Under the Deep Blue Sea
Introduction
Take your students on an underwater exploration
of the sea to inspire their creativity and teach them about the ocean and the
many life forms that make their homes in its mysterious depths. Students will
learn about the ocean and the creatures that live there, listen to stories and
poems with oceanic settings, conduct research about oceanic life forms, and write
their own stories and poems about the sea.
This
lesson gives students the opportunity to explore oceans and ocean life. After
locating the earth's major oceans on a world map, students will "dive underwater"
to discover the plants and animals that live in the sea. Students will listen
to stories and poems with oceanic settings and learn about the forms of sea life
featured in each. They can add their own artwork and text about ocean animals
and plants to a cut-away ocean display. Finally, students will engage in various
forms of creative writing about the ocean and ocean life.
Learning Objectives
Depending on the activities
chosen, students will be able to:
- describe
the ocean based on information presented in class
-
learn how many oceans there are, where they are located on a world map, and why
they are often considered one big ocean
-
recall information they learned while listening to stories and poems with oceanic
settings
- research various forms of sea life,
and learn about one in enough detail to share their information with the class
-
understand the elements of poems and stories written about the ocean
Guiding Question:
What is an ocean? What do we imagine when we think about the ocean?
What are the names of the major oceans of the world, and where are they located?
How is the ocean represented in stories and poems? What kinds of plants and animals
live in the ocean, and what can we learn about them? How can we use what we have
learned to create our own poems and stories about the ocean?
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
This
lesson requires you to access various Web pages through EDSITEment-reviewed sites.
You may share these pages with your students at individual computer stations or
by assigning small groups to share a number of computers; by means of computer-projected
images displayed to the whole class; or by printing out the images and distributing
copies of them to students.
You will also need
to have on hand at least two picture books to share with students--one for the
"Sharing Ocean Experiences" activity and another for the "Introducing
Ocean Literature" activity. Suggested titles are provided at relevant points
in the lesson, as well as in the Resource List at the
end of the lesson.
In addition, you will need
access to a variety of research materials for the "Researching Ocean Life"
activity. For Internet research, you should acquaint yourself ahead of time with
the EDSITEment-reviewed site, Treasures@Sea,
which provides links to other useful sites. For print materials, refer to the
"Resource List" at the end of the lesson plan.
As
you review materials, you will note that there are differing opinions about the
number of oceans in the world. It is generally recognized that there are four:
Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. Others say there is a fifth ocean, the
Southern or Antarctic, which lies south of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans,
linking them together. Your students should recognize that, since all of these
bodies of water of the world are connected, they make up one global ocean.
Suggested ActivitiesLesson 1: Oceans and Ocean Life
Lesson 2: Exploring the Ocean (optional)
Lesson 3: Introducing Ocean Literature
Lesson 4: Creating an Ocean Display (optional)
Lesson 5: Researching Ocean Life Lesson
6: Speaking of the Sea Extending
the Lesson
Lesson 1 Oceans and Ocean Life
Ask
for volunteers to explain what an ocean is. Have students who have been to the
ocean describe what they have experienced there to the class. Use the following
chart with the five sensory headings: See, Hear, Touch, Taste, and Smell, which
you can complete online or download and print out for classroom use. As students
recall what they know about the ocean, write down their descriptive words and
phrases next to the sensory headings. Ask for students' help in deciding which
category is appropriate for each experience, and whether an experience belongs
to more than one category. Ask students why they chose a particular category.
See | | Hear | | Touch | | Taste | | Smell | |
Next,
read aloud a story with an ocean setting. The Magic School Bus on the Ocean
Floor by Joanna Cole or A Swim Through the Sea by Kristin Joy Pratt
are good options. (See Resource List at the end of the
lesson plan for other suggested titles.) When the story is over, ask the students
to think of new words or concepts from the book that describe the setting where
the story took place or where the main character lived. Add each of these to the
sensory lists.
Point out to students that some
of the words on their list describe life in the ocean, where the main character(s)
of the story live, and some of them describe life near the ocean, where
people can live or visit. Have students identify which words belong in each category.
At the top of the chart, write the word "In" in blue marker (to symbolize water)
and the word "Near" in green marker (to symbolize land). Then have children take
turns using the blue marker to circle words that pertain to life in the ocean
and the green marker to circle words that pertain to life near the ocean.
Invite 2nd-grade students to create their own
haiku-like poems about the ocean or animals living in the ocean, using words and
images from the lists above. (See the EDSITEment lesson Play
with Words: Rhyme & Verse for further information about haiku and other types
of poetry.) You might want to do this activity in conjunction with the "Speaking
of the Sea" activity described below. Kindergarten and 1st-grade teachers can
do this activity as a whole class project, modeling for the children how to create
a haiku. As you go through each line, encourage students to participate by adding
words from the sensory list you created earlier.
The
first line of the poem should include two words or phrases about the ocean or
animal, the second line should include three words or phrases, and the third line
should include two words or phrases. Older students may wish to follow the true
haiku form by counting syllables rather than words: five syllables in the first
line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.
Younger students who are writing their own poems may use inventive spelling or
dictate their poem to the teacher or a classroom aide. Have each student copy
his or her poem onto a piece of sturdy paper so that it can be displayed in the
classroom, and have each student recite his or her poem to the rest of the class.
Teachers who do this as a whole-class activity can invite students to copy the
poem onto a large poster board and have them decorate the poster. Then, they can
display it on a bulletin board outside the classroom for other students to see.
Lesson 2 Exploring the Ocean
Ask
students how many oceans there are in the world. Draw a question mark in the center
of the chalkboard and write their response around it:
Next,
ask students if they know the names of any oceans. Write their answers on the
chalkboard. Explain that most people agree that there are four major oceans: the
Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Point
out that others say there is a fifth ocean, the Southern or Antarctic, which lies
south of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, linking them together. You
can also emphasize that, while we think of these bodies of water as separate oceans,
they are all connected and make up one global ocean.
Show
the students a world map, accessible through the EDSITEment-reviewed National
Geographic Society's Xpeditions Web site. Select the "Atlas" icon from the
main site page. A printable map of the world will appear, which you can further
customize by adjusting the selection options. Ask
students to look at the map and describe how the oceans are separated from one
another. While students might suggest that land divides the oceans, guide them
to realize that the oceans of the world are really one big ocean with pieces of
land dividing it into different parts.
Give
each student a printout of the world map that you have just studied together.
To reinforce the idea that the oceans are connected to each other, challenge students
to color in all of the watery parts of the map without lifting their blue crayons
from the page. Encourage students to use other colors to fill in the various landmasses.
Ask students to create ocean travel routes, demonstrating how a boat could travel
to every continent without ever crossing any land. Additional
Activity for Exploring the Ocean
You can find further interesting
facts about the ocean for your students--or guide them to do simple online research
themselves--by visiting the EDSITEment-reviewed Treasures@Sea
Web site. At the site, select "Diving for Treasure." On the next page, click on
"Search for a Treasure Chest of Ocean Facts." By clicking on the "Frequently Asked
Questions" button, answers you will get answers to questions such as:
- Why
is the ocean blue?
- How many oceans are there?
-
What are the main oceans called?
- Why is
the ocean salty?
Other information is
available under additional subject headings.
Lesson 3 Introducing Ocean Literature
This
activity serves as a brief introduction to the sea animals featured in children's
literature. In subsequent activities, students will research these and other animals
as well as listen to and read other selections from ocean-related literature and
write original poems and stories with ocean themes.
Suggestion
1: Picture Books Begin by reading aloud a picture book with an ocean
setting, such as A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle, or The Twelve
Days of Summer by Elizabeth Lee McDonald. (See the Resource
List at the end of the lesson for other suggested titles.)
Ask
students to listen for names of animals and plants they have never heard of before,
and instruct them to raise their hands whenever a new animal or plant is mentioned.
Then compile a list of new vocabulary words: A
House for Hermit Crab:
- hermit crab
-
sea anemone
- starfish
-
coral
- snail
-
sea urchin
- seaweed
-
lantern fish
- sponge
-
barnacle
- clown fish
-
sand dollar
- electric eel
The
Twelve Days of Summer:
- sea anemone
-
pelican
- jellyfish
-
piper
- flying fish
-
squid
- starfish
-
crab
- seal
-
dolphin
- gull
If
time permits, read more than one story so that students can compare the information
presented in each. Record the information on a piece of chart paper for reference
in subsequent activities.
Suggestion 2: Rhymes: You
can also use nursery rhymes to bring the world of the sea to your students. For
online sea-related nursery rhymes, see "Little
Drops of Water, Little Grains of Sand, Make the Mighty Ocean and the Pleasant
Land" from Mama Lisa's Nursery Rhymes , "My
Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" on HPD's Nursery Rhymes Page, or "The
Owl and the Pussycat." These selections are linked from the EDSITEment-reviewed
Web site Internet Public Library.
While
reading these rhymes aloud or having students take turns reading them aloud, encourage
them to think about ways they can creatively act out the rhymes to emphasize the
feeling of the sea. For example, you or your students may choose to read the rhymes
in a voice that dips low and then squeaks high, in order to make the listener
think about rolling waves. Another idea is to use hand and eye motions.
Lesson 4 Creating an Ocean Display (optional)
This
activity can be used to complement the "Researching Ocean Life" activity below.
By creating an ocean display, students will learn more about what the ocean looks
like and about the animals and plants that live in or near the sea. You can use
the display to further acquaint students with the ocean by showing them what the
ocean floor looks like as it extends from the shoreline, and as a background for
presenting various items from the projects and activities in this lesson. This
display can be used with older students to explain terms that apply to the ocean
floor.
Creating a Cut-Away View of the Ocean
Floor Cover a large bulletin board with light blue or white craft
paper. Then draw the cut-away view of the ocean floor as follows:
1.
Place a brown marker about two-thirds of the way up on the left-hand side of the
display.
2. Draw a horizontal line beginning at this point. Slope your
line down slightly. This will serve as your shoreline and continental shelf (where
the ocean floor is closest to the shoreline). 3. After drawing your shelf,
sharply dip your marker down so the resulting line is practically vertical. This
line will represent an ocean slope. 4. Then, as your slope line dips below
the display's halfway point, flatten your line out horizontally to form a level
ocean plain (the widest, flattest part of the ocean floor).
5. Continue
the plain line for a foot or two across the display, then angle your marker up
sharply to draw a steep, craggy mountain peak called a mid-ocean ridge.
6. Draw the mid-ocean ridge so it peaks above the plain line and below the continental
shelf. Then pull your marker line down at a sharp angle to form the other steep
side of the mountain.
7. At the foot of the mountain, draw a sharp, narrow
valley, called an ocean trench.
8. Finish your ocean floor by moving your
line up to create another slope and another continental shelf on the other side
of the display.
9. Use a blue marker to draw the waterline from shore
to shore. (Your mid-ocean ridge should not extend above your water line.)
10.
Print the names of each of the parts of the ocean floor (shoreline, continental
shelf, slope, plain, mid-ocean ridge, and trench) on a separate index card. Help
students attach these labels to the display. Have students use watercolors to
paint the ocean floor brown and the water blue. Students may also glue fiberfill
cloud wisps in the sky above the ocean and draw tiny sailboats on the water's
surface.
Lesson 5 Researching Ocean Life
Tell
students that they are going to become oceanographers--people who study and share
information about the ocean. (Background information about oceanographers can
be found through a link on the National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration from the EDSITEment-reviewed Web site,
Treasures @ Sea.)
The
students' first job as oceanographers is to draw pictures of animals that live
in or near the ocean. Have students choose animals on which they would like to
become experts. For inspiration, revisit the list of animals featured in the books
you shared in previous activities. For research information, see the lists of
print and Internet resources at the end of the lesson plan.
Supply
students with paper and have them make preliminary tracings or sketches of their
animals. When the students are satisfied, provide them with a piece of white oak
tag so they can make full-color drawings of their animals. Have students cut out
their drawings and add them to the ocean display. Afterward, have students write
or dictate information about their drawings. Label each finished drawing with
an index card bearing the animal's name as well as details related to the animal's
size, color, markings, and other physical features.
Remind
students that part of an oceanographer's job is to do research and to teach other
people about the ocean. Oceanographers share what they have discovered on their
own as well what other oceanographers have discovered. You
can find interesting facts about the ocean for your students, or guide them to
do simple online research themselves, by visiting the EDSITEment-reviewed Treasures@Sea
Web site. At the site, select "Book Activities." By clicking on the title of a
particular book, students can learn about some of the sea animals featured in
the story. For example, The Rainbow Fish page provides a link to information
about starfish, while the Humphrey the Lost Whale page links to information
about humpback whales. Web pages entitled Ocean
Animals and Aquatic
Safari, which can also be accessed through the Treasures@Sea
Web site, provide a wealth of information about various forms of ocean life. A
list of other related sites can be found in the "Web Resources" section of Treasures@Sea.
To guide students' research, help them answer
the following questions about their animals:
Kindergarten | Grade
1 | Grade 2 |
-
What's your animal's name?
- How big or small
is it?
- Does it live in the ocean or near
the ocean?
- What are interesting facts about
your animal?
|
-
What is your animal's name?
-
How big or small is it?
- Does it live in
the ocean or near the ocean?
- In what part(s)
of the world is your animal found?
- What
does your animal eat?
- What are interesting
facts about your animal?
|
- What
is your animal's name?
- How big or small
is it?
- Does it live in the ocean or near
the ocean?
- In what part(s) of the world
is your animal found?
- What does your animal
eat?
- How deep under the water does it live?
-
What special things does your animal do to survive?
|
Have
students write or dictate answers to the questions above and help them organize
their sentences in paragraph form. Encourage students to supply as much detail
as possible. Students might pretend to be reporters interviewing their sea animal.
Ask them what questions they would ask their animal if it could talk, and let
them use their research to develop responses. Students can present their interviews
in question and answer format and can draw pictures to illustrate their interviews.
You may display the finished interviews around the edge of your ocean display,
or compile them in a student magazine that can be copied and distributed to students
and their families.
Set aside class time for students
to share what they have learned about their ocean animal. Have them prepare a
riddle about the animal as a way of introducing it to the rest of the class (e.g.,
"I have five arms but no fingers. What am I?"). Or have students prepare acrostic
poems by printing their animal's name vertically on a piece of paper and then
using each letter of that name to begin a word or sentence about the animal.
Additional
Activity for Researching Ocean Life If time permits, repeat
the activity by having each student choose an ocean plant to research. Have them
cut plant shapes from craft paper. Add the plants to the ocean display so that
the foliage camouflages the animals. You may use this as an opportunity to discuss
camouflage and other ways ocean animals protect themselves.
Lesson 6 Speaking of the Sea
In
this section of the lesson, students have the opportunity to create original poems
-- either individually or as a class -- about ocean life. The ocean has inspired
writers for centuries, and many poems have been written about the sea and the
animals that live there. Read aloud a selection of published poems. (For suggestions,
see the list of poetry collections and online nursery rhymes under the Resource
List at the end of the lesson plan.) You may wish to choose poems about some
of the animals that were researched in the previous activity, or invite students
to browse through the collections in small groups and have them select the poems
they would like to hear. (For a related lesson about poetry, see the EDSITEment
lesson Play
with Words: Rhyme & Verse.)
As students listen
to each poem, discuss the techniques the poet uses to create images of ocean life.
What animal is the poem about? How does the poet describe the animal and where
it lives? What kinds of details does the poet include about the animal? Does the
poem include action? Is it funny? Sad? Try to choose a wide array of poems so
that students can see the range of stylistic possibilities. Discuss with students
the similarities and differences among the poems.
Next,
have 2nd-grade students work individually or in pairs to create their own poems
about ocean life. Encourage them to use some of the resources listed at the end
of the lesson as they research facts for their poems. Kindergarten and 1st-grade
students can create the poem as a class.
After
giving students the opportunity to practice reading their poem at home or in class,
have each child recite his or her poem to the rest of the class (kindergarteners
and 1st graders can recite the poem as a choral reading). You might wish to invite
parents or other classes to the poetry presentation and use this as an opportunity
for students to share the other work they have created as part of this unit.
Extending the Lesson
Remind students of the stories you read in the Sharing
Ocean Experiences and Introducing Ocean Literature sections
of the lesson, and tell them that they are now going to write their own ocean
stories. Begin by inviting students to recall all of the words they have learned
about the ocean and about the animals and plants that live there. Have them use
the vocabulary words generated in the previous activities as they write their
short stories.
Before students begin writing,
help them determine the main characters, settings, and plots for their stories.
What sea animal would they like to write about? Where does this animal live, and
what is it like there? What adventures or problems might this animal have? How
does the animal solve the problem? Encourage students to draw upon the knowledge
they gained in the Researching Ocean Life activity as they
plan their stories. After students complete their first drafts, have them share
their work in small groups. Have them give one another suggestions for ways to
include more ocean-related vocabulary and ideas.
Younger
students will need more teacher support to write stories. Kindergarteners and
young 1st graders may want to dictate their stories to the teacher or teacher's
aide.
When students have completed their final
drafts, compile them in a class anthology to be shared with families and friends.
Resource List
The
following is a list of published texts that may be used in teaching this unit:
Picture
Books A Swim Through the Sea, written and illustrated by Kristin
Joy Pratt (Dawn Publications, 1994)
Very Last First Time, written
by Jan Andrews, illustrated by Ian Wallace (Atheneum, 1985)
Marina,
written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans (Harper & Row, 1962)
A House
for Hermit Crab, written and illustrated by Eric Carle (Simon & Schuster,
1988)
One Lonely Seahorse, written by Saxton Freymann, illustrated
by Joost Elffers (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2000)
Where Will You Swim
Tonight?, written by Milly Jane Limmer, illustrated by Helena Clare Pittman
(Albert Whitman & Company, 1991)
Sea Squares, written by Joy N.
Hulme, illustrated by Carol Schwartz (Hyperion Books for Children, 1991)
Swimmy,
written and illustrated by Leo Lionni (Random House, 1968)
The Rainbow
Fish, written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister (North South Books, Inc.,
1992)
Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet, written by Deborah
Lee Rose, illustrated by Steve Jenkins (Scholastic Press, 2000)
Across
the Big Blue Sea: An Ocean Picture Book, written and illustrated by Jakki
Wood (National Geographic Society, 1998)
Poetry
Collections In the Swim, by David Florian (Voyager Books, 1997):
This is an illustrated collection of brief, often humorous poems featuring sea
creatures such as catfish, salmon, piranhas, eel, sawfish, sea horses, whales,
starfish, flounder, sharks, flying fish, jellyfish, and more.
My First
Oxford Book of Poems, edited by J. Foster (Oxford University Press, 2000):
The section of this anthology entitled "Beside the Sea" includes an array of ocean-related
verses by classic and contemporary poets.
The Oxford Book of Animal
Poems, edited by Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark (Oxford University
Press, 1992): This anthology includes poems about octopi, skates, sharks, sea
lions, seals, dolphins, whales, penguins, and seahawks.
Poetry for Young
People: Lewis Carroll, edited by Edward Mendelsohn (Sterling Publishing Company,
2000): This collection of Carroll's verses includes "The Mock Turtle's Song" from
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as well as an earlier version of the
poem, which could serve as inspiration for students' own whimsical poems about
sea life.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by
Jack Prelutsky (Random House, 1983): This anthology includes poems about seals,
codfish, flying fish, sea gulls, and sandpipers, as well as other poems about
the seashore in general.
Sailing Days: Stories and Poems about Sailors
and the Sea, edited by A. McKay (ACC Children's Classics, 1998): Although
not specifically about sea animals, the stories and poems in this collection could
provide interesting opportunities for extending the unit into a broader range
of ocean-related literature. Online Nursery
Rhymes "Little Drops
of Water, Little Grains of Sand, Make the Mighty Ocean and the Pleasant Land"
from Mama Lisa's Nursery Rhymes. "My
Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" on HPD's Nursery Rhymes Page. "The
Owl and the Pussycat." Research Books Animals
on the Seashore (Octopus Publishing Group, Ltd., 2001) Draw 50
Sharks, Whales, and Other Sea Creatures, by Lee J. Ames (Doubleday, 1989)
The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor, by Joanna Cole (Scholastic,
Inc., 1992) The Aquarium Take-Along Book, by Sheldon L. Gerstenfeld
(Penguin Putnam, 1994) Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea, by Gail Gibbons
(Little, Brown, & Co., 1999) World Water Watch, by M. Koch (Greenwillow
Books, 1993) Beneath Blue Waters: Meetings with Remarkable Sea Creatures,
by Deborah Kovacs and Kate Madin (Viking, 1996) Sea Creatures Do Amazing
Things, by Arthur Myers (Random House, 1981) Shark in the Sea,
by Joanne Ryder (Morrow Junior Books, 1997) Night of Ghosts and Hermits:
Nocturnal Life on the Seashore, by Mary Stolz (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers,
1985) Material List
Sharing
Ocean Experiences and Introducing Ocean Literature: chart
paper markers
Cut-Away Ocean Display:-+ chart
paper markers drawing or tracing paper oak tag colored pencils
markers or crayons construction paper scissors
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Treasures@Sea:
Exploring the Ocean through Literature
Aquatic
Safari
Ocean
Animals
National
Geographic Society Xpeditions
Standards Alignment
View your state’s standards
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