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Overview:
The ocean is one of the largest areas of unexplored territory on Earth. Oceanographers, marine biologists, and many others are devoting their careers to exploring the oceans' ecosystems, learning about and preserving the health and inhabitants of these amazing places. In this lesson, students will learn about some people who think the ocean is so important that they have devoted their lives to studying it and its inhabitants. Students will learn about a specific type of fish, and compare it to other fish using information gathered by people who are studying these animals.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies, science
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 6: "How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions"
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"
Time:
One to two hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Drawing materials
- Large sheets of paper
Objectives:
Students will
- learn about the life and work of Tierney Thys;
- describe marine biology and what marine biologists do; and
- identify and describe different types of jobs that people do related to marine biology.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Tierney Thys, one of the National Geographic's Emerging Explorers of 2004, has made it her life's work to learn more about oceans and their life forms. Her work, and the work of many others, is providing information that may help people understand more about the sea and its many life forms. Ask students to tell stories about their experiences with the ocean or swimming. Ask how many of them think the ocean is an interesting place. Tell students that this lesson will help them learn about people who think the ocean is one of the most important places on Earth, and about the animals they are studying there.
Development:
Divide the class into two groups and have each group brainstorm as many ocean life forms as they can. Have students use markers and chart paper to create their lists, and post them in the classroom. Examine the lists to see how many unique creatures each group can name, and then ask students why we should care about all of these life forms.
Activity 1:
Have students watch a brief video interview with Tierney Thys. Ask students why they think Thys is studying the sea, and why she picked the Mola mola as her primary subject. Remind students of the vast size of the world's oceans and explain that marine biologists have so many things to study that they often choose just one or two on which to focus. Ask them if they heard anything about Thys's life that might have helped her decide what to do as a career.
After students watch the profile, ask them to name some of the specific things Thys does in her work. How does she study the Mola mola? What types of technologies (land, air, and electronic) does she use to gather information about these fish? Explain to students that many types of work involve more than one way of doing things. Tell students that they are going to learn about some other people who work in marine biology—the study of oceans and ocean life—and the different jobs they do.
Activity 2:
Take students to the Monterey Bay Aquarium website and let them explore the webcam and other exhibits for a few minutes. After they have seen some of the animals and exhibits, ask them what kinds of jobs they might find at the aquarium. Have students brainstorm the tasks that have to get done at the aquarium and then help them group those tasks into the following categories:
- Aquarist (takes care of aquarium exhibits and animals)
- Research Biologist (studies animals and plants to learn more about them)
- Education Specialist (creates activities, exhibits and tours to teach people)
- Marine Mammalogist (treats and rescues animals, like a veterinarian)
- Science Writer (takes complicated science information and writes it in a way that people who are not scientists can understand it)
[For teacher background on each of these categories, visit the Featured Careers portion of the site or have it available during this portion of the activity]
After describing each of the career choices and grouping the tasks, ask students which career appeals to each of them. Allow students to share their reasons for selecting one of the occupations.
Closing:
Divide students into groups of five or six and have them use what they've learned about marine biology to create murals depicting a sea-life theme park, with educational exhibits, live displays of sea animals, and other elements they've learned about in this lesson. Have students present their murals to the class.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students draw pictures of themselves swimming with fish. Have students write captions for their pictures explaining what they are doing and why. Tell students to be sure their picture explains something about how their own interests or experiences might help them if they decide to work with sea life.
Extending the Lesson:
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