Marine contrasts

Overview

In this lesson, students compare marine environments of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) and the Peruvian Pacific coast (Peru), using maps and simple geographic data to describe similarities, differences, and environmental change. This continues Lesson 6 by building stronger skills in describing places and explaining how and why environments change.

Learning intentions

• Students will describe how places and environments change in marine environments.
• Students will recognise and locate key features of the Great Barrier Reef and the Peruvian coast.
• Students will investigate how environmental factors influence marine conditions and ecosystems.
• Students will propose realistic ways to manage and protect marine environments.

Success criteria

• I can locate the Great Barrier Reef and the Peruvian coast and describe major physical features.
• I can use geographic language to compare environmental conditions (e.g. water temperature, currents, biodiversity).
• I can explain at least two causes of environmental change (natural and human).
• I can suggest one management action and justify how it protects the environment.

Curriculum links

• GELS-PRI-01: Students describe how places and environments change.
• GELS-DFC-01: Students recognise places and environments.
• GE4-DFC-01: Students locate diverse features and describe characteristics of places and environments (water in the world).
• GELS-MAN-01: Students demonstrate ways to manage and protect a place or environment.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (visual contrast). Teacher displays two images (Great Barrier Reef and Peru’s coastal upwelling zones) and asks: “What might be happening to life in each environment and why?” Students quick-write two observations and one question.

2. 5–12 min · Prior learning check + key terms. Teacher reviews the unit focus on “place, environment, and change” and models using sentence stems: “In this place, … because …”. Students complete a mini “compare and contrast” card for one pair of terms (e.g. “currents” vs “temperature”).

3. 12–22 min · Direct teach (geographic framing). Teacher teaches a simple comparison structure:

• Location and features
• Environmental conditions
• Environmental change drivers
• Impacts on ecosystems and people Students highlight the headings on a comparison worksheet and match one example to each heading.

4. 22–35 min · Investigation stations (data + map skills). Teacher sets up 3 stations with short, teacher-prepared excerpts and simple visuals:

• Station A: Great Barrier Reef conditions (e.g. reef health trends, cyclone/heat impacts)
• Station B: Peruvian coastal conditions (e.g. cold currents/upwelling, fishing pressure, climate variability)
• Station C: “Causes and effects” sorting (natural vs human; change vs management) Students rotate every 4–5 minutes, recording one key finding per station using the same comparison structure.

5. 35–45 min · Compare writing (structured response). Teacher models a paragraph plan: claim → evidence (from stations) → explanation of cause/effect → short management link. Students write one comparison paragraph using at least: “because”, “therefore”, and one geographic term from a class word bank.

6. 45–56 min · Management challenge (group decision). In groups of 4, students choose one “protect and manage” action for each environment (two actions total: one reef, one coast). Teacher provides a choice list (e.g. marine protected areas, sustainable fishing rules, pollution reduction, community monitoring), and students must justify actions using evidence from their notes. Groups share one action and one justification in a short whole-class round.

7. 56–60 min · Exit ticket (quick assessment). Students answer: “One environmental change affecting these marine places is __. A cause is __. A management action to protect the environment is __.”

Resources

• Printed comparison worksheet (headings and sentence starters)
• 3 investigation station packs (short excerpts + simple visuals/graphs or fact cards)
• World map with Australia and Peru clearly marked (or atlases)
• Station recording sheets / clipboards
• Class word bank: currents, temperature, biodiversity, upwelling, pollution, protection, management
• Timer for rotations
• Exit ticket slips

Assessment

• Teacher circulates during stations to check accurate use of geographic language and cause/effect reasoning.
• Students’ written paragraph is assessed for: comparison, use of evidence, and explanation of change drivers.
• Exit ticket checks individual understanding of change, cause, and one management action.

Differentiation

• Support for students needing scaffolding:
• Provide sentence stems for each section of the comparison structure.
• Offer a “cause and effect” word bank (natural/human; impacts on life and people).
• Use guided notes with pre-filled options for the paragraph plan.
• Support for EAL learners:
• Allow key statements to be written with sentence frames and word banks.
• Pair/group students strategically so they can rehearse orally before writing.
• Extension for advanced learners (still completing core tasks):
• Ask students to add a “trade-off” or “who benefits/what risks remain” to their management justification.
• Challenge them to connect environmental change to broader impacts (e.g. food security, livelihoods, tourism) and propose a monitoring method.
• For students needing challenge through depth:
• Provide an additional data card at one station and require students to decide whether evidence is “direct” or “indirect” before using it.

Extension (optional)

• If time allows, groups create a one-slide “Reef vs Coast” pitch: a comparison claim, two pieces of evidence, and two management actions with justification.