Teacher’s Guide: Episode 6

Marine Communities

In the opening segment Patrice looks at how life in the ocean is organized in layers. Next Patrice and Dave examine life in a tide pool. Then we take an up-close look at estuaries. Jessica and Daniel are going to spend the day in an estuary at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in Maine monitoring soft shell clams and green crab experiments with Caitlin Mullen and Lindsay Whitlow.

Students will:

Understand that environments
support a diversity of living organisms that all share limited resources.
Describe the water cycle.
State the role water plays in sustaining life.
Describe how ocean life varies depending of sunlight and depth of the water.
Describe adaptations exhibited by marine life.

Give the students one minute to list all the marine organisms they can. After the students have made their lists, have them identify where those organisms live.

Have students select a marine environment to research. After they have researched their environment, have them create a poster or diorama of their environment.
Have students create four imaginary organisms that could survive in the Aphotic, Euphotic, Disphotic and intertidal zones. Have them explain, either in writing or in an oral presentation, the adaptations that would help their organisms survive in each of those environments.

Soaking It Up

In this episode of NatureWorks, students learned how estuaries absorb floodwaters and filter out pollution. In this activity they will create a simulated estuary with sponges.

Water
Clear plastic cups
Food coloring
Sponges
Markers

Pass out two cups and a sponge to each student or group of students. Fill one cup with water, add food coloring and place a mark on the cup to indicate the water level. Place a sponge over the second cup and slowly pour the water from the first cup into the second cup.
Have the students record what happens. Does the water come up to the same level in the second cup? Does the sponge absorb some of the food coloring?
For fun, you can add other “pollutants” to the water like dirt, glitter, vegetable oil an so forth.

Making Waves

In this episode of NatureWorks, students learned about marine environment. In this activity, students will make waves and observe wave action.

Water
16 oz. clear soda bottles
Blue food coloring
Vegetable oil
Funnels

Have the students fill a soda bottle halfway with water. Then have them add about four drops of blue food coloring. Using a funnel, have your students fill the bottle the rest of the way with vegetable oil and then tightly cap the bottle. Finally have the students tip and tilt the bottles to make “waves.”
In the ocean, waves are caused by wind or in some cases underground earthquakes or volcanoes.
For fun, students can add glitter to their wave bottles and glue on the caps for a permanent wave bottle.

Vocabulary

Estuary
Disphotic Zone
Aquatic
Aphotic Zone
Euphotic Zone
Intertidal Zone

Support for NatureWorks Redesign is provided by:

Teacher’s Guide: Episode 6

Marine Communities

Soaking It Up

Making Waves

Vocabulary

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