Cooperation
High School – September/October 2013
Character
Education
Newsletters
Welcome back to school! The Broward County Air Quality Program continues to
incorporate Character Education into its educational efforts. Each month the
newsletter will relate core values to science in an effort to educate students about
good character and the importance of protecting our natural resources.
Cooperation is defined as “working with others to accomplish a common purpose.”
This month, the common purpose is protecting nature and our natural resources from
the effects of climate change and air pollution.
This year’s newsletters support the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for
Science.
Grades 9 – 12: Body of Knowledge: Nature of Science and Life Science
Common Core State Standards for Literacy & Mathematics embedded throughout.
Broward County
Air Quality
Program
Go Green
Environmental
Kids Club
Broward County
Kids Corner
NatureScape
Broward
Broward County
Public Schools
STEM
Upcoming
Events
Save the Sharks Activity
Background Information
Sharks have always been hunted for their meat, skin, and rich liver oil. Recently, they
have also been killed for their valuable fins, used for making shark fin soup, and
cartilage, which purportedly has a variety of medicinal uses. Fear of sharks,
exacerbated by movies, has created a large shark sport-fishing industry.
Our misunderstandings, coupled with the global demand for shark meat, skin
products, liver oil, cartilage, and fins, have served to aide in the decimation of most
shark species. Compared to the 10-15 people killed every year by sharks, humans kill
over 100 million sharks annually and many species face certain extinction. In the
United States alone, coastal species seem to have declined 50-75 percent in just the
last 20 years. Nearly all shark species have been decimated to the point that they are
threatened or endangered. Most shark species take years to reach reproductive age
and so their depletion is particularly devastating.
Only recently researchers have come to understand the value of sharks to the ecology
September:
Poster Contest
October:
Walk to School Day
Poster Contest
November:
America Recycles
Day
Poster Contest
December:
of the oceans and have started working to reverse common stereotypes people have
about sharks. An apex predator, sharks act as agents of natural selection by helping
eliminate diseased and weak animals and help stabilize population fluctuations. We
still don’t know what all the consequences of losing this vital predator will be on the
environment, but we know that whatever affects one species, eventually affects the
entire ecosystem.
This lesson will help students understand the importance of sharks and the role of the
media in shaping our opinions. Students will create a “Save the Sharks” campaign to
educate their schoolmates and increase awareness of the need for conservation.
Objectives - Students will:
Define the term apex predator and explain their significance in the food pyramid
Name 5 reasons that sharks are harvested
Strengthen communication skills and creativity
Determine the elements of a successful political campaign
Materials
Paper, pens
Computers with internet access
Poster board, paints, markers
Informational books about sharks, with lots of pictures
Tape recorders
Poster Contest
January:
C3 Challenge
February:
C3 Challenge
March:
Water Matters Day
April:
Earth Day
@Broward
Environment
Procedure
1) Ask: Are sharks really all that important? Draw a food pyramid and have the
students help you fill it in with producers, primary consumers, secondary
consumers, and apex predators. The shark is an apex predator because it is at the
top of the food pyramid and has no natural predators (other than humans). Even
though they are way at the top, are sharks still important?
2) Demonstrate the vital role sharks play in maintaining the stability of the food
pyramid by erasing or covering up the top of the pyramid. What happens to the
level below it (the secondary consumers)? Their population increases – draw that
in. What then happens to the level below that (the primary consumers)? Their
numbers become depleted and can no longer support the large population of
secondary consumers, who subsequently starve. Removing any organism from
any level of the pyramid threatens the stability of the entire ecosystem.
3) Ask students how many species of sharks there are (over 375). How many do they
think are dangerous? They can probably name the most dangerous ones – great
white, bull, tiger. Hammerhead sharks are no longer considered as dangerous or
unpredictable as they were once thought to be. Give them the facts about animals
and natural events that are more dangerous than sharks.
4) Have students brainstorm and discuss reasons why we kill sharks, what we use
shark parts for, and why we fear sharks so much. Explain that while only 10-15
people are killed every year by sharks, hundreds of millions of pounds of shark are
harvested.
5) Tell them that they are going to be responsible researching different aspects of
sharks: their role in the ocean, human uses for, myth vs. fact, etc. Divide the class
into groups and assign each group a different shark or topic to research.
6) When they have finished, bring them together to present their findings. Discuss
why they believe it is important to educate others and protect this valuable
species.
7) Next, tell the students they are responsible for creating a class “Save the Sharks”
campaign to educate their classmates and the community about the need to
protect these valuable animals.
@Broward
Environment’s Channel
8) Ask them to interview other students, family and community members about their
feelings and ideas about sharks to determine what education is most needed.
9) When they have finished their research, they can choose to create posters, write a
newspaper editorial or article, write a script and record an informational segment
for a radio show or news program, or perform a skit or make up a rap about shark
roles or conservation. They should decide as a group what they want to do and
submit a short proposal for approval before they begin. Make all the materials
available for them and make sure everyone has a job in creating the finished
product.
Assessment - Each group should present their poster, article, skit, song, etc. to the
class, describing the research they did and what they learned that led them to create
what they did. Other classes should be invited for these presentations, or the groups
should schedule times to visit other classes or present to the school’s environmental
club for their assistance to take it a step further.
Further Exploration - Present a Save the Sharks day for the school and/or
community. Organize persuasive letter writing campaigns requesting the need for
laws protecting sharks.
Encourage students to print the “Sharks Attacked” posters and distribute them to classrooms
throughout the school. The poster can be downloaded from
www.sharksavers.org/files/7913/4211/4391/usInfographic.pdf
Resource Links
Shark Savers: www.sharksavers.org/en/home/
Shark Foundation: www.shark.ch/index.html
Shark Research Institute: www.sharks.org/
Earthjustice: http://earthjustice.org/blog/2013-july/driven-from-predator-to-prey-sharksface-extinction?utm_source=Convio
Source: www.beworldwise.org/teachers/ocean_realm_u2_sharks.php
A scientist performs an experiment involving shark populations, and asks other
scientists around the world to replicate it. Why would other scientists most likely
try to perform the same experiment?
A. to find out if weather of various regions of the world would affect the results
B. to see if the experiment would be less expensive in another part of the world
C. to confirm the results of the experiment conducted by the scientist
D. to verify that the hypothesis of the experiment is a scientific law
Answer: C
Spread the Word!!!
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Newsletters Today!
The monthly edition of this newsletter is distributed only through a FREE electronic
e-mail subscriber list. E-mail the Broward County Air Quality program at
airoutreach@broward.org to receive this valuable curriculum resource. The
newsletters are also available on our Environmental Kids Club web site at
www.broward.org/kids.
The Fantastic Solar Energy Inventions
Poster Contest
Now open to high school students!!! Every year we see innovative solar energy
inventions. Besides using solar power for electricity, there are solar powered lights
for school crossing signs, streetlights and landscape lighting. There are solar
chargers for cell phones and MP3 players, solar backpacks, ovens, watches and
even solar panels on the roof of some cars!
Students should design a poster (which will be featured in the 2015 calendar)
showing their fantastic solar energy inventions. Please visit
http://www.broward.org/Kids/Contests/Pages/KidsClubContests.aspx for contest
rules and for more information.
International Coastal Cleanup
Mark your calendar for September 21st so you can be part of the next International
Coastal Cleanup. The Broward County Coastal Cleanup locations as well as more
information on the event can be found at
www.broward.org/NaturalResources/BeachAndMarine/Pages/BeachCleanup.aspx
Eco-Schools USA
The National Wildlife Federation is working to recruit thousands of K-12 public, private
and charter schools across the United States to become a part of the Eco-Schools
USA program. Learn more about Eco-Schools USA at: www.nwf.org/Eco-SchoolsUSA
Walk to School Day
Organized by the Partnership for a Walkable America, Walk to School Day in the USA
began in 1997 as a one-day event aimed at building awareness for the need for
walkable communities. In the USA and Canada, International Walk to School Day
galvanizes visibility for walking and bicycling to school. Today, thousands of schools
across America and in more than 40 countries worldwide celebrate walking to school
every October. Walk to School Day is October 9th. Please visit
www.walkbiketoschool.org/
School Flag Program
WHAT IS THE SCHOOL FLAG PROGRAM?
The Flag Program uses colored flags based on U.S. EPA’s Air Quality Index to notify teachers, coaches,
students, and others about outdoor air quality conditions. Schools raise a colored flag each day that
corresponds to their local air quality forecast. This is especially important for those that have asthma.
Interested in more information? Contact airoutreach@broward.org and visit
www.epa.gov/airnow/school_flag/SchoolFlag.pdf