OPEN OCEAN - Fifth Grade

There is no end to the study of the open ocean! Use the lessons below to create currents, observe upwelling, and learn about the links between the ocean and weather. Learn about plate tectonics and undersea volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. Model an ocean bottom and create topographic maps. Examine life in the sea from tiny plankton to whales, and from the sunlit surface to the dark depths. Learn about hydrothermal vents and life based on chemosynthesis. Study ocean food webs, natural selection, and the many forms and uses of bioluminescence. Dissect squid, and put together a whale skeleton. Examine the impacts and complexities of pollution and over fishing, and learn how we can better care for this vast area that makes up most of our planet.

MARE lessons (Teacher's Guide to Open Ocean, GEMS/ MARE Only One Ocean, GEMS/MARE Ocean Currents)
   Apples and Oceans                       Ocean Routes
   Planet Ocean: Global Exploration   Message in a Bottle
   Waste Disposal                             Squids: Inside & Out
   Current Trends                              Great Plankton Race
   Layering Liquids                            Whale with Class
   Ice Cubes Demonstration              Build an Open Ocean

Bottom Topography

Light in the Deep Sea
   Color of Shrimp PPT
   Light and Color in the Ocean PPT

Ocean Zonation & Deep Sea Creatures

Bioluminescence
      Bioluminscence PPT

Hydrothermal Vents
      Hydrothermal Vent PPT

Growing Up in the Ocean, complex life cycles*
    *first publication occurred in Science Activities,       Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas,      46(4)

Plankton and Microscopes
     Plankton Diversity
     Plankton Adaptations

Brine Shrimp Inquiry
     Brine Shrimp PPT

Jellies
     Jellies and Anemones PPT

Cetacean Introduction
     Whale PPT

ID Whales: Dichotomous Key

Whale Communication

Whale Skeleton
     Gray Whales PPT

Open Ocean Food Web

Field Inquiry: Jellies
Unit Summary
Field Journal