require the burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), which are the leading cause of CO₂ emissions.
0:32 - When did we start burning fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels became a primary source of power during the Industrial Revolution (mid 1700s to mid 1800s).
0:35 - What are carbon sinks and where are they?
A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon than it releases as carbon dioxide. The main types of carbon sinks are plants, soil and the ocean.
1:28 - What would this look like as an equation?
Once dissolved in seawater, CO₂ reacts with water (H₂O) to form carbonic acid: H₂CO₃: CO₂ + H₂O ↔ H₂CO₃. Carbonic acid dissolves rapidly to form H+ ions (an acid) and bicarbonate HCO^3- (a base). Seawater is naturally saturated with another base, carbonate ion (CO_3⁻²), that acts like an antacid to neutralize the H+, forming more bicarbonate. The net reaction looks like this: CO₂ + H₂O + CO₃−²→ 2HCO^3-
1:52 - Who relies on the ocean? About three billion people around the world rely on seafood as their primary source of protein, 10-12% of the world’s population rely on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods.
2:28 - What organisms need coral reefs?
One in four ocean species rely on coral reefs for their food, primary habitat, for breeding sites and raising young (coral reefs can provide juvenile species with great protection from predatory species). Many other species that don’t live on reefs rely on organisms that do for food.
2:43 - Will anything be able to adapt?
Some organisms may be able to adapt. Plants and many algae, for example, may thrive under acidic conditions because they make their energy from combining sunlight and carbon dioxide. Therefore, more carbon dioxide in the water would actually help them. However, for many organisms the changes in ocean acidity would be too rapid for them to be able to adapt.

Step 2.

Invite students to reflect on the clip using the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

How did this clip make you feel and why?
What was most interesting or inspiring about this clip?
What questions do you still have about this clip?

Step 3.

In addition, distribute or display the Ocean Acidification Image (also available on the Student Worksheet) and invite students to describe what they see, explaining the processes presented in their own words. Students can use the Student Worksheet to record their own description of the process of ocean acidification.

Part C. Ocean Acidification Experiment

Preparation

You will need to set up workstations for each experiment. Ensure that you have collected and set up the equipment beforehand.

Step 1.

In small groups, students will now conduct an experiment that will model the effect of ocean acidification.

There are two options for this experiment depending on time and resources available:

Ocean Acidification Experiment - Option 1
Ocean Acidification Experiment - Option 2 (A video demonstration is also available here)

Where possible, encourage students to use recycled materials or materials that can be recycled in their experiments

Before beginning, students should read through the experiment instructions and predict what they think will happen in their experiment using the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Students can discuss their ideas in their groups; however, each student is responsible for recording their own thoughts in their own words

Step 2.

Allow students time to conduct their experiments.

Step 3.

Once complete, each student needs to create a scientific poster describing the experiment. Students can discuss their ideas in their groups; however, all students should be responsible for creating their own poster. The poster needs to include the following:

Describe what you did in this experiment
Describe what you saw in this experiment
How was what you saw in this experiment different or similar to what you were expecting?
What do you think was happening in this experiment? What chemical changes were taking place?
How would you do this experiment differently if you were to do it again? How could it be improved?

The poster should also include (where necessary):

Photos
Drawings/diagrams
Graphs or tables

You can provide students with the following assessment rubric so they know what is expected of them: Scientific Poster Assessment Rubric.

Step 4.

Invite each student to swap their poster with another student and assess each other's work using the Scientific Poster Assessment Rubric. Remind students to be kind, specific and helpful when providing feedback (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Tips for providing feedback

Be kind - It can be hard to share your ideas with others, so remain kind and supportive.
Be specific - Be clear about what you think and why. Rather than saying, ‘I like the colours, ’ say something like ‘, I like the ways those colours help create a mood that supports your message.
Be helpful - Try not to say what is strong or weak, but also make suggestions about how things could be improved.

Part D. What is the Difference Between Ocean Acidification and Coral Bleaching?

Step 1.

Explain to students that ocean acidification is not the only way that global warming and the greenhouse effect are impacting our oceans. Rising ocean temperatures caused by global warming are also affecting our oceans negatively. The main problem associated with ocean warming that we are currently aware of is coral bleaching.

Share the following clip with students, inviting them to record any information that they think is important or interesting as they watch.

Coral Bleaching (https://vimeo.com/1056609106/dbf7b8aba7)

Step 2.

Once complete, invite students to work in pairs to share their thoughts and ideas in response to this clip. In addition, invite each pair to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is this clip about?
Why do we need coral reefs?
How would you describe coral bleaching?
Why is the coral bleaching that we are seeing now different to what has happened in the past?
How does this clip make you feel?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

Once each pair has answered their questions, invite students to team up with another pair and share their thoughts. As part of this discussion, invite groups to also think of as many ideas as possible in response to the following question and write them in the space provided on the Student Worksheet:

What can we do to stop coral bleaching and ocean acidification?

Step 3.

Finally, engage students in a class discussion around the above question. Suggest the following actions to students:

Cut your energy use
Make simple changes in your energy use such as turning lights off, replace light bulbs with new energy efficient bulbs, and unplugging electronic devices when not in use.
Consider your transport
Leave the car at home and walk, cycle and use public transport where possible to reduce your CO₂ emissions.
Switch to renewable energy
Switching to energy produced by renewable resources is the simplest and most effective way to avoid producing carbon emissions.
Do you really need it?
Think carefully about all your purchases, and where possible, choose the greenest option.
Refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle
Cut the waste, save on resources and eliminate unnecessary emissions.
Get involved
Send a letter to a politician, join a group like AYCC (Australian Youth Climate Coalition) or spread the word. Let the people around you know that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will also build healthier communities, spur economic innovation and create new jobs.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to complete the PMI chart on the Student Worksheet.

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Invite students to develop their own experiment to demonstrate the effects of ocean acidification OR research another experiment online.

Take It Further

Invite students to apply their learning in a real world context by participating in the Social Action lesson.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn’t work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Blue - Ocean Acidification

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students can...

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Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Details

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Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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