Oceans

Literature Focus UnitEDU 315

Literature Selection

• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister• Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae• Under the Sea by Linsay Knight• Shell by Alex Arthur• Sharks and Other Dangers of the Deep be Simon

Mugfor• Swimming by Leo Lionni• A Coral Reef A City that Never Sleeps by Mary M.

Cerullo• Coral Reef by Barbara Taylor

Theme Study

• This themed unit will be all about creatures of the oceans. This unit will have activities and lessons in the following areas math, science, social studies, art, music and PE.

• Students will become familiar with the creatures of the oceans, learn about their habitats and different traits of the creatures.

Language Arts: Reading Activities

• Students will read various books about creatures from the oceans. The books can be fiction or non-fiction.

• Students will share their “Adventure Stories” with the class by having them on display to read during silent reading time.

• Students will read independently Dark Day in the Deep Sea by Mary Pope Osborne

• Students will share with the class what kind of animals they have seen and where, or if they haven’t see any ocean creatures which ones would the like to see.

• Class will read aloud their poems about the ocean.• Class will read through new vocabulary

Language Arts: Writing Activities• Students will write a story picking an ocean creature they would

like to be and then they go one some sort of adventure.• Students will write their own KWL (What I know, What I want to

know and What I learned) charts about ocean creatures.• Students will write a concrete poem. • Students will pick an exotic creature as their pet and then write a

short story. • Students will write a Jumble Story

http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/017.shtmlNumber 2

• Students will write a journal while reading Dark Day in the Deep Sea.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities

• Students will pick one creature to do a short research project on and present to the class.

• Students will put on the play Do You Know About Whales? For other students in the school.

• Students will discuss their KWL charts.• Students will share what they have learned

about sea creatures in small groups.

Language Arts: Listening Activities

• Students will listen to different audios of whale noises. • Children will listen to the teacher explain different

migration periods of whales and turtles.• Students will listen as their teacher shares with them

books on creatures of the ocean.• Students will listen while other are sharing their

projects and stories.• Students will listen while their teacher reads to them

the story The Deep End of the Sea by Jaquelyn Mitchard

Language Arts: Viewing Activities

• Students will watch videos about under water creatures.

• Students will view the art that their peers have made.

• Students will view picture in books that they read.

• Students will put their new vocabulary they learned on the word wall.

Language Arts: Visually Representing Activities

• Students will display their art.• Students will display the poems.• Students will have their “adventure” stories in

the class so others can read them.• Teacher will display different pictures of sea

creatures around the room and students will get ideas for different projects.

Science Activities

• Teacher will make a sink or float station and students will take different objects to see if they sink or float. Teacher will explain why one or the other happens.

• Students will raise Brine Shrimp. • Students will make a wave bottle with water and vinegar.• Students will make model waves:

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/ocean/wave.html• Students will make a food chain of ocean animals.• Students will learn about different habitats of the ocean.• Students will discuss algae and what kinds are edible:

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/education_lesson1.html

Math Activities

• Students will graph their favorite animals.• Estimate how many fish it will take to sink a

boat. Then do it. Make a boat out of tin foil and use toy fish.

• Compare how big a whale is to other things in the room.

• Students will have a estimation jar and guess how many sea shells ever day.

Social Studies Activities

• Discuss how old the ocean is.• Students will create a map of where marine

animals live.• Discuss what an Oceanographer is.• Discuss what a Marine Biologist is.• Have the children draw a treasure map. Each child

will go out one at a time and put their “treasure” at the spot, then everyone will exchange maps and they will see if they can find each others treasures.

Music and Art Activities

• Students will create their own ocean creature.• Students will make an ocean animal out of a

sock. (See Technology)• Student will make ocean picture frame.• Students will sing some ocean songs (See

Technology)• Students can learn the hand clap to A Sailor

Went to Sea Sea

Physical Education Activities• Students will play Octopus Tag.• - The game is played like normal tag. However, when children

are tagged they sit and try to tag children with their arms.• Students will play Sharks and Barracudas.• -There will be two teams (sharks and barracudas) . The two

teams will form a line at the opposite end of the gym. The barracudas will turn around so the can’t see the sharks. Then, the sharks try to sneak up on the barracudas. When they feel them getting close the barracudas turn around and say “Here come the barracudas!” and chase the sharks. Whoever get tagged join the barracudas team. Then it is the other teams turn.

• Students will play Voyage Across the Ocean (See Technology)

Language Arts Strategies

• Activating Background Knowledge: Students will think about what they already know about ocean creatures

• Brainstorming: Students will brainstorm for their stories and poems

• Organizing: Students will organize their graphs.• Proofreading: Students will proofread their stories and poems• Questioning: Students will ask questions on their KWL charts• Revising: Students will revise their writings • Connecting: Students will relate things in the ocean to

themselves• Evaluating: Students will reflect on their findings

Language Arts Skills

• Print: Students will use proper nouns and adjectives

• Comprehension: Students will put on a play and write poetry

• Language: Students will write stories• Reference: Students will make graphs

Grouping

• Large Group: Grand conversations, art projects, brainstorming, KWL charts, readers theater, watching videos, listening to music, making a class chart

• Small Group: Small group discussions on KWL charts, reviewing their stories, reviewing what they have learned about sea creatures.

• Individual: Writing stories, journal entries.

Assessment

• Participation-Author’s Chair, Small group, Large group.

• Writings: Rubrics • Observations• Art Portfolio: Check lists• Participation with PE activities as well as Music• Research Project: Rubric• Maps: Check list• Quiz: Dark Day in the Deep Sea

Schedule

8:30-9:30

9:30-10:30

10:30-11:30

11:30-12:30

12:30-1:30

1:30-2:30

2:30-3:00

Mon. Sink or Float Activity

Reading Independently

KWL Chart/Ocean Animal Socks

Lunch/Aloud Reading

Oceanographer

Graph Animals

Ocean Songs

Tues. Brine Shrimp/Ocean Creature Art

Read Dark Day in The Deep Sea/Journal

Concrete Poems

Lunch/ Aloud Reading

Marine Biologist

Make Tin Boat

Tag Game

Wed. Wave Bottle/Model waves

Sharing Their Poems

Adventure Story

Lunch/ Aloud Reading

How old is the Ocean?

Compare Whales to Class Objects

Hand clap

Thurs. Food Chain/ Habitat

Word Wall/Ocean Picture Frame

Jumble Story

Lunch/ Aloud Reading

Map of Animals

Estimation Jar

Sharks and Barracudas

Fri. Algae Share their Adventure Stories

Exotic Pet Story

Lunch/ Aloud Reading

Treasure Hunt

Estimation Jar

Voyage Across the Ocean

Technology

• http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/017.shtml• http://www.angelfire.com/fl/preschoolfunzon

e/sealife.html• http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/under_

the_sea.html• http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/prescho

ol_themes/ocean/oceanmusic.html• http://eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virt

ual/Lessons/Physical_Education/Games/GAM0201.html

• National Geographic Videos• Kids Ocean Video – Who Lives in The Ocean