Sequence | Background | Objectives | Materials | Activity | Extensions | Evaluations

TOPIC-TITLE Marine & Aquatic Resources Activities - The Key to Survival AUTHOR Amorilla Catabas Nita Elayda Alfred L. Hitchfield Rizalina Maratita Evangeline Mendiola GRADE SUITABILITY Middle School SCOPE Coastal Ecology

Sequence This activity should follow a discussion on the ocean and the zones in the ocean. Students should become familiar with some of the organisms that inhabit each zone. A videotape depicting the various zones would enhance this unit. < < go top

Background Summary Living organisms float or swim on the top layer of the ocean, reside on or within the ocean floor, or swim freely in the open ocean. Each animal or plant is uniquely adapted to the environment in which it lives. These adaptations allow many organisms to survive in very harsh environments. Understanding how these organisms survive in their habitats is important to the management and conservation of each species. < < go top Objectives Students will be able to do the following: Identify a variety of living organisms found in the ocean, such as fish and plants. Compare and contrast characteristics of these organisms that enable them to survive in the ocean. Observe various behaviors of these organisms and why these behaviors enable them to survive. Comprise a list of ideas to protect the ocean from pollution and ensure the continued survival of these organisms. < < go top Materials: Seines Sieves Dipnets Journal notebook Videotape VCR Overhead projector Transparency Pictures Aquarium Magnifying lens Samples of living organisms Television   < < go top Activity Take a field trip to a local beach or lake to enable students to view several organisms in their natural environment. If possible, students will investigate and collect some of these organisms via seines, sieves, and dipnets. Students should record observations of these organisms in combination with drawings in a journal. Place students into three cooperative learning groups. First group: Have students draw or cut out pictures of a variety of organisms that live at the shoreline and on the ocean or lake bottom. Have students place their drawings and pictures on an appropriate collage or diorama and label them. Students should write a short story regarding the manner in which the organisms in their collage interact and coexist in the environment the students have created. Second group: Have the students write a song/poem/rhyme that compares and contrasts the different behaviors and characteristics of the organisms that reside in the ocean. Third group: Have the students draw posters depicting their concerns relative to protecting and conserving the environment, particularly the ocean or a lake, and the indigenous species. (Note: Follow safety precautions/standards when in the field.) < < go top Possible Extension Have the students develop a skit re-enacting the relationships they observed between organisms while at the beach or lake. Have students create food webs given the organisms observed during the field trip. < < go top Teacher Evaluation Evaluate students on the content of their group projects, teamwork, and journals. < < go top