The Legend of the Bidarki

Engagement

15 Minutes

Bring in some samples of a food (berries, fish, edible plants, etc) that are found in your area and have students try them. Briefly discuss food sources for Alaskans now, and how they differ from food sources 100 years ago.

Exploration​

30 Minutes

Distribute the introduction to the “Legend of the Bidarki ” story, and read it together as a class, then divide students into four groups. Ask groups 1 and 2 to be “residents of Port Graham and Nanwalek” and give them Part 2a and Part 2b   to read. Groups 3 and 4 will be “university scientists” and read Parts 3a and 3b . Let students know that they will report to the class the section that they read, and assign parts. Give the students time to read.

Ask Group 1 to explain to the class what they read in part 2a of the story. They could take turns, with one student asking each of the questions that the villagers had about the bidarki. Discuss that part of the story and ask if students have any additional questions to ask.

Ask Group 2 to report on part 3a of the story, telling the rest of the class why scientists wanted to study the bidarki. Discuss methods that scientists might use to try to answer some their questions.

Group 3 will report on part 2b of the story. Ask students to take turns reporting each of the statements that the elders told the scientists.

Finally, ask Group 4 to report on what scientist Ann Salomon found as a result of her study, part 3b.

Distribute the conclusions of the story  and read them together as a class.

Explanation

30-40 Minutes

Discuss the interconnections in the story using a graphic organizer: On the board or overhead projector, ask students to help fill in “bubbles” to represent the various parts of the ecosystem near Port Graham and Nanwalak, including:

• People who live in the villages
• Bidarki (Katy Chiton, Black Leather Chiton)
• Sea Otter
• Sea Star
• Cod or Halibut (substitute subsistence harvest in times when bidarki were scarce)

As a class, draw arrows between the bubbles to indicate the type of interactions that took place in the story.

Each student could replicate (and/or add to) the graphic organizer in their science notebook as the discussion takes place.

Talk about the problem that people in the villages face and possible solutions to that problem.

Ask students to reflect in their science notebooks on these questions:

1. How did modern technology affect the way that the people in Nanwalek and Port Graham used the ocean?
2. Whose responsibility is it to take care of the ocean and its resources?
3. How do scientists help solve problems of conserving the ocean’s resources?

Elaboration​

20-25 Minutes

Human-Ocean Interactions. Distribute the Concept Web graphic organizer and ask students to fill it in with their personal and community connections to the ocean. They should put their own names at the center of the web, and also include connections between other parts of the web. (i.e., they are connected to their uncle, the fisherman; and to their aunt, the marine biologist, and those two are connected to each other. Or, they eat salmon and they have an uncle and the uncle fishes for salmon and they love to watch eagles and eagles eat salmon.)

Help students focus on finding significant connections, rather than simply listing as many as they can.

In their science notebooks, have students explain:

1. How and why the ocean is important to me, OR
2. How would my life change if I had no connections to the ocean?

Evaluation

Assess student understanding as demonstrated by their:

Completed Connections Web
Science notebook responses, observations, and hypotheses

Curricular Connections

• Art. Have students build a salt dough model of the bidarki and label it.

  Writing. Nonfiction writing will be addressed through the continued use of the student science notebook.

  Ideas for adapting to different local environment or context:
  Lesson Extensions: Students can create an “Ocean Events” collage using clippings from recent newspapers, magazines, or the Internet, that have to do with local or global issues pertaining to ocean/human interactions.