Oyster Express
“Oyster Express” is a National FFA lesson plan that uses a video and three student worksheet activities to teach how a single species impacts an ecosystem, the life cycle of an oyster, and local/regional natural resource restoration projects. Students watch the Oyster Express video, then complete activities researching the oyster life cycle, the causes and importance of oyster population decline, and restoration projects in their state.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
-
- Understand how a single species can impact an entire ecosystem.
- Explain the life cycle of an oyster.
- Describe natural resource restoration projects occurring locally or regionally.
- Time required
- 60 minutes-3 activities, 20 minutes each
- Grade level
- 9-10
- Materials
-
- One copy of "The Life and Times of an Oyster" for each student.
- One copy of "So What About Oysters?" for each student.
- One copy of "Bringin' It Back" for each student.
- Resources
- FFA.org
- Partnership for 21st Century Skills
- Communication; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Environmental Literacy; Information Literacy; Initiative and Self-direction; Productivity and Accountability
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
AFNR Performance Element
- NRS.01Explain interrelationships between natural resources and humans necessary to conduct management activities in natural environments.
Common Career Technical Core
- AG-NR2Analyze the interrelationships between natural resources and humans.
Common Core – Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects: Writing
- WHST.9.10.7Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- WHST.9.10.9Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Common Core – Math Practices
Common Core – Science & Technical Subjects
- RST.9.10.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.
- RST.9.10.2Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
- RST.9.10.4Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
- RST.9.10.5Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
- RST.9.10.6Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
- RST.9.10.8Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.
- RST.9.10.9Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
Common Core – Speaking and Listening
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
NASDCTEc
- AGPE01.01Conduct system management activities in natural habitats to demonstrate recognition of the important relationships between natural resource preservation and human intervention.
Next Generation Science
- HS-LS2-6Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.
- HS-LS2-7Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.