1. Have students use Google Earth to explore Marine Protected Areas.

Explain to students that a Marine Protected Area (MPA) is “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.” Ask students to brainstorm reasons a MPA might be established. Write their responses on the board. Project the website Google Earth: Ocean Gallery—Marine Protected Areas on the board. Demonstrate for students how to download the Marine Protected Areas layer as a .kml file. After downloading, select the Marine Protected Areas layer, and demonstrate how to locate and explore MPAs around the world. Show students the icon they are looking for and how to examine the photos, videos, and stories that accompany each location. For tutorials and additional information regarding the use of Google Earth, refer to this activity’s "For Further Exploration" section. Divide students into pairs and assign each group two MPAs from the worksheet Pre-Selected List of Marine Protected Areas. Have each pair use Google Earth’s MPA layer to research their assigned MPAs. Tell students to draw four squares on both sides of a piece of paper, and record the following information in the four squares for each of their assigned MPAs:

• Name and location of the MPA
• Ecosystem type
• Purpose of the MPA
• One interesting fact about the MPA

2. Have students share what they learned about their assigned Marine Protected Areas.

After students have had time to record information about both of their assigned MPAs, lead a discussion in which pairs present their findings to the class. Encourage students to think about why the MPAs were established and what natural and cultural resources they are meant to protect. As students discuss their MPAs, have them mark those areas on the Water Planet Mega Map, included in the World Physical MapMaker Kit.

3. Have students compare and contrast marine and terrestrial protected areas.

Draw a T-chart on the board. Ask students to brainstorm differences between terrestrial and marine protected areas. Write students’ ideas on the board. If needed, prompt students with the following characteristics:

• Terrestrial Protected Areas—more discrete boundaries; more internally controlled by the life processes of the dominant organisms; people live nearby; food is obtained by farming (cultured); have a longer history
• Marine Protected Areas—relatively open; subject to forces such as tides, circulation patterns, and shifts in overall productivity; people do not live there; food is obtained by fishing (wild); have not been established as long; animals and pollutants typically travel longer distances due to global currents

Explain that because of these differences, marine systems require different approaches to studying and managing them.

4. Have students reflect on their ideas about Marine Protected Areas in writing.

Write the following questions on the board and ask students to work independently to record their answers:

• Why do people value national parks and other terrestrial areas that are protected? Does the general population value marine protected areas in the same way? Why or why not?
• Do you think a system of marine protected areas is necessary? Why or why not?
• What ecological and human factors should be considered when establishing a marine protected area?
• Is the establishment of a protected area the only way to preserve the natural and cultural resources of an area? Provide two or three alternatives that could help to protect terrestrial or marine ecosystems.
• What value could a marine protected area provide to society?

If students have difficulty providing alternatives that could help to protect terrestrial or marine ecosystems, provide them with the following examples: fish catches can be managed by limiting the size and amount of fish caught; certain trails may be closed for a time so vegetation and wildlife can reestablish without human interference; and some types of development, such as oil drilling, coal mining, industry, and coastal residences, may be illegal in a particular area due to the presence of a critical habitat or an endangered species.

5. Have a whole-class discussion about students' responses.

After students have finished recording their answers, tell them that thinking about difficult questions and articulating ideas in response to those questions is important to any decision-making process. Have a whole-class discussion about their responses and ideas. Encourage students to also discuss the similarities and differences between the MPAs they researched.

1. Activate prior knowledge by reviewing the purpose and importance of Marine Protected Areas.

Have a whole-class discussion. Ask: What is the purpose of a MPA? (A MPA is “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.”) Ask: Do you think the establishment of Marine Protected Areas is important? Why or why not?

2. For homework, have students read two Marine Protected Area case studies.

Give each student a copy of the Point Sur case study, Cocos Island case study, and the Case Studies Comparison worksheet. Briefly review what a case study is. Remind students that case studies are created to establish and manage MPAs. Case studies outline important information about an area’s history, geography, habitats, species, human uses, and management goals. They also describe threats to the area and explain why the area should be protected. Briefly introduce the two MPAs. Then read aloud the directions for the Case Studies Comparison worksheet. Explain that students will first independently read and take notes for each case study as homework. Then they will discuss and take additional notes for each case study in class. Answer any questions. Tell students that they should think about the analysis questions at the bottom of the worksheet while they are reading. They do not have to answer these questions until the class discussion.

3. During the next class period, discuss the MPA case studies reading assignment and worksheet.

Divide students into pairs and have them trade their Case Studies Comparison worksheets with one another. Tell them to compare their notes and add any important information that they may have overlooked. Then lead a whole-class discussion and tell students to continue adding notes to their worksheets. Wrap up the discussion by asking students to answer the worksheet’s analysis questions. Ask: How are the two MPAs similar? How are they different? Encourage students to use specific information and examples to support their conclusions. They should be able to identify similarities and differences between the MPA’s stakeholders, environmental issues, human threats, management strategies, and important species.

4. Introduce the U.S. MPA classification system and have students classify their two MPA case studies.

Give each pair of students a copy of the Marine Protected Areas Classification worksheet and the Definition and Classification System for U.S. Marine Protected Areas handout from NOAA. Have volunteers read aloud the first and last paragraphs of the “Toward a Common Language for Marine Protected Areas” section on the NOAA handout. Ask a student volunteer to summarize the two passages for the class. Ask:

• What are the five functional characteristics common to most MPAs? (conservation focus, level of protection, permanence of protection, constancy of protection, and ecological scale of protection)
• Why is this classification system so important in the establishment and management of MPAs? (This five-level classification system outlines “why the site was established, what it is intended to protect, how it achieves that protection, and how it may affect local ecosystems and local human uses.”)

Have students turn to the “User’s Guide to the Classification System” section of the NOAA handout. Discuss the criteria that comprise each of the five levels of the MPA classification system. Have students follow along using their MPA Classification worksheets and take notes. Address any terms that may be unfamiliar to them. Read aloud the directions on their Marine Protected Areas Classifications worksheets. Tell students that they will use the U.S. MPA Classification criteria to classify the Point Sur and Cocos Island MPAs. Explain that there is no right or wrong set of classifications, but they must support their classification designations. Their task is to work together and make informed decisions about the best management classification option for each case study. Allow students enough time to discuss each case study and assign it a set of classifications.

5. Have a whole-class discussion about students’ classifications.

For each case study, invite students to share their classifications and the reasoning behind them. Have students compare and contrast the different classifications and revise their classifications, as needed. Ask: Why is it important to classify MPAs using this system? What problems do you think MPA managers might face if these classifications and criteria were not established?

1. Assign student pairs a Marine Protected Area to study.

Briefly review what Marine Protected Areas and case studies are and why they are important. Explain that they are used to establish and manage marine areas that contain important natural and cultural resources. Divide students into pairs. Using the worksheet Pre-Selected List of Marine Protected Areas, assign each pair one MPA to research and present.

2. Have student pairs research and create a case study for their assigned Marine Protected Area.

Distribute copies of the MPA Case Studies: Research Notes worksheet. Read aloud the directions. Explain to students that their assignment is to create and present a MPA case study that includes the following:

• a description of the MPA, including size and location
• the purpose, or mission, of the MPA
• an inventory of species
• an explanation of how the MPA contributes to natural, economic, or cultural resources
• information about who is managing the area and what is being managed
• evaluation of whether or not the MPA is succeeding in its management goals
• a list of stakeholders; for example, environmental or non-governmental organizations, local government agencies, public interest groups, citizens, scientists, and fishermen
• an example of a challenge encountered during the MPA designation process
• an example of a success encountered during the MPA designation process

Make sure students understand all of the items they are expected to research for their MPAs. Have students begin their research with the Protect Planet Ocean: Marine Reserves Studied Around the World website. Give students time to conduct research and take notes on their assigned MPAs using additional online and library resources.

3. Have students create posters or other media to present their case studies.

Ask each pair to create a poster or other media that provides information about their Marine Protected Area case study in a quick, visually-appealing way. Use standard class presentation format or have students create an interactive poster using online presentation tools. Encourage students to enhance their text with graphics from magazines or online resources. Emphasize to students that they should not try to include all of their case study research on the poster. Instead, they should provide a visually-appealing overview of the information. Give each student pair a copy of the Peer Assessment Form: Student Gallery Walk worksheet. Explain that the rubric outlines the criteria by which they will be evaluated: design, content, organization, and creativity. Briefly discuss the criteria with students and use it to focus the creation of their case study presentations.

4. Have students conduct a gallery walk to evaluate their peers’ work.

Assign each student pair a location to display its MPA case study. Number the locations 1-16, according to the MPA list in Step 1. Read aloud the directions for the Peer Assessment Form: Student Gallery Walk worksheet. Explain that each student pair will have 20 minutes to complete their gallery walk. During that time, they will evaluate one pre-assigned MPA case study using the peer assessment portion of the worksheet. For example, have the student pair that researched MPA #1, Lundy, United Kingdom, peer assess MPA #9, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. Then have the MPA #2, Western Mediterranean, peer assess MPA #10, California. Have students review as many other case studies as time allows. For each of the case study reviews, ask them to write two sentences about what they learned and one question they have about the MPA.

5. Discuss peer assessments and case study reviews.

Lead a discussion about how case studies are used to represent the key characteristics of Marine Protected Areas. Ask students to share what they learned about the MPAs presented in the gallery walk. Discuss the questions that students recorded in their case study reviews. Ask students to identify the challenges they encountered while conducting their research and presenting their case studies. Ask: What characteristics made some case studies more effective and informative than others? How might different stakeholders interpret the information presented in a case study? As time allows, select one or two example MPA case studies and discuss how different stakeholders might interpret the information presented in each case study differently. Ask: Are all MPAs successful? Why or why not? Use examples to explain.