Investigating Our Local Shore

Overview

This is lesson 8 of 10 in Resilient Coastal Life. Students complete a simple habitat survey at a supervised Dunedin beach, or use photographs and prepared samples in the classroom, to collect evidence about coastal challenges and signs of resilience.

Learning intentions

• WALT collect and record evidence about challenges and resilience at a local beach.
• WALT make careful observations of living and non-living features.
• WALT use fieldwork procedures that keep people, wildlife and the environment safe.
• WALT communicate findings using words, drawings, tallies or photographs.

Success criteria

• I can make careful observations without disturbing living things.
• I can record data using words, drawings, tallies or photographs.
• I can identify at least one coastal challenge and one sign of resilience.
• I can follow safe and respectful fieldwork procedures.

Curriculum links

• Nature of Science: investigating in science by making observations, gathering evidence and communicating findings.
• Living World: ecology by exploring relationships between living things and their coastal environment.
• Living World: life processes and adaptation by identifying features or behaviours that help organisms survive.
• Key competencies: managing self, participating and contributing, thinking, and using language, symbols and texts.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min – Hook and connect to prior learning Open with the coastal hook and learning intentions. Show a striking before-and-after image idea of a beach after a storm and later recovering. Ask: “What challenges might coastal life face, and what evidence could show resilience?” Briefly revisit the unit’s meaning of challenge and resilience.

2. 5–12 min – Model the survey and safety Use the survey categories and safety instructions to introduce five observation categories: litter, species, shelter, human activity and signs of resilience. Model one observation, such as “three pieces of plastic beside the path”, and show how to record it as a tally, sketch, words or photograph. Explain boundaries, buddy procedures, hand signals, staying with the group, hand hygiene, not touching wildlife, and leaving the beach as found.

3. 12–15 min – Organise teams and roles Place students in groups of four or five, with 29 students forming approximately six groups. Give each group a clearly marked survey zone and assign rotating roles: observer, recorder, photographer or sketcher, safety watcher and equipment carrier. Distribute the dyslexia-friendly coastal habitat survey sheet and demonstrate that students may use drawings, symbols, tallies, photographs, speech-to-text or a scribe.

4. 15–32 min – Conduct the habitat survey At the beach, groups survey their zones without collecting specimens or entering unsafe areas. In the classroom alternative, groups examine teacher-selected beach photographs, objects and video stills. Students record evidence for each category, including examples such as shellfish, seaweed, rocks, driftwood, shade, hiding places, foot traffic, litter, regrowth or organisms living in sheltered spaces. Circulate, question and prompt: “What did you actually observe?” and “How does this help you decide that the coast is resilient?”

5. 32–40 min – Share and compare evidence Return to the evidence-sharing and discussion prompts. Each group shares one challenge, one resilience sign and the evidence supporting each claim. Record class findings in a simple table. Discuss whether different zones produced different results and why observations may not be identical.

6. 40–45 min – Reflect and preview Students complete the final reflection on the dyslexia-friendly coastal habitat survey sheet by drawing or stating one finding and one question for the next lesson. Invite two or three students to share. Preview lesson 9, where the class will consider what the evidence suggests about caring for the local shore.

Resources

• the coastal fieldwork slide deck covering the hook, WALT, survey categories, safety, group instructions, discussion and plenary.
• the dyslexia-friendly coastal habitat survey sheet with symbols, large-print headings, short prompts and spaces for tallies, drawings, words and photographs.
• Clipboards or firm writing boards.
• Pencils, thick dark markers and coloured pencils.
• Tablets or cameras, if available.
• High-visibility vests or group identifiers.
• First-aid kit, hand sanitiser and rubbish-free fieldwork equipment.
• Prepared beach photographs, objects and video stills for the classroom alternative.
• Clearly marked survey-zone map and teacher safety signals.

Assessment

• Observe students’ fieldwork behaviours: staying with their group, following boundaries, respecting wildlife and using equipment safely.
• Check survey sheets for careful observations, appropriate records and evidence of at least one challenge and one resilience sign.
• Listen to group explanations and note whether students distinguish an observation from an unsupported opinion. Use reflections to plan the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide a visual checklist with icons, large-print field cards, audio instructions, minimal writing and colour-coded survey categories. Offer a scribe, speech-to-text, drawing, tally or oral response instead of extended writing.
• Use a buddy system and assign predictable roles. Give the student with Down syndrome a clearly modelled role, one-step instructions, frequent encouragement and adult support where needed.
• Pre-teach key words with photographs and gestures. Repeat instructions, check understanding privately and provide sensory breaks, quiet space and suitable distance from strong smells, noise or busy areas.
• For students needing more challenge, ask them to compare two zones, identify possible bias or limitations in the data, and propose a more reliable survey using repeated observations, the same-sized zones or the same time of day.