Best Non-Fiction Book: Sea Otter Rescue
General Information:
Roland Smith writes Sea Otter Rescue. Published October 25th 1999 by Puffin Book for grade levels 6-8.
This book is about when the Exxon Valdez struck the rocks in Alaska on March 24th, 1989 and nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the water. The impact of the oil spill threated all of the area wildlife, especially the sea otters. Ten to fifteen thousand sea otters once lived in the waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. This book is the story of the animal rescue experts who went to the spill to lend a helping hand.
I chose the book Sea Otter Rescue because I think it is important for middle schooler to learn about unhealthy environmental disasters that can happen. Oil spills are not something we usually learn much about but I think are meaningful to learn and know how they can impact or health. Our subject is healthy environment; I think tragedies like oil spills influences our way for having a healthy environment in many ways. After reading this book the students will understand how our environment is harmed by an oil spill and how our own health is affected.
Quotes:
– “Every day, supertankers from all over arrive at the Valdez oil terminal to fill their enormous hulls with millions of gallons of crude oil. It is estimated that over 900 tankers a year dock at the terminal for a “fill up.”
– Roland Smith, Sea Otter Rescue
– “There are over 3,200 supertankers transporting oil to refineries all over the world.”
– Roland Smith, Sea Otter Rescue
– “Harbor Pilots are hired by the state to help navigate ships safely through shallow waters and past hidden reefs.”
– Roland Smith, Sea Otter Rescue
Core Integration:
This book could be read during an environmental science class. As a teacher, you could have assigned readings on oil spills all around the world. Having the students read articles about oil spills and the aftermath and coming to class with questions, concerns, or anything else they found interesting that they wanted to share with the class. Integrating environmental science and reading, is a great way for students to learn about keeping a healthy environment.
Questions for the students to reflect upon would be, “How did the article make you feel?” “Is there something you can think of to lessen our chance for an environmental disaster?” “How does an oil spill impact our healthy environment?” You could, put your students in pairs and brainstorm ways an oil spill could impact your personal health and our environments health. After students have worked in pairs you collaborate as a class and make a T-Chart, one for personal health impacts and one for our environment health impacts.
Standards:
NHES Standards:
- W4.6 Describe situations that call for expert health resources and services.
- W5.6 Explain effective communication skills
- So4.6 Investigate resources for support when dealing with difficult emotions.
- So4.7b: Explain how expressing emotions or feelings can influence others
Reading Standards for Literature Grades 6-8:
- Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.