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Overview:
Students are familiar with fish and perhaps some other underwater animals, but have they ever thought about where in the ocean these animals live? In this lesson, students will be encouraged to learn more about the special adaptations of animals with which they are already familiar. It will introduce students to different ocean depths and to the ways in which animals have adapted to live at different depths. In the process, they will look at the photographs of David Doubilet and think about how photography can help save the oceans.
[NOTE: To prepare for this lesson, have the following done before starting:
Tear off a 6-foot (approximately 2-meter) sheet of poster paper. Holding the paper vertically, draw backgrounds for three different layers of the ocean: the shore and tide pools, the open ocean, and the abyss or deep sea. (If you have time, make this a class project.) When you are finished drawing, tape the page to a classroom wall. These are simplified classifications of the ocean's depths, but will help give students an introduction to life in various parts of the ocean.]
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, earth science
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface"
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:
Three to four hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- World wall map
- Drawing and writing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- discuss the importance of photography in helping people understand why they should take care of the world's oceans;
- imagine the things they might see on a dive into the ocean;
- discuss the special adaptations of animals in different parts of the ocean;
- draw pictures of animals that live in different parts of the ocean, and tape their pictures to a mural representing the ocean's layers;
- think about what it would be like to be an undersea photographer; and
- draw a picture and write paragraphs about why one of the animals they studied is important and should be protected for the future.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Show students some of David Doubilet's photographs. Explain that Doubilet is a famous photographer who specializes in taking pictures in the ocean. Tell the class that these pictures were taken in oceans in different parts of the world. Point out the world's oceans on a classroom map of the world, or have students point them out.
Ask students to think about why Doubilet's pictures are important. What are some of the ways that humans interact with the ocean? Ask them to think about how ships and boats, fishing lines, and waste products in the ocean might affect the animals and plants that live there. Is it okay to keep doing these activities, or should humans take better care of the oceans? Explain that sometimes photographs of the creatures in the ocean help people understand how important it is to protect them.
Development:
Ask students to describe some of the things they think they would see in the ocean. What animals and plants might they find there? What would it be like to dive into the ocean? Discuss their ideas as a class.
Inform students that Doubilet's photographs were taken at different ocean depths. Some were taken in shallower water, and some were taken in deeper water. Explain that different types of sea animals live at different depths. Can students determine which pictures were taken in shallower versus deeper water?
Show students the poster paper you have decorated and taped to the wall. Introduce them to the different ocean layers, and describe a few things about each layer. For example, let them know that as the water gets deeper, it gets colder and darker. Ask students to think about the things that animals would need to be able to do or the body parts they would need to possess in order to survive at various ocean depths. What do animals need in order to "breathe" underwater? What would an animal do if it lived in very cold, dark, deep water? What might an animal be able to do if it lived at the shore—might it spend time both in and out of the water? Tell students that every animal has special adaptations to its environment and that all ocean animals are specially suited to the part of the ocean in which they live.
Use the Internet resources below about life in the three layers you have drawn on your poster. Show students pictures of the animals they would find in each of these ocean regions, and then place the resources around the room so students can take turns looking at the pictures more closely. If your students can read, it might be helpful to label each area of the room with a different ocean layer so they remember where the animals come from. If you are using Web resources, have students take turns looking at pictures of the animals online and sketching them on their own paper. The following Web sites will be helpful:
Shore/tide pools:
NOAA: Virtual Tide Pool
PBS: Virtual Tide Pool—Low Tide
PBS: Virtual Tide Pool—High Tide
Open ocean:
National Geographic: David Doubilet's Gallery
NOAA Photo Gallery: Whales
Pelagic Crabs
The Open Ocean
Abyss:
The Abyssopelagic Zone
Creature Features
PBS: NOVA Online—Into The Abyss
Ask students to draw pictures of some of their favorite underwater animals. Each picture should be about 5 inches by 5 inches (13 x 13 cm).
Read out loud the ocean layers on the poster paper, and have students contribute their drawings that correspond to each layer. Help them tape their drawings onto the mural. If they can't remember which layer their drawings belong on, give them some hints (e.g., "that animal doesn't need any light because it's blind" or "that animal does not have gills and needs to breathe air").
Closing:
Have students continue to think about what it would be like to be an ocean photographer like Doubilet. Why do students think Doubilet does his job? What would be the best and worst parts of his job? What special equipment would he need? Ask them to write about whether they would like to have Doubilet's job, and what they think a day in the life of an underwater photographer would be like.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to draw a picture of one of the animals they learned about in this lesson. Then have them write a paragraph or two describing the animal (what it looks like, what it eats, in what part of the ocean it lives) and explaining why it is important to protect it. What would the ocean be like without this animal?
Extending the Lesson:
- Ask students to look at the underwater mural they have created and make a class list of some special adaptations these marine animals possess. Ask them to vote on which animal they think is the most interesting or which one they would most like to see someday.
- Have students go back to Doubilet's Gallery, and ask each student to choose one photograph of a marine animal that they particularly like. Ask them to draw pictures of themselves diving next to this animal. Then ask them to explain whether they would actually like to be diving with this animal and what they think the experience would be like.
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