Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Tune In: A living, breathing system

10 minutes

Find Out: Human impact on oceans

25 minutes

Take Action: There are solutions!

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

investigate how ocean systems influence climate and support global life systems
examine the effects of human-induced changes on ocean sustainability.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain how the ocean contributes to regulating the Earth's climate and sustaining life
identify key human activities that threaten the health of ocean environments
interpret environmental data and describe patterns of change in ocean systems.

Tune In: A living, breathing system

Preparation

Please see the ‘content’ section of the Teacher Content Information for detailed preparation instructions for this activity.

Step 1

Outline to students that you are going to collectively explore different perspectives of the ocean, as it exists as a living and breathing system of interconnection. As a class, watch the following video produced by Blue Minds, a youth project of Surfers for Climate who are dedicated to turning the tide on eco-anxiety by creating the next generation of passionate ocean leaders.

Step 2

Ask volunteers to identify key messages and/or what struck them most. For example, [placeholder]. Outline to students that an important note is that Australia has the third-largest ocean domain in the world. This is referred to as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where ocean industries contribute $118.5b to the Australian economy each year (Source: dcceew.gov.au/environment/marine).

Next, move your class into a large open space, which may be inside or outside your classroom. Explain to students that they will participate in an ocean-connectedness web activity to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the ocean. Nominate 6 students to stand on each of the 6 labelled circles and distribute the sticky labels to the other students, who represent various organisms or groups.

Step 3

Give the ball of bright-coloured string to the student standing on the ‘global temperature’ circle and ask them to hold onto the string’s end.

Invite another student to connect the ‘global temperature’ to a related circle (for example, ocean temperature), walk over, and hold the string there while continuing the web to another connected circle. Continue this process until the web of connections between the 6 circles is complete.

Cut the string to end the web. Repeat this process, starting with the students on sea level and carbon emissions circles and creating webs from these points.

Step 4

Give the ball of the contrasting-coloured string to 1 student holding a sticky label (for example, corals).

That student holds onto the end of the string and passes the ball to another student whose organism or group is connected in some way (for example, fish that live near corals or humans who rely on fish).

The new student holds the string and passes the ball on to another connected student. Continue until many connections form a complex web involving the organisms and groups, including the 6 climate circles.

Step 5

Now, present a scenario to students

‘Atmospheric carbon is rising, which means the climate is warming further.”’

Ask: them to predict what might happen next. Prompt the chain of effects: warming climate → melting ice caps → rising sea level → ocean warming → loss of seagrass, coral, krill, phytoplankton → impact on creatures dependent on these.

As you describe this, any student whose organism or group is affected should let go of their string, breaking the web.

Find Out: Human impact on oceans

Step 1

Divide students into groups. Allocate an assigned source (graph or interactive map) to each group.

These explore the cause-and-effect relationships between ocean changes and human systems.

Group 1	Sea surface temperature rise
Group 2	Global plastic pollution hotspots and/or Plastic pollution hotspots in Australia Learning extension: Plastic Pollution - Our World in Data
Group 3	Marine protected area and/or Marine Protection Atlas
Group 4	Fish and Overfishing - Our World in Data

Give each group a copy of the Student Worksheet. Their task is to spend 10 minutes exploring the source. Encourage students to take note of key information on their devices.

Take Action: There are solutions!

Step 1

After students have explored their assigned sources in the Find Out activity, bring the class together to connect their learning.

Explain to students that each of the sources you investigated shows how human activities are causing changes in the ocean and how these changes affect marine life and our climate. These sources help us understand cause-and-effect relationships and how what we do leads to real impacts on the ocean environment.

Step 2

Tell students that their next task is to respond thoughtfully to key questions based on their group’s research on the Student Worksheet. These questions will help them think critically about the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to the ocean problems they explored.

Encourage students to use their notes and sources as they discuss and write their responses, preparing to share their ideas with the class or in small groups.

Learning support: Allow students to remain seated in their groupings so they can support each other as they individually respond to the questions.

Did you know that in a 2020 scientific review, scientists concluded that the oceans could fully recover within 3 decades if sufficient action were taken now (Source: nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2146-7)? Share this statement with your students to ignite their critical and creative thinking.

Step 3

Invite volunteers to share their responses. Specifically, encourage students to describe the personal actions they could take to improve ocean futures.

Reflection

Step 1

Invite students to complete the sentence ‘1 thing I learned about the ocean today that surprised me was…’ and share with a partner.

Ocean and Climate - Interconnected and Irreplaceable

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Summary

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