Local Seafood in Maine Schools
Lesson Plans
Grades5, 6, 7, 8Biology, Economics
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Provided by Gulf of Maine Research Institute
What it is
- In this set of five lessons, students will learn about the importance of seafood worldwide, the impact of seafood on the local economy, and examples of local seafood ventures and programs in Maine.
- Students will explore seafood in different cultures using an interactive map, analyze graphs and readings about the environmental and health aspects of local seafood, participate in a model seafood marketplace, compare the journey and economic impacts of local and imported fish, and create an artifact to influence others to eat local seafood.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The choice board in Lesson 5 is a great way to honor student preferences.
- The ThingLink research activity has an incredible accessibility feature that reads the text aloud and can translate it into several languages.
Additional Prerequisites
- Teachers will need seashells for Lesson 2 and to prep game materials for Lesson 3.
- The link for Seattle Aquarium: Seaweed Search at Home under extension resources for Lesson 2 and the links to purchase play money are broken.
- Students should understand how people buy and sell goods.
Differentiation
- Teachers can use the vocabulary list for the module to create a word wall to support student understanding.
- Students may need to slow the video playback speed on videos in other languages with English subtitles.
- Science classes can research the impact of climate change on Maine waters and discuss the impact these changes will have on the local economy.
- Math teachers can pose questions that help students practice analyzing the data in Lesson 2.
- Consider including reflection questions or additional content about overfishing, trawling, bycatch, and commercial fishing practices that may harm corals or other marine life.
- Advanced students can research pollutants that bioaccumulate in seafood, such as PCBs, mercury, DDT, PFOA, or others.
From the scientist review
This series of lessons explores the benefits of implementing more seafood into school lunches. While there are many environmental factors and benefits to consider, teachers should note that this lesson does not give a complete picture, so it would benefit students to add some of the negatives of seafood, such as overfishing and how dangerous the practice can be. That said, this resource is recommended for teaching.
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