Worlds ocean day 11-16 years old

Summary information

Preparation:

Teachers will need to plan in advance to include World Oceans Day in the school calendar.

Have pupil volunteers practise reading out poems (see below) in advance of the assembly.

Resources needed:

• Access to background information at www.wwf.org.uk/marine
• Access to WWF Canon library photos Resource images 1 - 9:

1.Coral reef, Fiji. Credit WWF-Canon/Cat HOLLOWAY. Image no. 105316.
2.Humpback whale with its young. CREDIT: © WWF-Canon/Erkki SIIRILÄ
Image no. 36310
3.Hawksbill turtle. Credit © WWF-Canon/Cat HOLLOWAY. Image no. 104454.
4.Swordfish. Credit © WWF-Canon/James W. LATOURETTE. Image no. 2160.
5.Grey reef sharks. Credit © WWF-Canon/CAT HOLLOWAY. Image no. 110015.
6.Cod in bucket. Credit © WWF-Canon/CAT HOLLOWAY. Image no. 50819.
7.Giant manta ray. Credit © WWF-Canon/CAT HOLLOWAY. Image no. 110020.
8.Hector’s dolphin calf killed in gillnet Credit ©WWF-Canon/Stephen DAWSON Image no. 55143
9.Plastic bags on beach, Zanzibar Credit ©WWF-Canon/Martin HARVEY Image no. 108912

• A digital projector (optional)
• Flipchart and marker pen or interactive white board

Procedure:

• Have on display as pupils enter the assembly one of the photos from the WWF Canon library (see Resources section).
• Tell pupils we are going to look at life in the oceans, why its very important to use and what we can do to help its future survival. Eighty per cent of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface. There are amazing animals like the blue whale which is longer than three London buses and has a heart as big as a car!
• Have pupils volunteers read out one of the following poems about the sea. A few pupils could take it in turn to read out different verses or parts of a poem.

Beach
The powerful angry waves crash their heavy fists upon me,
Dumping flotsam,
Leaving jetsam,
On my sandy body,
A strand of crimson seaweed lies,
Forgotten on the rusty groyne,
Ouch!
As the strong spring tide scours me,
It heaves a rounded lump,
Of driftwood,
From its devilish hands,
A herring gull darts down to catch,
A tiny crab,
Its home a strip of rocks and pebbles,
And channel wrack lies at my high tide mark,
The stagnant reek of decomposing fish is unleashed,
Grey wrinkly pebbles like elephant skin,
Lie still on my flank,
The scorching midday sun gleams happily,
Reflecting from a network of channels,
As a blinding beam,
Tiny shells and huge stones rest in harmony,
Jellyfish lie dead,
Entangled in thick blue rope and fine twine,
Marram grass leaps from my body,
My ancient immortal body,
Once more re-made by the sand cutting sea.

By Jamie Males
Source: www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/bump2.htm

Just One Ocean Blue
Hearing the sweet melody
My emotions take me away
As I listen to the sea
And the Ocean underway

Feeling the rippling pooltide
I voice my harmony
I hear the waves that glide
They sing their song to me

Tasting the salty air
There was a whipping breeze
Snapping without a care
And whistling with great ease

Smelling the sandy wetness
Where water meets the Earth
A seemingly relentless
Undercurrent birth

I hear, I feel, I taste, I smell
This great big ocean true
It is an endless waterwell
Where only fish should rule

But, once again the human rules of life
Destroy what it does not see
I can feel this Ocean's strife
Can you not hear it's plea?

This Ocean needs humanity
But what do we do in return?
We kill it with our insanity
And never want to learn

Consume not what you cannot give
Back to this water deep
I know this Ocean wants to live
Breathing beauty for all to keep

Just one Ocean blue, once pure
This water will become a mirage
We leave Mother Nature with no cure
We pollute her with our garbage

Everyone should seek the path
Of preserving this Ocean we need
She knows a fury full of wrath
Beware Mother Nature and take heed!

By Tammy Ann Rose Snyder
Source: www.poetryamerica.com/read_poems.asp

Ocean
Blue, green, and gray.
Silvery smooth on good days.
Restless and unable to choose,
Good or bad,
What do I do?
Starting choppy,
Growing large and wide.
Giant gray waves loom ahead,
Forming a white foamy top
Crash!
Water engulfs me totally,
Soaked down to the bone,
Laughing,
Screaming,
Happiness in the air,
Always there.
Calm and smooth like green, blue glass.
Gliding through the water easily,
In my tiny skiff.
I wish I could be
As calm as the ocean around me

By Ashley
Source: www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/bump2.htm

• Show pupils photos of life in the ocean using the digital projector or make printouts of the photos to give out to pupils. Use the photos to illustrate short presentations (see below) by pupil volunteers about ocean life and threats to its survival.

• Coral reefs are very special places, some of the most beautiful on Earth and are home to a much greater number of types of creatures than the open ocean. They support a quarter of all marine life although they occupy a tiny part of the ocean environment. But more than a quarter of reefs have been destroyed by human activities and over half of those that remain reefs are threatened.

• Tiny one-celled plants living in the oceans produce 70 per cent of the Earth’s oxygen. Oceans provide the main source of protein for many more than a billion people, as well as many different species of birds and other marine life.

• The way people are using the oceans is causing some problems. Some fish like, cod have been fished too much and their numbers are now decreasing. Three-quarters of the world’s fish stocks are fully or over-exploited. Nearly 1,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises drown every day when they become entangled by accident in fishing gear.

• Pollution in the sea is one of the most dangerous threats to ocean life. More and more harmful chemicals, such as from washing powder, washing-up liquid, waste oil, and chemicals used to kill pests in the garden are getting into the sea. There are huge amounts of plastic bags and bottles. All of the waste-water that goes down the sink in our homes and schools reaches the sea in time. More than three-quarters of sea pollution comes from the land.

Reflection

Ask the pupils to think for a few minutes about how they can help to stop pollution reaching the sea. Brainstorm a list with the pupils and write on a flipchart or interactive white board.

• Try not to use plastic bags. If you have any use them again instead of throwing them away.
• Try to persuade your family to cut down on use of harmful chemicals at home and in the garden. You can do this by asking your family to buy environmentally friendly cleaning goods, such as washing powder and washing up liquid and not to use harmful chemicals, like pesticides, in the garden.
• Reduce waste reaching the oceans by re-using and recycling as much as you can.
• Don’t leave litter on the beach when on holiday.
• Take part in an organised litter clean-up on the beach.
• Don’t disturb habitats on the coast.
• Take part in an ‘adopt a whale or dolphin’ scheme. You can find out more from WWF.

Now introduce children to the World Oceans Day celebration and encourage them to take part. Ask them for their ideas on activities.

Here are some suggestions:
Organise an Oceans Day fair with ocean-themed games and activities
Have a sandcastle building contest with ocean prizes
Have a beach treasure hunt
Join in a beach clean up organised by
Have a colouring contest or art competition about how to help protect life in the oceans.
Raise funds for conservation of the seas by holding a disco and charging an entry fee, or sell items on a stall such as cakes, biscuits or cards or gift tags that you have made.
Host a race with prizes and T shirts on the World Oceans Day theme.

Additional resources:

Pupils:
Background information. Look under Middle School, habitats and oceans and also under Middle School species and whales, sharks and seals at
www.panda.org/news_facts/education

WWF GoWild photos and oceans information www.wwf.org.uk/gowild/happeninghabitats/oceans.asp

Fish journey online game about sea pollution
www.wwf.org.hk/eng/education/ttrain/ihintfish.html

Canadian Wildlife Federation
Ideas on how to celebrate World Oceans Day, everyday ways to help oceans, interesting facts and quotes on oceans www.cwf-fcf.org/

Recycling www.recyclezone.org.uk

WWF videos
Background information at www.panda.org/news_facts/multimedia/video/index.cfm

Blue whale (2 minutes)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/bluewhales.mpg

Marine turtles (approx 2 minutes)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/leatherbackturtles.mpg

Great Barrier Reef (5 minutes)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/reef_300.mov

Photos of whales, dolphins, marine turtles and life on coral reefs from www.worldlife.org or at www.panda.org under Multimedia library, WWF-Canon Photogallery, Gallery list: Cetaceans, Saving our Global Voyagers (marine turtles) and Fragile Beauty of Coral Reefs.

Teachers:
WWF-US. Background information on seas and sea life
www.worldwildlife.org/oceans/index.cfm

The Ocean Project. Great ideas for activities to celebrate World Oceans Day.
http://theoceanproject.org/news/oceanday.html

Marine Conservation Society
www.mcsuk.org
UK charity working for the marine environment and its wildlife

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
www.wdcs.org

Marine Mammal Centre
www.tmmc.org

Additional poems

Sea-Fever
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
/
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

By John Masefield
Source: www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/MasefieldSeaFever.htm

Sea Creatures
Come along, come with me,
Take a dive in the deep blue sea.
Put on your gear, let's explore
All the way to the ocean floor!
See that snail wrapped in cursl?
Look! An oyster wearing pearls!
Watch the octopus oh so dark,
But don't you dare to pet the shark!
Dive on down, seaward bound,
Motion in the ocean is all around!
Dive on down, seaward bound.
Motion in the ocean is all around.
Now we're very far below,
The lantern fish are all aglow.
Is that a tiny shock you feel?
You just met an electric eel!
Giant blue whales start to stir,
Bigger than dinosaurs ever were!
Wave good-bye to the squid and sponge,
This is the end of our deep-sea plunge!
Dive on down, seaward bound,
Motion in the ocean is all around!
Dive on down, seaward bound.
Motion in the ocean is all around.

By Meish Goldish
Source: www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems21.html

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