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1 U.S. Department of the Interior,
River of Life
, 7.
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2 Wesley Marx,
The Protected Ocean
, 8.
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3 Alan Villiers,
Men, Ships, and the Sea
, 140.
Presentation
There is no best way to present the elements of this unit. This unit begins with short fiction because most students are already familiar with the short story and because a suspenseful story can draw students into reading information about the sea.
Additionally it is important that an English unit be flexible enough to blend with other units in a marine studies environment. If, for example, students are going on an orientation trip aboard a boat, that may be the ideal time to study vocabulary identifying parts of a ship.
After students’ first trip, the teacher may wish to capture students’ observations in their logs. While students are learning to use some navigational aids, the instructor may have students write instruction booklets or produce instructional films or demonstrations about the use of various navigational tools. In this unit Gallico’s “The Snow Goose” is the second story presented. If, however, students don’t study the tidal marshes until spring, the teacher may wish to postpone reading “The Snow Goose” until then.
The next section of this paper begins with samples of introductory lesson plans followed by study guides for several writings. Texts or anthologies in which these writings can be located are listed in the bibliography at the end of this paper. Wherever possible, suggestions for other readings in the same genre are listed at the end of each guide.