Oyster Alien 

  Created by Betsy Steel
Map Quest suggested for fourth grade and up

Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion

Teacher Page

Introduction: 

The oyster is a very valuable natural filter for the Chesapeake Bay, as well as a marketable commercial seafood product. For over one hundred years Chesapeake Bay watermen have made their living harvesting oysters for resale to restaurants and seafood wholesale companies. Today the oyster is in danger, as its population is diminishing. The results of this disappearing "bay filter" is that the watermen will have less work, the restaurants will not be able to serve them as a seafood dish, and most importantly, the health of the Bay will decline seriously. The oyster removes waste and undesirable pollutants that are in the water, as well as serves as a habitat for other animals. The decreasing population of the  oyster will affect the quality of our water, and of the life within the watershed. This is a serious problem and there could be several possible solutions. If an "alien oyster species" such as the Suminoe oyster (also known as the Chinese oyster) is introduced to the Bay, there could be favorable and/or unfavorable results.   

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Students will be cooperatively grouped with at least three in each group. Each group member will take on a role of an environmentalist, an oysterman, or a restaurant owner. During each role the student takes the stance of that person. (This means that when you are deciding how to solve the problem, you pretend to be that person and make a decision based on your profession or personal beliefs and the information provided below that are current facts from the articles about the oyster concerns and the Bay.) Use the chart provided and take notes in each column to support your solutions. Then switch positions and repeat the process again, reading articles and noting your solutions with support so that each member in the group has had a turn to be in each of the three positions.

The final solution should be one paragraph stating your stance, the solutions, and the support from the articles that you explored. When you mention or quote material in a particular article, remember to site the information's bibliographic information or origin.

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1.Each person within the group will be one of the following: an environmentalist, oysterman, or restaurant owner.

2.Discuss what you think each person does and how they may feel about the Bay based on your knowledge.

3.Each person will then read the article  Oyster - Food, filter, fish habitat  as a group or individually.

4.Discuss any new ideas you may have about the oyster, its value and what the environmentalist, oysterman, or restaurant owner may think about. Note these ideas on the first box of the student worksheet  . 

5. Now read at least three of the articles below under Resources and determine what you would do in your specific role to complete the task, solving the oyster dilemma. 

6.In the remaining three spaces under each column on the student worksheet, log what article you read (include the author and date) and and take notes to support your feelings about the solution to the task that you are trying to resolve.
An example of this would be if you were the environmentalist and you read that the Asian oyster may have diseases unknown to our Chesapeake Bay, you would note the facts from the article that says this. This supports your stance not to introduce the Chinese oyster to the Bay (if that is your opinion.) 

7.Remember, you will need to have actual support when you write your final solution paragraph. For each statement or reason you should have at least two supports.

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Resources:  

Oyster Expert Calls for Asian Species

Asian Oysters Are Showing Promise

Virginia's Oyster Hopes Held at Bay- Plan to Sow Asian Species Halted by Concerns for Native Variety

Plan to Put Chinese Oyster into Virginia Waters On Hold

Use of Asian Oysters Urged in Virginia- Official says efforts to restore native bay shellfish populations are not working 

Oyster "Aliens" websites

Read "A New Oyster" from the Waterman's Gazette

Alien Ocean site 

Read the section of Bay Weekly called, "Update: A New Oyster for Our Old Bay"

What is a watershed?

Fact Sheet about the Bay

Oyster farm produces bumper crop for restoration

Oyster - Food, filter, fish habitat 

Bay Report- How is the Chesapeake Bay doing?

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Evaluation:  

Click here to see the rubric

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  Conclusion:  After reading and discussing the tasks and coming to your own conclusions about the oyster dilemma, list things that you could to help the problem. (In the articles, there are suggestions and other links about what students and adults can do as they become proactive and directly involved in helping the Chesapeake Bay's health.) Revisit these references. Review the "student bay savers" sites and examine them. What would you do and why? How could you go about creating a project and getting support to help the Bay? Write your ideas down and any websites that you would need for guidance or support with your project.    

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Credits:  

  This web quest background is from Microsoft Word Clip Art Gallery.

The photo of the oyster is from Microsoft Design Gallery; ©2002 Microsoft Corporation, http://dgl.microsoft.com/?CAG=1

The rubric was adapted from INTEL Teach To The Future with support from Microsoft; teacher edition, 2002 Intel Corporation.

Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion
Created By:
Betsy Steel
Grade 4- Judith A. Resnik ES
Montgomery County Public Schools
Last updated September 13, 2002