Ocean Study Highlights

Our ocean study made a real splash with students this month! We began by identifying where the different oceans are in the world and created a mini-book.

After reading Wish for a Fish, we learned that the ocean has different zones where certain types of sea life can survive.  We decided to map out the zones in one big poster:

We practiced ordering numbers by placing cards with the measurement in feet of each zone and placing it in the correct section on the poster. Then we used cards with measurements in-between each zone section and put them in the correct spot. After that, we drew pictures of some of the animals and plants that live in each zone!

Students even made their own "Oceans" in a jar, using various materials (corn syrup, water, rubbing alcohol, vinegar and food coloring) to create a division of each zone.

The bottom zone is the trench, which is the darkest, coldest zone. The top zone is the sunny zone, where some of our favorite ocean life lives!

The students particularly enjoyed visiting the tide pools in Corona del Mar, especially after reading all about sea anemones. It was exciting to actually see a few in the rocks around the tide pools!

When we learned about ocean habitats and animal adaptations, we also learned a lot about the ocean food chain. We figured out how and where many creatures obtain their food. For example, when we put a few grapes and some pepper with some water into a container, we realized that it is easier for whales to collect the pepper (which is similar to krill) with their baleen (straw like teeth--we used a toothbrush) than try to bite the grapes (seals). Sharks can more easily use their sharp teeth (we used forks) to bite down on the seals (grapes!)

We spent a lot of time reading about many different sea creatures-- whales, sharks, seahorses, octopuses, jellyfish, dolphins, and manatees to name a few. Each child picked an animal and spent some time researching that animal and completing a mini booklet about that animal-- including it's life cycle, what it eats, how it protects itself, and where it lives. It was so much fun to wrap up our study of these animals with some fun puppet shows and posters that were presented by the students before our end of unit trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific!

We loved visiting the coral reefs, especially after we had explored them via webcam and completed some activities about which animals live in the coral reef habitat v. the kelp forest habitat!

It was awesome getting in some "touch time" with the rays and sharks, and even witness a feeding time!

It was great to get "up close and personal" with some sea anemones, especially since these are so colorful and beautiful!

The aquarium was the perfect way to wrap up our ocean study. It was so impressive to hear the children identify and discuss all that they had learned about each animal as we walked past them in the aquarium!