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Fish and Their Friends: 

Is Charlie Tuna Going to Live ?

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Project Description

The oceans have been man’s dumping ground for years.  Man has dumped garbage into the ocean and other bodies of water, poisoning them.  Man has also hunted some species of fish to near extinction and, in some cases, actual extinction.  Environmentalists have been telling people for years that if we poison the water we will kill ourselves.  Marine biologists study the species of fish that live in the oceans.  The students will create a diagram of what types of aquatic animals live in the various levels of the ocean.  They will work in groups of four and pick one aquatic animal to “shadow.”  The students will tell the story of what the aquatic animal does during its lifetime.

Project Goals

Essential Question:

Why is it necessary to maintain a balance of life in the ocean?

Specific Questions:

What is a Marine Biologist?

What is Ecology?

Why is the environment important?

What is a food web and food chain?

What happens if you disrupt a food web or chain?

Illinois and CPS Learning Standards

Grade Level:  6-7

            STATE GOAL 12:                                         CAS    B          CFS     2

STATE GOAL 12:                                         CAS    B          CFS     3

STATE GOAL 3:                                           CAS    C         CFS     3

Unit Prerequisites

The students must have basic knowledge of food chains and food webs.

Performance Tasks

Access:

·        Gather information from various sources to inform yourselves of your topic.

·        Observe habitats you see at the aquarium.

·        Interview people to find out all you can about your topic.

Interpret:

·        Check your data to make sure that it is correct.

·        Deduce what could be causing the problems in the environment.

·        Evaluate data to find solutions to problems.

·        Compare other animals to see if there is a correlation.

Produce:

·        Build: Using Inspiration, make a food web and a food chain of your marine area.

·        Write out a report describing what you have found.

·        Make a PowerPoint demonstration for your final report to the Shedd Aquarium staff.

·        Write a report of your findings.

Communicate:

·        Persuade the Shedd Aquarium staff to help your marine animal by using all of your materials.

·        Open a dialogue with the Shedd Aquarium to figure out what can be done to fix the habitat of your marine animal.

·        Interact with other people in your field to help collect information about your report.

Evaluate:

·        Evaluate your report to see what you have learned about your marine animal.

·        Check to see if your data collection methods were correct and safe.

·        Plan the next step with the Shedd Aquarium staff to come up with solutions to the pollution problem.

Performance Assessment Plan

Teacher Resources