Teacher Resources


Pre- and Post-MDC visit ideas for Secondary Classes

sea squirts and shrimp

big bellied seahorse

Pre Visit Suggestions

Appropriate pre-visit activities will depend on the program you choose for your students and the time available in your classroom. A good general place to start is our Species Register.

Students could use the information on the register to research:

one of the animals
the diversity within a group
habitats - students could describe features of animals found in the same habitat
compare distributions around Australia's coast
feeding relationships - students could build up a food web using the information from a number of species

Additionally, our Teacher Resources page has links to student activities, and new curriculum units suitable for standard 3-5 which provide activities for you to use in your classroom to support your visit.

Post Visit Suggestions

During your visit, request a fresh plankton sample to take back to school for students to identify. (Good online plankton guides include Guide to Marine Zooplankton of SE Australia and Phytoplankton Identification)

Have students use an online tool to calculate their carbon emissions (such as Planet Slayer or Global Warming Cool It). Ask students to relate lifestyle choices to global climate change and the impacts of this on the marine environment.

Visit a local fish shop and record what sort of fish is for sale and where it comes from. Use a sustainable seafood guide (such as that found at Thanks for All the Fish) to examine which would be the most sustainable seafood choices.

Use a shallow tray to perform wave experiments; compare the shape of waves around islands, through a narrow inlet etc; examine the effect of wave action on a sandy and rocky shore. Ask students to construct a 'sea wall' in front of the coastline and examine how this may impact on the rate and location of erosion.

The following websites provide educational activities as well as access to real-time oceanographic data. Ask your students to compare the data they collected to other sites on the globe

http://www.marine-ed.org/bridge/oos.html

http://imos.org.au/

http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/Argo_Data_and.html

http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/Educational_Use.html
Look up the Census of Antarctic Marine Life http://www.caml.aq/education-outreach/index.html to see some amazing images of species being discovered in the southern ocean.
Use the habitat maps available here to develop food webs and explore how marine animals are adapted to their particular habitat. Ask students to investigate the impacts of a new species or increased human development.
Investigate changing recreational fishing habits by asking students to interview their parents and grandparents about their favourite fishing spot and the species they caught. Check out REDMAP to explore changing species distribution around Tasmania.