Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: Why are marine turtles important?

15 minutes

Find Out: A turtle's life

25 minutes

Take Action: The poetry of images – writing your own poem

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

learn how figurative language in poetic texts can enhance meaning and influence audiences
learn how turtles have contributed to the ocean ecosystem and how their existence is threatened by human activities.

Success criteria

Students can:

articulate why marine turtles are important and explain some of the issues that affect them and their overall species population
transform informative and visual material into a creative poem to communicate meaning about marine turtles and issues affecting them.

Tune In: Why are marine turtles important?

Step 1

Facilitate a brief brainstorm with the class, asking them what they know about sea turtles. Ask students prompting questions about sea turtle's lifespans, rituals, features, and so on. Some of the information in the following factsheets might be useful for background reading: Sharks Factsheet, Turtles Factsheet, Fishing Factsheet.

Introduce the following clip about marine turtles, and explain to the class that it is important to understand a little about any topic before sharing our own perspectives and/or communicating meaning about it. In this case, point out to the class that they will be watching the work of Christine Hof and the WWF Turtle Project, to find out what they can tell us about marine pollution on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland.

While they are watching the clip, invite students to think about the information; what they see and what this makes them think, feel and wonder. Explain to the class that this is the same routine used in previous lessons (Blue: Connecting to the Ocean - English - Year 7, Blue: Seabird Poetry - English - Year 7) and, that they are practising this routine to help develop their thinking strategies. Invite students to complete the 'See-Think-Wonder' visible thinking routine in the space on the Student Worksheet. Depending on the nuances of your class and how familiar they are with this visible thinking routine, you could scaffold an example for them by selecting an image and modelling how to work through the 'See-Think-Wonder' routine.

Hot tip: If you have taught previous lessons in the Blue Year 7 & 8 English Unit, explain to the class that this is the same visible thinking routine as they have previously completed. Practising this routine will help them to develop their thinking strategies. If this is the first time you have done this with the class, explain that a 'See-Think-Wonder' routine is a visible thinking routine that encourages thoughtful observation and interpretation about what they see. The 'See-Think-Wonder' routine can also help them establish goals for further learning.

Importance of marine turtles (https://vimeo.com/1056609220/37e6d8c08f)

Step 2

After students have completed the visible thinking routine, encourage a few volunteers to share their thoughts and wonderments about the life cycle, issues or features of turtles explored in the clip. Where possible, facilitate discussion based on student responses. The following questions might help prompt this discussion:

What was something in the clip that made you think that way?
Did anybody think something different about this clip?
What might these insights tell you about sea turtles and marine ecosystems?

Further information about this lesson's content can be found on the Ghost Nets Factsheet, Sharks Factsheet, Turtles Factsheet and Fishing Factsheet.

Find Out: A turtle's life

Step 1

Ask students to think about what they know about poetry and figurative devices. Give them time to think and, while doing this, write the word ‘figurative devices’ on the whiteboard. Facilitate a brief class brainstorm, asking volunteers to write the responses on the whiteboard. If needed, prompt students by revealing one of them, such as a metaphor.

After this brainstorm, display the Poetic Devices Glossary (also linked on the Student Worksheet) and read through the devices listed under ‘Basic Terms’ and ‘Figurative Devices’, discussing them with students and offering or asking for examples where necessary. Attention could be given to metaphors, personification, similes, allusion and imagery. Revisit the terms ‘connotation’ and ‘denotation’ from the previous finding out lesson, if needed - a quick word association game using common words like ‘beach’, ‘ocean’, ‘surf’, ‘water’, ‘ghost’ and ‘net’ could be utilised to contextualise the concept.

Hot tip: This glossary can be substituted for one that is better aligned with your classes' individual learning needs.

Step 2

Watch the following clip with the class, explaining to them that this is a poem about turtles that is being performed with accompanying images to enhance the meaning. Ask students to listen carefully for any poetic devices they can hear. Explain to them that poetry, while written, is most powerful when it is heard, so by listening before they read the poem, they can find greater meaning.

Watch the following clip with the class, explaining to them that this is a poem about turtles that is being performed with accompanying images to enhance the meaning. Ask students to listen carefully for any poetic devices they can hear. Explain to them that poetry, while written, is most powerful when it is heard, so by listening before they read the poem, they can find greater meaning.

A turtle's life (https://vimeo.com/1056609745/7e4fc7c04f)

Step 3

After watching the clip, ask students if they could identify any of the poetic devices used, especially any figurative devices or language choices that enhanced meaning. Give students time to read the poem. Ask students to then identify:

Any poetic devices
The effect they have on the audience
What is communicated about turtles

A Turtle's Life Poem is linked on the Student Worksheet and there is a table on the Student Worksheet for students to note down what they identify in the poem.

Step 4

After they have completed this brief analysis, facilitate a discussion with your class. For examples, students might refer to the use of words such as ‘transform’ and ‘migration’ or the imagery of phrases such as ‘cast carelessly’ and ‘unsafe, unclean ground’.

Step 5

Display the Turtles Factsheet (linked on the Student Worksheet), inviting students to also open this document. Read through the material in the section about marine turtles with the class and explain any key points. Ask students to use this information to list 5 key points about marine turtles, their life cycle, and the threats to their health, that are identified on the fact sheet. There is space provided on the Student Worksheet for them to do so.

Step 6

Once students have completed their list of key points, facilitate a quick class sharing session.

Take Action: The poetry of images – writing your own poem

Step 1

Explain to students that they are now going to write their own piece of poetry to creatively illustrate their understanding of the information, issues and concepts they have just been learning about. If required, scaffold the task by setting parameters, such as 10-15 lines, a set of three haikus, or a poem that has an example of three figurative devices, and so on. You could provide an example on the whiteboard such as:

Ghost nets in water
Float and choke marine turtles
How will you help us?

Display the Turtles and Ghost Nets Stimulus Images (linked on the Student Worksheet), inviting students to also open this document . Ask students to look through the images. Explain that they can use these images as visual stimulus for their poem. Students can also use some of the content from the various factsheets used in this lesson

Step 2

Give students time to plan and draft their poem, offering feedback and encouragement while they are on task. Students could complete this in the workbooks or on loose-leaf paper. They could then add drawings or images to enhance the poem.

Step 3

Facilitate a poetry reading/performance by asking students who are comfortable to share their poem with the class. As poetry is typically written to be performed, encourage students to consider their reading with attention to verbal and non-verbal features of spoken presentations.

Verbal features: Pronunciation, phrasing and pausing, audibility and clarity, volume, pace, silence

Non-verbal features: Facial expressions, gestures, proximity, stance, movement

For students uncomfortable with sharing, you could facilitate a gallery walk after the performances by having the poems displayed on walls or desks around the room and asking students to quietly and safely walk around reading each other's’ poems.

Learning extension: Depending on the routines of your class, students could engage with the Ghost Nets Factsheet and Turtles Factsheet and use some of this information to complete the thinking strategies utilised in the lesson. Alternatively, students can revise and enhance their poems from the Take Action part of the lesson by incorporating some visual images and presenting it on an A3 poster.

Reflection

Invite students to complete the reflection routine for this unit on their student worksheet. This is a short 3-2-1 activity that encapsulates their thinking and learning at the end of the lesson. This can be about the topic, or the skills and thinking routines. Students are asked to reflect on what they have learnt and participated in this lesson and identify:

3 things they have learnt
2 things that were interesting
1 question they now have

Depending on the requirements of your class, you could have students submit these as exit slips at the end of the lesson or submit their Student Worksheet to you digitally.

Blue - Sea Turtle Poetry

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

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Lesson Details

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Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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