Lesson two - Shipping

Aim and introduction

Shipping has always been important to the coastal communities and people of Oman. For centuries, Oman’s ports have been a melting pot of different cultures drawn there through trade. Although there is still an abundance of traditional shipping methods in Oman, there is a growing proportion of ships which carry large cargo. This lesson looks at how shipping has changed, the patterns emerging from shipping in the region and the impacts of these ships in the area. 

This lesson should take between 45 minutes to an hour to complete. 

Curriculum links

Human geography relating to: population and urbanisation; international development; economic activity in the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors; and the use of natural resources.

Learning goals

1. To know why shipping is and has always been important to Oman.
2. Analyse patterns of shipping in and around Oman.
3. To assess the impacts of shipping in and around Oman. 

Learning outcomes

Greater depth: pupils will be able to synthesise information to show detailed understanding of the importance of shipping in Oman. They will be able to clearly analyse the patterns of shipping in and around Oman as well as use specific examples from their findings to support their points. Pupils will be able to extract key points about the impacts of shipping, clearly classifying them into a triple Venn diagram. 

Expected level: pupils will be able to use information to show understanding of the importance of shipping in Oman. They will be able to analyse the patterns of shipping in and around Oman using some examples from their findings to support their points. Pupils will be able to extract points about the impacts of shipping, classifying them into a triple Venn diagram.

Working towards: pupils will be able to use information to show sound understanding of the importance of shipping in Oman. They will be able to analyse some patterns of shipping in and around Oman using examples which may not be relevant to support their points. Pupils will be able to use points about the impacts of shipping, classifying them into a triple Venn diagram. 

Support: with guidance, pupils will be able to use information to show an understanding of the importance of shipping in Oman. They will be able to use some analytical skills to identify patterns of shipping in and around Oman some examples may be used to support points, but these might not be accurate. With guidance, pupils will be able to use points about the impacts of shipping, classifying them into a triple Venn diagram.  

Key terms

• Shipping
• Trade
• Cargo ship
• Container ship 
• Fleet 
• Vessel 

Learning resources 

• Teacher Presentation: Shipping 
• Statements about the impacts of shipping (in the resources section of the teacher’s presentation)

What you will need

• Devices such as tablets, laptops or PCs
• Mini whiteboards (if using in the starter) 

Challenge and support

Suggestions for challenge and support can be found within the main teaching and learning activities. 

Starter

Play a game of ‘guess the industry’ using the images on the PowerPoint. Pupils can use a whiteboard or their notebooks to write the type of industry when the image appears. This could be done in groups or as individuals.      

Main      

Teacher presentation on the shipping industry in Oman covering a brief history and why Oman is in an important location for shipping. 

Pupils use a shipping tracking site such as VesselFinder or MarineTraffic to explore the patterns of shipping traffic in and around Oman. It would be an idea to zoom out to start with so that pupils can see the overall patterns of shipping then zoom further in to look at specific ships, the type of ship, destination and origin. Support pupils by giving them names of ships to look for based on a search before the start of the lesson. 

Class discussion on findings with a brief analysis written in notebooks. Challenge further by asking pupils to think about the most dominant ship seen and think about what that ship might be carrying.  

Plenary

Pupils look at the different statements around the room (found in the ‘resources’ section of the teacher PowerPoint) to identify some of the issue around modern shipping. They use these statements and images to summarise them in a triple Venn diagram identifying the social, economic and environmental impacts of shipping.