Oceans teacher toolkit
The ocean is VAST. No matter where you live, we are all affected by it.
Can you figure out whether these statements about our ocean are true or false?
There’s a reason we call Earth the Blue Planet!
Have you ever wondered why the ocean is so important? Well, it’s all about…
Sounds amazing, right? What else does the ocean do for us?
Let’s think about some of the ways the ocean influences our world. Can you name any?
The Isles of Scilly - off the southwest coast of Britain - have an almost Mediterranean climate. At the same latitude, across the Atlantic, are the icy waters of Canada’s east coast. This is thanks to the warm Gulf Stream current which brings heat from the Caribbean.
Our oceans have been around for several billion years and in that time it has seen much change.
For the last 11,000 years, they’ve been relatively stable, forming the perfect conditions for life as we know it to flourish. We call this era the Holocene. In the words of Sir David Attenborough, this was our Garden of Eden.
But all is not well in our mighty oceans.
Discussion point
Get students to discuss what they think is the biggest issue. Get them to consider why they think one issue is more pertinent than another? Can solving one problem solve another?
The oceans need our help now more than ever. And there’s no shortage of innovative solutions out there.
Activity
Can you think of 3 ways we can help our oceans?
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What are the things that governments and organisations can do?
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What can your school do?
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What can you do?
Now it’s time to learn how to protect our oceans!
Want to learn more about… where did the oceans come from? What exactly are we humans doing to disrupt the oceans' natural cycles? And how can we solve some of these complex challenges?
Head over to itza.io for the Oceans Challenge.