THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR– GRADE 9-12

Changing Oceans: Future challenges in the Newfoundland Fisheries

Lesson Overview

Students are asked to examine a variety of websites to gain insight into how climatic changes are influencing the fisheries of Newfoundland and Labrador. A comparison of the present day cod fishery to the fishery prior to the cod moratorium will be discussed. Students will produce a map showing the major ocean currents and characteristics.

Grade Level

Grades 9-12 (secondary school)

Time Required

Teachers should be able to conduct the lesson in one or two classes.

Curriculum Connection (Province/Territory and course)

Atlantic Provinces Curriculum for Social Studies: Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET):Newfoundland and Labrador

Intermediate social studies program

Canadian Geography 1202

World Geography 3200

World Geography 3202

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

  • Student access to computers and the Internet
  • Canadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climateposter-map
  • Student worksheet “Changing Oceans: A Webquest”(attached)
  • Assessment rubric (attached)

Main Objective

The goal of this lesson is for students to analyze changes in global climate conditions and the potential impact on the Newfoundland fisheries.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  • Define global climate change and climate prosperity;
  • Recognize three factors that influence changes in ocean currents, temperature, salinity and sea ice coverage;
  • Construct a map showing the characteristics of two ocean currents off Newfoundland’s coast;
  • Identify changes that have occurred in the Newfoundland fisheries since 1990;
  • Become familiar with the traditional Newfoundland fishery and reasons for changes that occurred after the 1990s;
  • Appreciate how changes in the fishery since the 1990s have affected coastal communities both socially and economically;
  • Conclude that climate change has always contributed to ecological changes in various ways but from a fisheries perspective it will offer new challenges and opportunities.

The Lesson

The Lesson

Teacher Activity / Student Activity

Introduction

/ Direct students to study theCanadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climateposter-map.
Ask students to define the terms global climate change and climate prosperity.
Ask students:
“What factors would cause the greatest changes in Northwest Atlantic Ocean?”
Ask for ways in which these changes may influence future fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. / Assemble in groups with copies of the Canadian Geographic/NRTEEA Changing Climateposter-map.
Discuss and suggest workable definitions for global climate change and climate prosperity.
Offer several factors that may cause changes in ocean current characteristics.

Lesson Development

/ Instruct students to complete the webquest. They will:
1.Gather information about the characteristics of the Labrador Current and the Gulf Stream.
2. Create a map showing these currents.
3. Answer questions in preparation for a class discussion. / Complete the webquest and submit it to the teacher.
OR
Present findings to the class.

Conclusion

/ Conduct a discussion with a review of the maps and the webquest.
Alternatively, student groups can debate the pros and cons of climate change for coastal people involved in the fisheries, and what climate prosperity means in that context. / Have a general class discussion on what the next decade will be like for the fisheries off the coast of Canada.
This could be expanded to include Northern Canada and the significant changes that may occur in both the fisheries and lifestyle of its people.

Lesson Extension

  • Students can be challenged to examine the issue of co-management of fishery resources off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador by people involved in the industry including workers, and provincial and federal governments.

Students can be encouraged to examine a variety of case studies presented in Appendix II Co-Management Case Studies by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy in the book Sustainable Strategies for Oceans: A Co-Management Guide. (

Assessment of Student Learning

Evaluation of worksheet

Completion of rubric

Further Reading

  • Additional information on the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery can be found at:
  • Climate Prosperity thematic module in the Canadian Atlas Online:
  • National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) website:

Link to Canadian National Standards for Geography

Essential Element#1: The World in Spatial Terms

  • Map, globe and atlas use

Essential Element #2: Places and Regions

  • Regional analysis of geographic issues and questions

Essential Element #3: Physical Systems

  • Components of Earth’s physical system
  • World climate regions

Essential Element #4: Human Systems

  • Changes in human settlement patterns over time

Essential Element #5: Environment and Society

  • World patterns of resource distribution and utilization

Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring Geographic Information

  • Systematically locate and gather geographic information from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

Geographic Skill #3: Organizing Geographic Information

  • Use a variety of media to develop and organize integrated summaries of geographic information.

Geographic Skill #4: Analyzing Geographic Information

  • Make inferences and draw conclusions from maps.
  • Use the processes of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and explanation to interpret geographic information from a variety of sources.

Geographic Skill #5: Answering Geographic Questions

  • Formulate valid generalizations from the results of various kinds of geographic inquiry.
  • Evaluate the answers to geographic questions.

Changing Oceans: A Webquest

Follow the instructions below to complete the webquest.

Go to:

Define global climate change.

______

Go to:

What is meant by the term climate prosperity?

______

Go to:

List several factors that influence ocean climate change:

______

Go to:

What are the two main ocean currents that influence the waters off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador?

______

Go to:

List the main characteristics for each of the categories to complete the chart below:

Labrador Current / Gulf Stream (North Atlantic Drift)

Go to: Click on explore maps, then on Click here to use the map.

Zoom-in on Newfoundland to a setting of 3426 km. Print this map. Using a red marker draw the Gulf Stream off the coast of Newfoundland and its deflection across the Atlantic. Repeat this for the Labrador Current using the color blue. List the major characteristics of these currents on the map.

Go to: Why is this environment a good habitat for fish growth? ______

Go to:

What was the main fish species caught in Newfoundland and Labrador up to the 1990s?

______

Go to:

What are the main fish species caught in Newfoundland and Labrador since the 1990s?

______

How havechanges in the ocean’sconditions influenced the type of fish species that is presently caught in these waters? ______

What might climate change do to these two ocean currents and how do they affect the populations that live near them? ______

How might this affect the types of species available for harvest? ______

What social and economic changes do you think may occur in rural Newfoundland and Labrador due to climate change in the oceans? ______

What do you think the federal government, provincial government and fishing communities should do to adapt to the changing conditions so that the fishery is sustainable and viable?

______

Changing Oceans: Future Challenges in the Newfoundland Fisheries

Assessment Rubric

Name: ______/ Teacher: ______
Date : ______
POINT VALUES
CATEGORY / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Attention to Detail / Everything completed. / Most items completed. Missing 1-5 / Most items completed. Missing 6-10 / Missing 11-15 items / Incomplete
Completeness (Ocean currents map, student worksheet and short presentation) / Three tasks completed / Three tasks partially completed / Two of three tasks completed / One of three tasks completed / Incomplete
NEATNESS / Exceptional
/ Good
/ Satisfactory
/ Inadequate
/ Incomplete
Content / All webquest questions completed / Most webquest questions completed / 50% questions completed correctly / Less than 50% webquest questions completed / Not completed
SCORE: / ___/20

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