Process

The Process

To accomplish this task you will need to follow the directions listed below:

1. First, you will be assigned to an ocean exploration team of 4 students.

2. Each student on the team will be assigned a role as follows:

a. Captain/Navigator

b. Oceanographer

c. Environmentalist

d. Marketing Representative

*Additional Resources at the end of the page.

3. Once the roles have been assigned, the group members will begin working on their assigned task.

4. When each member has completed their assigned task, the group will create a poster showing what they have learned, to be shared with the entire class.

5. Each member of the group will be evaluated on their individual efforts as well as group effort.

6. Finally, you will be required to write a letter to the Great Barrier Reef Headquarters in Australia, stating your opinion of how well you believe the reef is being taken care of.

Role Assignments

The Captain/Navigator:

The job of the Captain/Navigator will be to write an informative essay telling the location and size of the Great Barrier Reef. In this essay, you should also give an overview of the importance of this reef to Australia and its people.

It will be also be your job to create or draw (to scale) a map of Australia showing the exact location of the Great Barrier Reef.

Finally, it will be the responsibility of the Captain/Navigator to make sure that each member, of the team, completes his or her assigned task.

Use the links below to assist you in drawing a map

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/australia/labeloceania/

Research to find the location of the reef:

National Geographic Online http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/reef/reef1_flash.html

http://www.reef.edu.au/contents/lt/fr_reef.html

(Go to the bottom of the page. Choose Reef design. On this page scroll down to Ribbon Reefs)

The Oceanographer: The job of the Oceanographer will be to investigate the levels of life that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef. By using appropriate websites, you should discuss not only the nekton (free swimming animals) that live on and around the reef, but also the benthos (bottom feeders and scavengers, such as shell fish) and the plankton. Included in this, you should talk about the coral which makes up the biggest living part of the reef and the reason that this area attracts so much life. It will be your job to write a well thought out informative essay that let’s the reader have a look into the amazing structures of life on and around the reef.

Jewels of the Sea

http://www.reef.edu.au/contents/lt/fr_reef.html

http://www.deh.gov.au/heritage/worldheritage/sites/gbr/index.html

The Environmentalist:

The job of the Environmentalist will be to look at the current problems that the Great Barrier Reef is encountering. By using the appropriate websites, you will research problems that the reef faces due to tourism or human interaction with the reef, and hazards that might upset the delicate balance of this amazing structure, like coral bleaching and pollution. It will be your job to create a graph or chart showing the amount of destruction or environmental problems the reef has overcome over the past thirty plus years, since the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has taken over and the reef has been a protected site.

It will be your job to write a comparative essay showing the problems that face the reef and possible solutions that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is currently working on to solve some of these problems and minimize the damage to save the reef.

http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/facts/default.htm - parkstop

http://www.deh.gov.au/coasts/pollution/reef/index.html

The Marketing Representative:

The Marketing Representative will be responsible for looking at the important commerce that is created from the reef. You will create a list of the uses for the reef both for food and creating income for the country (jewelry, tourism, food).

Finally, it will be your job to write a persuasive essay convincing tourists to help support this area by visiting the reef.

http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/facts/default.htm - fishtop