Only One Ocean
Marine Science Activities for Grades
Written by Catherine Halversen and Craig
Strang with Kimi Hosoume
As its title suggests, this GEMS guide is
designed to help students understand the tremendous environmental
importance of the ocean. The unit begins with a revealing hands-on
activity, "Apples and Oceans," that focuses on the vast
proportion of the Earth that is ocean and the much smaller slices
where ocean resources are concentrated. Students dissect real squids,
gaining insight into the adaptations of squids to their open-ocean
habitat. Students then launch an intensive investigation of species-threatening
issues related to key ocean fisheries and the increasing scarcity
of ocean resources.
This GEMS guide adapts activities developed by the Marine
Activities, Resources & Education (MARE) program of the
Lawrence Hall of Science. It connects swimmingly with the marine-oriented
GEMS guides Ocean Currents
and On Sandy
Recommends Only One Ocean
"Only One Ocean: Marine Science Activities for Grades 5-8
is a great interdisciplinary introduction to the interconnectedness
of Earth's greatest resource. These activities give a balanced look
at our ocean resources, showing the biologists', environmentalists',
consumers', and fishers' points of view. In the teacher-friendly
tradition of all the LHS GEMS, the format of each activity is very
easy to follow
these activities are interesting, exciting,
and very worthwhile for developing students' understanding of the
importance of our ocean."
National Science Teachers Association Recommends
Comment on this GEMS unit.
What materials are needed to present this unit? See the full list.