Fish Market Survey Lesson Plans
The following is an outline of resources for the The Fish Market Survey Action Project. These resources cover a number of topics related to DNA sequencing including DNA barcoding. Minds-On Lessons 2, 3 and 4, and Consolidation 2 are optional lessons. Lesson plans and associated student black line masters are available for each lesson.
Fish Market Survey Curriculum Alignment
Context
Food is an extremely important part of our lives, and more and more people are concerned about where their food comes from and what goes into their food. Food is also becoming more and more expensive, so consumers what to know if they are getting what they pay for. Even if you carefully read the package, you may not be getting what you think. DNA barcoding is one tool that scientists can use to confirm or refute the identity of food such as beef, fish and other seafood.
Subjects/Skills
Subject Focus: Science, Biology
21st Century Skills Focus: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration
Suggested Timing: 90 minutes or 2 periods (not including optional lessons)
Learning Goals
- Develop awareness of applications of DNA Barcoding
- Understand the processes used to extract DNA from cells and to sequence DNA
- Understand how DNA sequences can be used to identify species
- Correctly and accurately follow a scientific protocol and keep accurate and complete records
- Become familiar with the seafood supply chain from point of origin to consumer
Learning Activities
Students will explore the issue of market substitution for seafood by reading articles, collecting fish samples for DNA barcoding and discussing the impacts and implications of market substitutions.
Big Idea
DNA barcoding is a tool which allows scientists to determine the species of a living thing based on a small segment of DNA. Applications of DNA barcoding include detecting food fraud, such as that which is occurring in the seafood industry.
Minds-On 1: The Fish Hook
In this introductory activity, students will read two articles about the issue of fish mislabelling and complete two graphic organizers to identify the issue, the implications of the issue and possible solutions. They will complete the organizers individually and in pairs, and then discuss the results with the whole class. Note: The other minds-on activities below are optional.
Suggested Timing: 30 minutes
Teacher Resources
- MINDS-ON 1: The Fish Hook (Lesson Plan)
[.pdf]
Student Resources
- BLM M1: Fish Mislabelling Graphic Organizer
[.doc] [.pdf] - BLM M2: Comparing Sources Graphic Organizer
[.doc] [.pdf] - Article #1: Importer employs DNA testing to battle ‘rampant’ seafood mislabelling (Vancouver Sun Article)
[html] - Article #2: Mislabelling means rare fish sold: Marketplace (CBC News article)
[html]
Minds-On 2: DNA Barcoding 101
[Optional]
Students will be introduced to the topic of DNA barcoding by viewing a DNA Barcoding PowerPoint presentation and answering questions based on the presentation.
Suggested Timing: 40 minutes
Minds-On 3: Banana DNA Extraction
[Optional]
In this hands-on lab, students will extract DNA from bananas in order to gain a basic understanding of how DNA can be extracted from tissues and cells.
Suggested Timing: 30 minutes
Minds-On 4: DNA Sequencing
[Optional]
In this hands-on/minds-on activity, students will learn about Sanger sequencing by creating a paper-based model of the process.
Suggested Timing: 30 minutes
Action: Data Collection
This is the core activity for the Fish Market Survey project. Students will collect samples of fish from local grocery stores or fish markets and then prepare the samples for shipment to the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Guelph, Ontario.
Suggested Timing: 20 minutes (plus time outside of class to obtain fish)
Consolidation 1: Fish Market Survey Results
Students will find out about the DNA sequences (barcodes) for the fish samples collected in this project and whether or not they were labelled correctly. As a class they will watch a presentation from the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics which will highlight interesting findings from the project as a whole.
Suggested Timing: 40 minutes
Teacher Resources
- Consolidation 1 : Fish Market Survey Results (Lesson Plan)
[.pdf] - Most recent Fish Market Survey Results Presentation. Available on the Results page.
Consolidation 2: Exploring the Impacts
[Optional]
In this final set of activities, students will learn about the seafood supply chain and use the White Hat - Black Hat strategy again to consider ways of minimizing fish mislabelling.
Suggested Timing: 50 minutes