During a visit to the McCormack's Bay or South Brighton Estuary your students will encounter creatures that make a home for themselves in this special environment. How can we help to protect the estuarine environment? Come on this programme and find out.
| Age/level: | Years 3–8 |
| Availability: | Available year round (tide dependent) |
| Length: | 2.25 hours |
| Site: | McCormack's Bay or South Brighton Estuary |
| Cost: | Free |
| Number of classes: | One
(One class = 35 students) |
Programme outline
Key concepts
Estuary food webs, interdependence, biodiversity, animal adaptations, habitats, ecosystems.
Lesson description/intentions
Your students will explore what lives in, on and under the mud or rocks at an estuary. They will be able to observe the estuary animals and their special adaptations for this environment. Students will consider factors that affect the water quality at the estuary and explore simple actions they can take to help protect the estuary environment.
This programme can be run at two sites: studying creatures living in the mud and water at South Brighton, or creatures in rock and water at McCormack's Bay.
If the focus of your visit is estuary birds, we recommend you tie a visit to the estuary with a trip to Canterbury Museum to explore their bird hall. For more information contact: (03) 366 9429 extn 817.
Possible success criteria
Students may be able to:
- Identify key reasons why estuaries are special places.
- Make a simple estuary food chain.
- Name at least one influence that might negatively impact on the food chain.
- Recognise a special feature of an estuary bird that helps it to feed in the estuary.
- Identify an action that they can take to reduce pollution entering the estuary.
Key Competencies
Relating to others - there will be the opportunity for students to both compete and cooperate when it comes to finding creatures in the mud; students will be expected to interact effectively when discussing and forming their food chains
Using language, symbols and texts - students will need to appreciate and demonstrate the importance of using identification charts to correctly identify creatures they have discovered or observed
Feedback
"Thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance. Everything done extremely well. Great to have experts in their field teaching. Brilliant!"
Teacher, Year 3
"Terrific safety expectations. Lots of knowledge imparted. Very impressed – children learnt lots and had fun. Many children want to come back on the weekend."
Teacher, Years 4/5
"The Estuary is home to a lot of creatures and we have to look after the water we put down our drains so that the animals stay here for us to observe."
Student, Year 6
Learning areas
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Science | Nature of science | Levels 1–5 | - Communicating in science
- Investigating on science
- Participating and contributing
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Living world | Levels 1–4 | - Life processes
- Ecology
- Evolution
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Level 5 | |
Planet Earth and beyond | Levels 1–5 | |
Social sciences | | Level 1 | - Understand how places in New Zealand are significant for individuals and groups
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Level 2 | - Understand that people have social responsibilities
- Understand how places influence people and people influence places
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Level 3 | - Understands how people view and use places differently
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Level 5 | - Understands how people’s management of resources impacts on environmental and social sustainability
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Health and physical education | Personal health and physical development | Levels 2–5 | |
