Core Skills Analysis
Physical Education
- Lihan van der Merwe practiced endurance through many days of walking along the beach, which builds stamina and overall fitness.
- Climbing rocks required balance, coordination, and careful body control, especially on uneven natural surfaces.
- Searching for sardines encouraged outdoor movement and active exploration rather than staying sedentary.
- The activity also helped Lihan develop awareness of safe movement in a coastal environment, including footing, terrain, and personal pacing.
Science
- Lihan van der Merwe learned about animal migration through the Sardine Run, including how billions of sardines travel long distances each winter.
- The description introduced marine food chains and predator-prey relationships, showing how dolphins, gannets, and whales feed during the event.
- Lihan also explored biological grouping behavior, such as shoals and bait balls, which help explain how fish and predators interact in nature.
- The size facts—kilometres long, metres deep, and visible from space—built an understanding of scale and observation in the natural world.
Social Studies
- Lihan van der Merwe connected the activity to a specific South African place, Leisure Bay, showing how local geography shapes experiences and seasonal events.
- The Sardine Run linked different regions of South Africa, from Cape Town to KwaZulu-Natal, helping Lihan understand movement across a national coastline.
- Reading about a well-known seasonal event built awareness of how communities and visitors can share interest in natural tourism and coastal culture.
- The activity also showed how people learn from place-based experiences, combining travel, observation, and local environmental knowledge.
Tips
To extend Lihan van der Merwe’s learning, you could turn the Sardine Run into a mini coastal science and geography project. First, map the route from Cape Town to KwaZulu-Natal and estimate just how far the sardines travel, then compare that distance to familiar journeys. Next, create a simple food-web diagram showing sardines, dolphins, gannets, whales, and humans to explore how ocean animals depend on one another. You could also use beach walks as a field-study activity: record signs of marine life, wave conditions, and rocky-shore safety observations in a nature journal. Finally, invite Lihan to make a poster or short report on why animals form shoals and bait balls, helping connect real-world observations to science vocabulary and coastal geography.
Book Recommendations
- The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole: A fun introduction to ocean habitats, marine life, and underwater exploration.
- The Big Book of the Blue by Yuval Zommer: An engaging illustrated book about sea creatures and ocean ecosystems.
- Eye Wonder: Ocean by Penelope Arlon: A visual guide to ocean animals, habitats, and fascinating marine facts.
Try This Next
- Draw a labeled scene of a bait ball with dolphins, gannets, and whales feeding around it.
- Write 5 quiz questions about the Sardine Run using the facts from the reading.
- Make a simple map showing Cape Town, Leisure Bay, and KwaZulu-Natal.
- Create a 'predator and prey' matching activity using the animals mentioned.