• Views 51
  • Favorites
Photo by Wewe Yang via Pexels

Database Provider

Author

World Wildlife Fund

Grades

8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, AP® / College

Subjects

Science, Chemistry, Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, English Language Arts, Social-Emotional Learning

Resource Type

  • Scientific Papers or Reports, 72 pages

Regional Focus

Global

Format

PDF

Living Blue Planet Report

|
Ask a Question

Synopsis
  • This is the most recent report on the state of the Earth's oceans, which includes chapters on current trends in ocean conservation, how the oceans are feeling pressure, why we should care about the oceans, and how to make meaningful changes to protect the oceans. 
  • Students will learn about decreasing populations of ocean animals, ocean habitats, species trends, how people are impacting the oceans, aquaculture, tourism, our changing climate, pollution, the differing impacts of ocean decline, and multiple solutions for solving these problems.
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • This resource includes various non-fiction text structures that add to the meaning of the words, like charts, graphs, pictures, and infographics. 
  • Due to the length and breadth of this resource, is has been helpfully broken up into three chapters, each of which are broken into several sections that can be read and discussed over many class sessions.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should be comfortable reading several types of graphs, infographics, and maps.

Differentiation

  • Cross-curricular connections can be made in social studies classes that are discussing global conservation efforts, health classes considering the health impacts of declining ocean ecosystems, and in math classes studying real-world data represented in graph form.
  • Middle school students would benefit from at least some whole-class reading of this resource, due to the amount of information presented. 
  • For older or advanced students, consider using the jigsaw method of shared teaching. Assign each student or group a section of the resource to be responsible for. This can be accomplished through student-created worksheets, games, or other work.
  • As an extension, consider having students use an online infographic tool, like Google Sheets or Canva, to create a visual representation of one section of the resource. 
Scientist Notes
This report goes into detail about how climate change and human activities affect the oceans. The report is long and broken up into different chapters and sections. Initially, the report focuses on the population and quality of life for fish, sea creatures, and land animals who rely on the oceans. Second, the report details how different human activities and climate change affect and put pressure on our oceans. The final two sections focus on different reasons why we should care about these problems, how addressing it will be beneficial for everyone, and what we can do. The reports solutions are largely focused on mitigating human impacts and how we can alter our habits to protect the ocean environment. The report is older, so many of the graphs and statistics are older, however the concepts discussed are still relevant and the WWF (author of the report) releases or has resources where updated information can be found. Additionally, the report contains many examples of graphs and different ways to display data and summarize information. The information in the report is accurate and this resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

  • English Language Arts
    • Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
      • RST.11-12.1 Accurately cite strong and thorough evidence from the text to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to precise details for explanations or descriptions.
      • RST.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas, themes, or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
      • RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
      • RST.11-12.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
      • RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
  • Science
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.
      • MS-ESS3-5. Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
      • HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
    • LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
      • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
      • HS-LS2-6. Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
  • Related Resources

    Reviews

    Login to leave a review