Reading Lesson: Sustainable Seafood

Suggestions

• This lesson provides background on seafood consumption in the United States and globally.

• This lesson can be used in an English Language Arts unit on strategies for reading nonfiction.

• The Investigate and Inspire sections can be taught on separate days.

• Students consider how their choices and actions can impact our planet.

• Students interact with various forms of media to synthesize information and form their own understandings of the topic.

Prerequisites

• Student Readings can be accessed through our partner’s website, BiteScized Science.

• Students need computers to complete the Investigate and Inspire sections.

• This lesson requires a high level of reading and viewing comprehension, as well as inferencing. In addition, students are required to read and analyze charts and graphs.

Differentiation

• The readings in the Student Document are written at a 1010-1200 Lexile level.

• Students may work in dyads or triads to take notes throughout the lesson. Alternatively, the teacher may lead the note taking process if students have less experience using multimedia sources.

• As an extension, students can write to the company they researched in the Inspire section, asking questions and detailing their findings related to sustainable practices.

• Teacher can use the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative Podcast, Today I Learned About What I Eat (0-13:08) to help students answer the question: “Does the food we consume impact our planet? How?” in the Inspire Section.
  

Deep insights about oyster farming and its effects on the environment are provided by this lesson. It also emphasizes understanding the source of seafood and sustainable methods for harvesting and farming. We have examined the lesson's graphics, datasets, and all supplementary materials and this lesson fulfilled the requirements of our science exam.

Primary Standards

• Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
  • Reading: History/Social Studies (6-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
  • Reading: Informational Text (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

Supporting Standard

• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  • 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.