Mark Kurlansky discusses how humans treat the oceans and the fish that live in them, and what the world will likely look like if fish populations continue to decline.

For this book, we offer a mix of literary and informational texts to support your upcoming novel unit. These lessons are designed to build students’ reading comprehension and engagement.

6th Grade Informational Text 600L

Can't We All Just Get Along?

BirdBrain Science 2016
Passage Summary:

This informational text discusses the diverse interactions of organisms that can be mutually beneficial.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text before students begin reading World Without Fish, to provide them with additional information on how diverse organisms interact. Ask students to discuss how “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” explores how different species rely on each other for survival. According to the article, how would barnacles be affected if whales went extinct?

8th Grade Poem

Sea Fever

John Masefield 1916
Passage Summary:

In John Masefield's poem "Sea Fever," the speaker discusses his desire to return to the sea.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this text after they finish Chapter 6, to provide them with a comparative perspective about life at sea. Ask students to compare the views of the speaker in John Masefield’s poem with the fishermen’s perspective in “World Without Fish.” How do the speaker in Masefield’s poem and the fishermen in “World Without Fish” both have a personal connection to the sea? How do “Sea Fever” and World Without Fish help students understand the financial and emotional costs if fishermen were required to give up their life at sea?

7th Grade News 1200L

Genetically Modified Salmon: Food or 'Frankenfish'?

Monique Conrod 2014
Passage Summary:

This article reports on a new yet controversial technology that makes it possible for companies to raise genetically modified salmon that grow very fast.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students read Chapter 7, to provide them with an example of a controversial solution to declining fish populations. Ask students to discuss how the fish farming discussed in the text compares to the fish farming explored in World Without Fish. What additional problems does farming natural fish and “Frankenfish” present? Why isn’t either a viable solution for declining wild fish populations?

10th Grade News 1140L

Fracking Fuels Energy Debate

Erica Gies 2012
Passage Summary:

We use the energy from natural gas for power. However, a relatively new process of getting this natural gas out of the ground called fracking has sparked a debate about sustainable energy.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this text after Chapter 9, to provide students with an example of how the pursuit of energy sources often leads to pollution. Ask students to consider how the costs of fracking compare to the disadvantages of drilling for oil, as discussed in chapter 9 of World Without Fish. Have students discuss how one means of extracting natural resources may be preferable to the other. How do both forms of extracting natural resources ultimately impact oceans and drinking water in a negative way?

6th Grade Informational Text 880L

Tiny Plastic, Big Problem

Alison Pearce Stevens 2015
Passage Summary:

In "Tiny Plastic, Big Problem," Alison Pearce Stevens discusses the impact that plastic has had on our world, particularly in our oceans.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students have read Chapter 9, to provide students with information on how plastic trash ends up in oceans and the negative impact it has on the environment. Ask students to compare the effects that plastic trash has on oceans, as discussed in “Tiny Plastic, Big Problem,” with the negative effects that oil has on oceans that “World Without Fish” identifies. According to Stevens and Kurlansky, how are the animals higher up the food chain affected by fish that consume oil and plastic trash?

9th Grade News 1140L

Scientists Clone Human Embryos To Make Stem Cells

Rob Stein and Michaeleen Doucleff 2013
Passage Summary:

This informational news article offers insight into recent advances in stem cell research.

When and How to Pair:

Introduce “Scientist Clone Human Embryos to Make Stem Cells” after students have read Chapter 10. Have students read this text to provide them with a comparative perspective on the future of our planet. Ask students to compare the tone, message, and prediction of Kurlansky and Stein and Doucleff.

8th Grade Poem

World Below the Brine

Walt Whitman 1855
Passage Summary:

In Walt Whitman's poem "World Below the Brine," the speaker explores the world under the sea.

When and How to Pair:

Have students read this text after they finish World Without Fish, to encourage them to consider the full extent of what could be lost if humans don’t change their relationship with animals and the environment. Ask students to discuss how the world that Walt Whitman describes could be altered by the changes discussed in World Without Fish? Ask students to consider the effects on animals, plants, and even the water itself.

6th Grade Informational Text 1000L

Marley Dias: The 13-Year-Old Author Who Made a Difference

Barrett Smith 2017
Passage Summary:

In the informational text "Marley Dias: The 13-Year-Old Author Who Made a Difference," Barrett Smith discusses the activism of a young girl who collects and donates books with black girls as the main characters. 

When and How to Pair:

Introduce this text after students read the resources that the author provides at the end of the book, about how readers can help preserve threatened fish populations. Ask students to discuss how Marley Dias became an activist for social change, and how they themselves can help create environmental change. What characteristics do students think are important for becoming a leader or contributor to a movement? How might students consider the contributors of “World Without Fish” as activists?