Image: http://www.pbs.org/big-blue-live/home/
Text set by Katy Clem
For INFO 237; SJSU School of Information
Text set by Katy Clem
For INFO 237; SJSU School of Information
Audience: 3rd graders at an inquiry-based charter school in San Francisco. Primarily near or above grade level with some far above; approximately 20% of students are English learners reading above, near, and below grade level.
Purpose: To construct a knowledge base regarding ocean ecosystems, analyze the relationships between local organisms in our nearby bays, and apply that understanding to actionable steps towards the restoration and protection of our community’s marine resources.
Big Questions:
Purpose: To construct a knowledge base regarding ocean ecosystems, analyze the relationships between local organisms in our nearby bays, and apply that understanding to actionable steps towards the restoration and protection of our community’s marine resources.
Big Questions:
- What organisms live in the Pacific waters of our Northern California ocean and bays?
- How do those organisms interact with each other, and how are they dependent upon each other?
- How have humans impacted the marine ecosystems of the Bay Area both positively and negatively?
- What can we do to support efforts to protect and restore these habitats?
Anchor Text
Baker, J. (2000). The Hidden Forest. Singapore: Greenwillow Books.
In The Hidden Forest by Jeannie Baker, the reader enters a beautifully realistic representation of an underwater kelp forest as we follow two children diving to retrieve a fishing trap caught in the rocks. Through large, three-dimensional, collage artwork, readers are introduced to the various creatures that inhabit this world alongside the book’s main character, developing an appreciation for the relationships between the plants and animals that comprise this habitat.
In The Hidden Forest by Jeannie Baker, the reader enters a beautifully realistic representation of an underwater kelp forest as we follow two children diving to retrieve a fishing trap caught in the rocks. Through large, three-dimensional, collage artwork, readers are introduced to the various creatures that inhabit this world alongside the book’s main character, developing an appreciation for the relationships between the plants and animals that comprise this habitat.
Individual Topical Exploration
Wildlife Species of the San Francisco Bay Area [website]. Retrieved from http://sfbaywildlife.info/species/species.htm
Using classroom or library technology, SF Bay Wildlife Info provides a student-led exploration of the wide variety of organisms that make up the bay ecosystem surrounding San Francisco. Students can begin by taking in the sheer volume of different animals in the area, then begin to focus in on a more narrow area of interest through filtering by location or category. As third grade is the year CA public school students begin standardized testing on computers, it is important for curriculum to include student-led computer navigation when possible in order to ensure every student is familiar with the technology.
Wildlife Species of the San Francisco Bay Area [website]. Retrieved from http://sfbaywildlife.info/species/species.htm
Using classroom or library technology, SF Bay Wildlife Info provides a student-led exploration of the wide variety of organisms that make up the bay ecosystem surrounding San Francisco. Students can begin by taking in the sheer volume of different animals in the area, then begin to focus in on a more narrow area of interest through filtering by location or category. As third grade is the year CA public school students begin standardized testing on computers, it is important for curriculum to include student-led computer navigation when possible in order to ensure every student is familiar with the technology.
Information Books: Leveled Options
For Everyone (at or below grade reading level)
Lauber, P. (1995). Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs. Illustrated by Holly Keller. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Who Eats What? is one of a series of books that teach scientific topics for young readers. It introduces the concepts behind food chains in different ecosystems and describes how increasing complexity turns the food chain into a food web. The text and illustrations are designed to clearly explain this model in a highly accessible format.
Lauber, P. (1995). Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs. Illustrated by Holly Keller. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Who Eats What? is one of a series of books that teach scientific topics for young readers. It introduces the concepts behind food chains in different ecosystems and describes how increasing complexity turns the food chain into a food web. The text and illustrations are designed to clearly explain this model in a highly accessible format.
Deep Dive (above-grade reading level)
Hooks, G. (2009). Makers & Takers: Studying Food Webs in the Ocean. Edited by Jeanne Sturm. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Educational Media.
For students who are especially interested and want more depth, Makers & Takers provides a deep dive into the world of ocean ecosystems. It acknowledges the presence of many ecosystems under the ‘oceans’ label and includes an age-level appropriate discussion about energy transfer within food webs via producers and consumers.
Hooks, G. (2009). Makers & Takers: Studying Food Webs in the Ocean. Edited by Jeanne Sturm. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Educational Media.
For students who are especially interested and want more depth, Makers & Takers provides a deep dive into the world of ocean ecosystems. It acknowledges the presence of many ecosystems under the ‘oceans’ label and includes an age-level appropriate discussion about energy transfer within food webs via producers and consumers.
Nonfiction Storybooks
For Everyone (at grade reading level)
Slade, S. (2011). What if there were no Sea Otters? Illustrated by Nathan Gassman. Mankato, MN: Picture Window Books.
This book is part of a series of science storybooks that imagine the effects of removing a species from various ecosystems. As this text set moves from a broad look at ecosystems and food chains into more narrow Bay Area specifics, What if there were no Sea Otters? introduces the story of the decline in local sea otter populations and its far-reaching effects.
Slade, S. (2011). What if there were no Sea Otters? Illustrated by Nathan Gassman. Mankato, MN: Picture Window Books.
This book is part of a series of science storybooks that imagine the effects of removing a species from various ecosystems. As this text set moves from a broad look at ecosystems and food chains into more narrow Bay Area specifics, What if there were no Sea Otters? introduces the story of the decline in local sea otter populations and its far-reaching effects.
Deep Dive (above-grade reading level)
Newman, P. (2017). Sea Otter Heroes: The predators that saved an ecosystem. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
This is the true story of a local scientist who studied the deteriorating state of nearby Monterey Bay and discovered a fascinating link between the overall ecosystem health and a decline in the local sea otter population. Its text is complex and rich as it inspires students to search for connections between concepts in order to solve big-picture problems.
Newman, P. (2017). Sea Otter Heroes: The predators that saved an ecosystem. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
This is the true story of a local scientist who studied the deteriorating state of nearby Monterey Bay and discovered a fascinating link between the overall ecosystem health and a decline in the local sea otter population. Its text is complex and rich as it inspires students to search for connections between concepts in order to solve big-picture problems.
Video Documentary
Scoones, T., & Honeyborne, J. (Producers), & Morgan, J. (Director). (2015). The Best of Big Blue Live [Documentary on DVD]. BBC Production with PBS.
Master documentarian network BBC Earth came together with PBS to produce three evenings of live broadcast from Monterey Bay, CA in August of 2015, filming a unique convergence of multiple large marine mammal species in the space and time when their various migrations overlap. The entire hour has great content, but especially relevant to this study are the following clips:
Monterey Bay Food Chains: 7:40-8:05
Sea Otters: 33:38-36:36
Master documentarian network BBC Earth came together with PBS to produce three evenings of live broadcast from Monterey Bay, CA in August of 2015, filming a unique convergence of multiple large marine mammal species in the space and time when their various migrations overlap. The entire hour has great content, but especially relevant to this study are the following clips:
Monterey Bay Food Chains: 7:40-8:05
Sea Otters: 33:38-36:36
Ultra Local Video; Field Trip or Guest Speaker
SF Bay Joint Venture. (2016, November 7). Heron’s Head Park: Wetlands Restoration is Working [video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/190647922
This video illuminates the ongoing effects of local efforts to restore the marine habitat at Heron’s Head Park, a newly protected stretch of land in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. The video itself is an effective introduction to the idea of going on a class field trip to visit the park itself and hear from the ecologists working there about the process of reversing human effects on an ecosystem. The park itself features an informational visitor’s center that outlines the history of human use of its land and the efforts that have gone into restoring it over the past decade.
This video illuminates the ongoing effects of local efforts to restore the marine habitat at Heron’s Head Park, a newly protected stretch of land in the Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. The video itself is an effective introduction to the idea of going on a class field trip to visit the park itself and hear from the ecologists working there about the process of reversing human effects on an ecosystem. The park itself features an informational visitor’s center that outlines the history of human use of its land and the efforts that have gone into restoring it over the past decade.