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Age: Grade(s) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Art, Drama, Environmental Problems, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science
Duration: 30 to 40 minutes
Group Size: any
Key Vocabulary: plankton

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Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • create a "mind map" of personal ocean values; and
  • describe ways their personal lives are affected by, and connected to, oceans.

Method

Students create a personal mind map of their connections to the ocean, based on a resource sheet and class discussion.

Materials

"Resource Sheet: My Grampa's Tall Tales", coloured pencils, a large piece of paper for each student

Background

Canadians living on our ocean coasts understand their dependence on the sea for everything from food to jobs and prescription drugs. The rest of us, living hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometres away, need to think a little harder about our ocean connections.

This activity uses "mind mapping" to put our central topic—our connections to oceans—in a personal context. "Mind mapping" is a great way to brainstorm, organize, and remember information. The key is to keep it personal and open, while including opportunities along the way to feed in relevant information.

Procedure

  1. Introduce the idea that, though oceans may seem distant to many Canadians, we are all connected to them every day of our lives. Explain how mind mapping works. (See "Tips for Mind Mapping" below.)
  2. Read (or hand out) the resource sheet, "My Grandpa's Tall Tales". Take questions for clarification.
  3. Hand out flip chart paper and ask the students to begin their mind maps, starting with "Ocean Gifts" in the middle. Give students five to 10 minutes to get down as many ideas as possible (pencils preferred).
  4. Ask a few students to share their maps. Or have students post their maps on the wall so everyone can view the connections. Discuss them.
  5. Have students revise their mind maps by adding information and connections they feel are missing. They can fill the rest of the page with ideas and illustrations, using colour and imagination.
  6. Summarize the results. Point out gifts that are derived from a living ocean and discuss what human communities would be like without healthy oceans. Emphasize our dependence on oceans, even far from the coast. Note how many of the values identified by the students depend on healthy habitats and good water quality.
  7. Display the final mind maps.

Extensions

  1. Create a scavenger hunt. Develop a checklist of five to 10 common things in the class or community that oceans provide. Have the students search for the items and check them off. Depending on age, focus the hunt in the school, or extend it to the home and community. Categories might include foods from the ocean, wildlife, water, goods transported across the ocean, music, and stories from the ocean.
  2. Senior students can create a scavenger hunt for younger ones.
  3. Use local media to find ocean links in headlines and ads.
  4. Present your mind maps at a local Oceans Day festival (see “Celebrate with an Ocean’s Festival”).

Evaluation

Evaluate students from the mind map they create. Do they portray a wide range of linkages? Can they explain ocean linkages?

Tips for Mind-Mapping

  • Skim or read relevant information before beginning.
  • Start with the main concept in the middle of a horizontal, blank page.
  • Write or draw five to 10 related ideas radiating around the central idea. Then draw several new ideas radiating from each of those.
  • Use arrows or branches to show the connections between ideas.
  • Use colour.
  • Draw quickly and leave lots of space at first. Don't edit or judge.
  • After a first, quick round, share ideas with others.
  • Come back to fill in more information.

A Sample of Ocean Gifts

  • Food products—fish, shellfish, kelp, carrageenan (thickener in foods)
  • Medicine—anti-leukemia drugs, anti-infection agents
  • Weather generation—winds and precipitation
  • Photosynthesis—oxygen cycling
  • Other products—sponges, pearls, sea salt, diatoms for filters
  • Jobs—fishing, processing, boat building, marine equipment sales
  • Tourism—beach holidays and cruises
  • Recreation—swimming, surfing, snorkelling, sailing, diving, exploring
  • Biodiversity—gene pool
  • Transportation—shipping and travel
  • Resources—oil exploration
  • Culture—music, songs, poems, stories, movies, collective history, news
  • Beauty

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