Goals:
1. Students will research some of the issues surrounding the captivity of marine mammals.
2. Students will present what they have learned and their opinions on marine mammal captivity.
3. Students will write, revise, and proof read their own and classmates letters to various marine mammal protection/ advocacy agencies.
4. Students will become better acquainted with researching and finding information on the World Wide Web.
Resources:
1. Several articles that are located at the following addresses:
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/intro.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section1.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section2.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section3.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section4.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section5.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section6.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section7.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/wdcs/campaign/captivit/section8.htm
Teacher Background:
All aspects of teacher background dealing with marine mammal captivity can be found through reading the information that the students will be reading.
Time: This lesson will take a great deal of times in various increments and stages. The first portion of the lesson will take about 3 hours, including the discussion and research time. The second part of the lesson, the preparation and the presentations will take 2.5 hours. The students will be given class time to organize their short, 5-10 minute presentations. Letter writing will take 30 minutes to make a rough draft and then another 45 for peer review. The final copy will be due a few days later. This is designed to be divided over the course of many days. There is simply too much to do on the same day. It may be divided as the teacher sees fit.
Total time: 6 hours and 45 minutes
Procedure:
Step 1- The students and teacher will engage in a short discussion about animals in captivity. A few sample questions would be: What types of animals are in captivity? How do you think the captive animals are treated? Do you think that they should be in the wild or in captivity?
Step 2- The students will be divided into groups depending upon which area of captivity they would like to learn more about.
Group 1- The Showbiz Orca - this will be a small group of one or two students
Group 2- Life in the Wild - this will be a group of 2 or 3 students
Group 3- The World Orca Trade - this will be a group of 3 or 4 students
Group 4- Conditions in captivity: 'Life in the tank.' - this will be a group of 5 or 6 students
Group 5- Marine Park Myths - this will be a group of 4, 5 or 6 students
Group 6- The display industry makes a killing - this will be a group of 2 or 3 students
Group 7- The Times they are A-changing - this will be a group of 4 or 5.
The groups may be smaller or larger depending on the size of the class.
Step 3- In their groups the students will look up the internet sites assigned for the various sections. Each group will also be responsible for reading the introduction as well as the conclusion.
Step 4- Each group will design a presentation of what they learned from their article. They will also present their opinion of the particular issue they researched.
Step 5- Each group will give a 5-10 minute presentation on the information that they discovered.
Step 6- After each group has presented what they learned the students will write a letter about the issue that they researched, or one that they learned about to an organization that is involved with whales.
Step 7- The students will exchange their letters with 2 other classmates and have a peer review.
Step 8- The students will write a final copy of their letter and send it to the organization they chose.
Assessment:
Students will be given points for their participation in the presentations as well as for their letters.
4 points= Contributed to the group as well as participated in the presentation
3 points= Some contribution to the group as well as some participation in the presentation
2 points= Little contribution to the group and little participation in the presentation
1 point= No contribution to the group and no participation in the presentation.
4 points= A well written, spelling error-free, clear concise letter
3 points= A fairly written, spelling error-free, somewhat concise letter
2 points= A fairly written, spelling errors evident, somewhat concise letter
1 point= A poorly written, spelling errors evident, not concise letter
Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:
1. Communication Arts- Students will be orally communicating in small group or class settings, which will enhance their confidence, verbal speaking skills, and oral organization of their thoughts.
2. Language Arts- Students will improve and refine their writing skills through writing a professional letter. They will also increase their knowledge of different types of writing.
Possible Extensions:
1. A field trip to a facility such as Sea World, if feasible, or a field trip to a local zoo where the students look at the zoo from the animals perspective. They should pay attention to the living conditions and treatment of the animals. Then the students could write a short story from the animals perspective of the zoo.
2. The students could write a letter to their congress person or senator or to a representative in a state where captivity is an issue.
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