After the Spill
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CONNECTED, LEVEL 4 2013, Are You Sure? After the Spill by Maria Gill Overview This article is about the oil spill caused by the grounding of the Rena on Astrolabe Reef. Students read about the research undertaken by scientists and local iwi to overcome the effects of the oil spill on local marine life and the environment. A Google Slides version of this article is available at www.connected.tki.org.nz. This text also has additional digital content, which is available online at www.connected.tki.org.nz too. Science capability Text characteristics Students need to develop a set of capabilities that support • Abstract ideas and concepts, and lengthy sections of them to ask informed questions if they are to participate as explanatory text “critical, informed, responsible citizens in a society in which Illustrations, photographs, text boxes, a diagram, a science plays a significant role”. The capabilities enable • map, and a newspaper item containing main ideas students to meet the achievement objectives in a way that that relate to the text’s content supports the purpose of science in The New Zealand Curriculum and the development of the key competencies. • Scientific vocabulary and terminology. These capabilities include being ready, willing, and able to gather and interpret data. Students need to understand what counts as evidence in science, the importance of observation, and the difference between observation and inference. Curriculum context SCIENCE NATURE OF SCIENCE: LIVING WORLD: Ecology Key Nature of Science ideas Understanding about science Achievement objective(s) • Science knowledge is based on direct, or indirect, observations of the natural physical Achievement objective(s) L4: Students will explain how world. L4: Students will identify ways in living things are suited to their which scientists work together particular habitat and how they • Scientists gather data using their senses to and provide evidence to support respond to environmental make observations. their ideas. changes, both natural and human-induced. • Making careful observations often involves NATURE OF SCIENCE: measuring something. Participating and contributing • Observations are influenced by what you Achievement objective(s) already know. L4: Students will use their growing science knowledge Key science ideas when considering issues of • Plants and animals have particular habitats. concern to them. • Plants and animals respond to changes in L4: Students will explore various their environment in different ways. aspects of an issue and make • Environmental changes can have positive decisions about possible and negative effects on living things. actions. Accessed from www.connected.tki.org.nz Teacher Support Material for “After the Spill” Connected, Level 4, 2013 1 Text copyright © Crown 2013 ISBN 978 0 478 40672 6 (web) ENGLISH READING INDICATORS THE LITERACY LEARNING PROGRESSIONS Ideas • Makes meaning of increasingly complex texts by identifying and L4: Students will show an The literacy knowledge and skills understanding main and subsidiary increasing understanding of ideas that students need to draw on by the ideas and the links between them. within, across, and beyond texts. end of year 8 are described in The • Makes connections by thinking Literacy Learning Progressions. about underlying ideas within and between texts from a range of contexts. • Recognises that there may be more than one reading available within a text. • Makes and supports inferences from texts with increasing independence. Scientific investigation A science investigation where you change or try something Sound data is obtained when you are able to get similar and observe what happens is called an experiment. Not all outcomes each time you do the same thing, or when data scientific investigations are experiments; there are many has been collected in the same way and in a systematic ways of investigating in science. The New Zealand manner. No investigation or experiment results in a “wrong” Curriculum science achievement aims indicate that outcome. You may have done something differently from students should experience a range of approaches to others or the conditions may be slightly different so you don’t scientific investigation including classifying and identifying, get the same result as others do, but it is not “wrong”. pattern seeking, exploring, investigating models, fair Thinking about and developing explanations about why testing, making things, and developing systems. Many things happen the way they do, based on evidence, is an scientific investigations involve systematic observation important aspect of science. Another important aspect is over time of an object, an event, a living thing, or a place. critically evaluating methods and ideas. Part of a scientist’s Some important things to remember when you do a work is critiquing and evaluating the methods and ideas of scientific investigation are: to be systematic and fair; to other scientists. They expect their work to be subject to make sure that only one thing is changed at a time if you critique. If they are going to be able to make informed are doing an experiment or fair test so you are sure which decisions about scientific issues as responsible citizens, changes result in which outcome; to observe and record students first need to experience a range of approaches to what happens very carefully; and to be open minded so scientific investigation and to practise critique and evaluation you notice things you are not expecting. of scientific methods and ideas – both their own and those of others – just like scientists do! Meeting the literacy challenges The following strategies will support students to TEACHER SUPPORT understand, respond to, and think critically about the information and ideas in the text. After reading the text, Want to know more about instructional strategies? Go to: support students to explore the key science and http://literacyonline.tki.org.nz/Literacy-Online/Teacher- technology ideas outlined in the following pages. needs/Pedagogy/Reading#Years5-8 http://literacyonline.tki.org.nz/Literacy-Online/Student- TEXT CHARACTERISTICS needs/National-Standards-Reading-and-Writing http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/ • Abstract ideas and concepts, and lengthy sections of explanatory text “Working with Comprehension Strategies” (Chapter 5) from Teaching Reading Comprehension (Davis, 2007) gives • Illustrations, photographs, text boxes, diagrams, maps, comprehensive guidance for explicit strategy instruction in charts, and graphs, containing main ideas that relate years 4–8. to the text’s content Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies: A Practical • Scientific vocabulary and terminology. Classroom Guide (Cameron, 2009) provides information, resources, and tools for comprehension strategy instruction. Accessed from www.connected.tki.org.nz Teacher Support Material for “After the Spill” Connected, Level 4, 2013 2 Text copyright © Crown 2013 ISBN 978 0 478 40672 6 (web) INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES This text also has additional digital content, which is USING DESIGN FEATURES FOR DEEPER available online at www.connected.tki.org.nz. UNDERSTANDING ASK QUESTIONS to draw out the idea that articles often FINDING THE MAIN IDEAS contain additional information that supports the main ideas. Have the students scan the headings and photographs, • How does the newspaper article on page 3 add interest PROMPTING them to make connections to their prior to the article? knowledge and to predict what the article may be about. • How do the photographs add interest to the text? • What do you know about this oil spill? • What do you learn from the map on page 4 that you • What role do you think scientists might have played, wouldn’t understand just from reading the article? “after the oil spill”? • What does the diagram on page 7 add? [Understanding • What role do you think iwi might have played, “after the the actual process of how these animals (mussels) feed oil spill”? emphasises how vulnerable they are.] ASK QUESTIONS to support the students to make connections to identify the author’s purpose. DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR VOCABULARY • What is the author’s purpose for writing this article? IDENTIFY the scientific vocabulary that may challenge What is your evidence for this? some students, for example “toxins”, “filter-feeding”, “ethanol”, and “intertidal”. MODEL how to use the clues on the first page of the article to construct a graphic organiser on which to RECORD the PROMPT the students to locate meanings for unknown information from the text. words by using the text or contextual clues. Students can IDENTIFY and RECORD new vocabulary Rena oil spill and compile glossaries, adding meanings in their own words. Ensure that you give them multiple opportunities to Short-term effects Long-term effects practise using their new vocabulary as they carry out authentic activities as scientists. Note that “Mātauranga Māori” is not simply “Māori knowledge”. It is the knowledge base from te ao Māori that Where to from here? has been formulated, researched, analysed, and debated over centuries. EXPLAIN that recording these details will support the students’ comprehension as they work through the article. ASK QUESTIONS to support students to identify the main ideas. • What is the significance of scientists and local iwi working together? Is this important? Why? • What important information did scientists find from their research that could be useful in a similar incident? • What important information did iwi provide to the research