Sandy Shores Concepts Three different types of sea turtle can be found on Hawaii’s sandy shores. Each one has unique physical characteristics that can be used to distinguish them from one another. Standards Addressed 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.3.1, 2.5.1 Duration 1 hour Source Material Maui Ocean Center Vocabulary Reptiles Adapted Scutes Endangered Threatened Poaching Marine debris Honu Limu Hawaii’s Sea Turtle Observer Summary Students make observations and identify the seven different types of sea turtles in the world. They will also learn the name of and how to identify the three types of sea turtle that can be found in Hawaii. Objectives • Students will observe pictures of sea turtles of the world and of Hawaii and record their observations on a datasheets • Students will form questions about turtles based on their observations • Students will be able to identify the parts of a sea turtle and their function Materials Hawaii Sea Turtle Observation Cards Background on Types of Turtles and Parts of a Turtle Sea Turtles of the World Poster Who Am I? Riddle Clouds K-W-L Worksheet Sea Turtle Observer Worksheets Making Connections Students may recall personal experiences when they have seen sea turtles on Hawaii’s sandy shores. Learning about the three different types of sea turtles that can be found in Hawaii will help students appreciate their importance to the sandy shore habitat. Teacher Prep for Activity Activity 1: Sea Turtle Observer Set up five work stations: 1 for each of the four turtle ID cards, 1 with turtle poster and riddle cards. Copy 1 of the K-W-L chart, turtle observer, and who am I worksheets for each student. Each student should receive a packet with three worksheets total. Background Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles. Reptiles have a backbone, scaly skin, claws on their toes, and lay eggs. Sea turtles spend most of their life in the ocean and are very well adapted for life in the water. They have four flippers that are used for movement. They use the two front flippers to help them swim. The two back flippers are like rudders and help them steer or move in the direction they want to go. Their skin is protected by scales. The shell on their back is formed by many bony plates called scutes that are fused together. There are
Transcript
Sandy Shores
Concepts
Three different types of
sea turtle can be found
on Hawaii’s sandy
shores. Each one has
unique physical
characteristics that can
be used to distinguish
them from one another.
Standards Addressed
2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.3.1, 2.5.1
Duration
1 hour
Source Material
Maui Ocean Center
Vocabulary
Reptiles
Adapted
Scutes
Endangered
Threatened
Poaching
Marine debris
Honu
Limu
Hawaii’s Sea Turtle Observer
Summary Students make observations and identify the seven different types of
sea turtles in the world. They will also learn the name of and how to
identify the three types of sea turtle that can be found in Hawaii.
Objectives • Students will observe pictures of sea turtles of the world and
of Hawaii and record their observations on a datasheets
• Students will form questions about turtles based on their
observations
• Students will be able to identify the parts of a sea turtle and
their function
Materials Hawaii Sea Turtle Observation Cards
Background on Types of Turtles and Parts of a Turtle
Sea Turtles of the World Poster
Who Am I? Riddle Clouds
K-W-L Worksheet
Sea Turtle Observer Worksheets
Making Connections Students may recall personal experiences when they have seen sea
turtles on Hawaii’s sandy shores. Learning about the three different
types of sea turtles that can be found in Hawaii will help students
appreciate their importance to the sandy shore habitat.
Teacher Prep for Activity Activity 1: Sea Turtle Observer
Set up five work stations: 1 for each of the four turtle ID cards, 1
with turtle poster and riddle cards. Copy 1 of the K-W-L chart, turtle
observer, and who am I worksheets for each student. Each student
should receive a packet with three worksheets total.
Background Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles. Reptiles have a backbone, scaly
skin, claws on their toes, and lay eggs. Sea turtles spend most of
their life in the ocean and are very well adapted for life in the water.
They have four flippers that are used for movement. They use the
two front flippers to help them swim. The two back flippers are like
rudders and help them steer or move in the direction they want to go.
Their skin is protected by scales. The shell on their back is formed
by many bony plates called scutes that are fused together. There are
seven kinds of sea turtle in the world that we know about. All sea turtles are endangered or
threatened because they have to deal with a lot of threats. Some of these threats are human
disturbance, poaching, habitat destruction, and marine debris. We have only three species
of sea turtle in Hawaii. They are the Green, Hawksbill, and the Leatherback. The one we see
the most is the Green sea turtle. The Hawaiian name for the Green sea turtle is “honu.” The
honu can weigh up to 400 pounds and be 43 inches long. It likes to eat a kind of green algae
called limu that grows on coral reefs. This means that it is a vegetarian and eats only green
food. The honu has green fat on the inside from the green algae it eats. That is why it got the
name Green sea turtle.
Procedure Activity 1: Sea Turtle Observer
1. Give each student a K-W-L chart and work with them, making a larger chart on the board
or on chart paper, to complete the K & W portions. When finished collect the worksheets
and keep them all together in a safe place. You will need them at the end of the turtle
lessons to have the students complete the L portion. (~10 minutes)
2. Read the background information aloud to the students and discuss new vocabulary words
as needed. (~5 minutes)
3. Separate the students into five groups - one group per station. Pass out the sea turtle
observer worksheets. While you are passing out the worksheets, briefly explain what they
will be doing at each of the five stations. At stations 1-3 they are recording the name of
the type of sea turtle from the card and making observations about what it looks like, what
type of habitat they are found in, and other interesting things on the cards. At station 4,
they will be observing the pictures on the card and recording what they see and how they
feel about the pictures. At station five they will be working as a group to solve the riddles
for each of the seven sea turtles found in the world.
4. Ask students to make observations as a group and record observations on their individual
worksheets at each station
(HINT: If students have a difficult time making observations, ask helpful probing
questions to guide them. For example, what is the sea turtle doing in the picture?)
5. Rotate the groups through each of the five stations. Repeat step #4 at each station.
(HINT: the “Who am I” activity will most likely take the longest to complete. Use the
time it takes for the first group to complete the worksheet as a guideline for switching
stations.) (Steps 3-5 ~30 minutes)
6. Once each group visits all five stations, students should return to their desks and silently
review their recorded observations. Collect the completed worksheets.
7. To end the session, put the sea turtles of the world poster up on the board and work
through each riddle and answer with the students. There is a hint to figuring out each
answer within the clue – help the students identify the helpful hints and discuss how they
used those hint to figure out the answers. (~5 minutes)
Assessments Questions Formulated
Worksheets Completed
Resources www.chirpingbird.com
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/sea_turtles.htm
Literature Connections Turtles by Jodi Huelin (Session 1)
Baby Honu’s Incredible Adventure by Tammy Yee (Session 2)
The two books above are both excellent and highlight important aspects in the life of sea
turtles, specifically Hawaiian green sea turtles. The students will be learning about the
anatomy and life cycle of the Hawaiian green sea turtle in the next two or three sessions.
Reading these books aloud to the students will help introduce the information that will be
covered in the next 2-3 sessions. The books will provide a secondary source of information
on the Hawaiian green sea turtle for the students and reinforce the key concepts within their
Summary Students work together to identify the various parts of a sea turtle and
construct a human size model. They will also learn about the life
cycle of a Hawaiian green sea turtle.
Objectives • Students will identify the steps of the honu sea turtle life cycle
• Student will understand how and why sea turtles use the
sandy shore during different stages of their life
• Students will be able to identify the parts of a sea turtle and
their function
Materials Human Sea Turtle Parts Model (template included)
Parts of a “Honu” Worksheets
Turtle Life Cycle Video(s) – download from www.arkive.org
Life Cycle Worksheet
Making Connections Students may recall personal experiences when they have seen green
sea turtles on Hawaii’s sandy shores. Learning about the anatomy
and life cycle of Hawaiian green sea turtles will provide them with a
better understanding and appreciation of how and why they utilize
Hawaii’s sandy shores.
Teacher Prep for Activity Activity 1: Parts of a “Honu”
Cut out and prepare the human turtle model parts and labels. Copy
one parts of a turtle diagram worksheet for each student.
Activity 2: Life Cycle of a “Honu”
Locate and download a life cycle video for the honu. Copy one life
cycle worksheet for each student.
Background Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles. Reptiles have a backbone, scaly
skin, claws on their toes, and lay eggs. Sea turtles spend most of
their life in the ocean and are very well adapted for life in the water.
They have four flippers that are used for movement. They use the
two front flippers to help them swim. The two back flippers are like
rudders and help them steer or move in the direction they want to go.
Their skin is protected by scales. The shell on their back is formed
by many bony plates called scutes that are fused together. There are
seven kinds of sea turtle in the world that we know about. All sea turtles are endangered or
threatened because they have to deal with a lot of threats. Some of these threats are human
disturbance, poaching, habitat destruction, and marine debris. We have only three species
of sea turtle in Hawaii. They are the Green, Hawksbill, and the Leatherback. The one we see
the most is the Green sea turtle. The Hawaiian name for the Green sea turtle is “honu.” The
honu can weigh up to 400 pounds and be 43 inches long. It likes to eat a kind of green algae
called limu that grows on coral reefs. This means that it is a vegetarian and eats only green
food. The honu has green fat on the inside from the green algae it eats. That is why it got the
name Green sea turtle.
Procedure Activity 1: Parts of a “Honu”
1. Select one volunteer to come to the front of the class. This student will become the human
“Honu” model.
2. Pass out one parts of a “honu” worksheet to each student.
3. Have the human size parts and labels close by
4. Ask the students to raise their hand and tell you the names of the different parts. Ask
probing questions to provide students with hints/clues until they have named
all the parts. As the students name the parts, place each one on the student model.
5. Remove each turtle part from the volunteer and ask students to guide you (from their seats)
in reassembling the turtle on the board
6. Ask the students to label each part on their worksheet
Activity 2: Life Cycle of a “Honu”
1. Pass out a life cycle worksheet to each student.
2. Explain that they will be watching a video on the life cycle of a sea turtle. They should
pay close attention to the main steps in a sea turtle’s life. Students may have a difficult
time with this task - explain that the main steps in the life cycle are the times when the
honu changes location or the place they live.
3. Play the video for the students – it may be necessary to show the video more than one time
for the students to make their final conclusions.
4. After the students feel confident they know the steps in the life cycle, work together as a
class to list the steps on the board. There are three main steps the students should identify
and learn.
1. A female sea turtle crawls up onto the sandy shore to lay her eggs.
2. Baby sea turtles hatch after 2 months and crawl down the beach to the ocean
passing many predators on the way.
3. Sea turtles stay in the open ocean for 10 years and then may come back to the
sandy shore to bask or lay eggs (if female)
5. Once you have all agreed on the three steps, have the students write a condensed version
of each step on their worksheet. You may need to help them condense the steps into just a
couple of words.
6. When the students are finished collect the part of a “honu” and the life cycle worksheets
from the students. To end the session, explain that the next session will be a field trip to
the sandy/rocky shore to conduct their own sea turtle surveys.
Assessments Questions Formulated
Worksheets Completed
Resources www.chirpingbird.com
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/sea_turtles.htm
www.arkive.org (download videos)
Extension Activity – Field Trip to Survey Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles If possible this lesson should/could be followed by a field trip to survey and count Hawaiian
green sea turtles. (Hint: I great place for this is a shoreline with both rocks and sand along
with large tide pool areas such as Puako on the Big Island.) While visiting the turtle site
students should count the number of turtles they saw and collect information about their body
parts and location. You will need one clipboard, pencil, and datasheet for each student. You
will find the datasheet designed to accompany this lesson on the next page. This is also a
good opportunity to review the anatomy of a sea turtle and vocabulary words such as basking,
hatchling, carapace, scutes, types of turtles, etc. with the students. The students should be
using their knowledge gained during classroom activities to complete the specific questions
on the survey. They can use their vocabulary words to record additional information in the
notes section of the datasheet such as basking in the sun. You may also need to introduce the
concept of tumors, also known as fibropapilloma, which can often be seen in various parts of
green sea turtles in Hawaii. The most common areas to see tumors are around the eyes and
areas where their flippers are connected to the shell. The tumors are usually white in color
and look like fatty tissue or cottage cheese. The students may remember seeing pictures of
tumors while they were observing the turtle cards in session 1 (Card #4). Explain that
scientists are still working very hard to understand why sea turtles grow the tumors, BUT
right now we just don’t know.
STUDENT NAME:
Sea Turtle Anatomy
Look at the sea turtle diagram on the board. Write the name of each part of a sea
turtle next to the correct arrow in the diagram below. Use the words in the word
box to help you with correct spelling for each part.
Front flippers Scutes Eye Head
Back flippers Carapace Plastron Tail
STUDENT NAME ____________________________
Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle
Write a short description of each step next to the blank space provided.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
www.fws.gov
This picture can be used as a guide for making your own human sea turtle model.
Increase the size of each part by 7x to make a student size model.
Each part will be placed on a student model and will need to have some means by which
to attach it to the student. Punching holes in the corners of each part and using string to
tie them together works well.
HEAD
TAIL
BACK
FLIPPERS
FRONT
FLIPPERS
EYES
CARAPACE
PLASTRON
SCUTES
GROUP NAME: ___________________________ DATE: ________________________
SEA TURTLE SURVEY DATASHEET
Turtle
Number
Size
(Sm,Med,Lg)
Location
(in the
water,
on rock,
on
beach)
Did the
turtle
have 2
front
flippers?
Did the
turtle
have 2
back
flippers?
Did
the
turtle
have
a
head?
Did
the
turtle
have
2
eyes?
Did
the
turtle
have
a tail?
Did the
turtle
have a
carapace?
Did the
turtle
have a
plastron?
Did the
turtle
have
tumors?
How
many?
Was
the
turtle
missing
any
parts?
NOTES:
Other
things you
observed
about the
turtle
Today I saw ___________________ turtles. They were all ___________________________________________________ . write the # write the name of the type of sea turtles you saw
All turtles DO NOT look exactly the same. Explain how the 3 turtles you observed were different from each other.
