Curriculum

This curriculum will take the form of a series of 7 to 10 lesson plans  for learners between the 5th and 8th grades (though, as below, they will be easily adaptable to a broader range of grades). These plans will teach broader scientific, environmental, and social perspectives while inspiring wonder and engagement in the natural world through these extraordinary and awe-inspiring animals.

This curriculum is being developed for teachers by teachers, using the latest teaching techniques to focus on equity and inclusivity in the classroom. Our main objective is to create something practical and engaging that teachers will actually use while involving real scientists conducting real science.

Rather than focus on whale facts, we will allow students to engage in whale science on their own terms, through their own questions, and at their own pace. We also aim to empower students to utilize their own skill sets. At Ocean Alliance, engineers, not scientists, created SnotBot (Ocean Alliance’s hugely successful primary research program). We firmly believe that all students, irrespective of their scientific aptitude, can play (and have the confidence to play) a role in ocean conservation.

While these lessons are most easily used in 5th through 8th-grade classrooms, the plans are based on ‘low floor high ceiling’ practices, allowing for a wide variety of learners with diverse abilities to enter the learning at whatever level they are capable. A single lesson can be easily adapted for different grade levels with simple instruction, timing, and vocabulary tweaks, quickly adjusting the lessons for grades 3 through 12.