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By the Sea
April is National Zoo and Aquarium Month and MarcoPolo has collected lessons that use marine biology and maritime history to illustrate basic concepts in economics, math, art, geography and much more. Use the warm-up activities below to get your students interested in animals, aquatics and maritime adventures, then scroll down to find links to more lessons to help celebrate National Zoo and Aquarium Month in your classroom.
Warm-up
Activities:
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1. Blackbeard the Pirate is one of the most well known pirates in history. Where did he live? (Answer: Born in Jamaica, Blackbeard owned a house in North Carolina.) Can you name any other pirates? Where do you think they lived? Where did they sail? On a world map, mark and color in the areas where some famous pirates traveled. |
| Image courtesy of
Beej's Pirate Image Archive, a partner-approved resource. |
Explore a "Pirate Map" (Grades 3-5), Xpeditions, National Geographic Society. |
 Image courtesy of EconEdLink. |
2. American consumers spend more than $46 billion each year on a wide variety of fish and shellfish products, and, worldwide, fish is the most consumed animal protein. Fisheries and aquaculture farms contribute to the fish population which, in turn, helps alleviate hunger in underdeveloped nations. Are there any drawbacks to "fish farming?" Create an argument for or against commercial fisheries. Support your findings with social, economic and mathematical statistics. |
| Participate in "The Fish Trade" (Grades 9-12), Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
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3. Have you ever visited the ocean? Do you know what types of animals live in the ocean? Draw a picture of plants, animals and other objects you might find underwater. |
| © 2002, PhotoDisc, Inc. | Take a trip "Under the Deep Blue Sea" (Grades K-2), EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities. |
4. You can estimate the weight of a whale by measuring its length. Let's assume that a 40-foot whale weighs about 40,000 tons. Based on that, how much does a whale weigh if it's 72 feet long? (Answer: 72,000 tons.) How long is the whale if it weighs 48,500 tons? (Answer: 48 1/2 feet.) Quiz your friends to see if they can figure out the math.
Work on basic math skills in "Application: Using
Math in Everyday Life" (Grades 1-8), Illuminations, National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
5. Brine shrimp, also known as "sea monkeys," require special conditions to hatch and live, including water salinity, temperature and water quality. What do you think are the optimal conditions for brine shrimp to hatch? Devise a hypothesis, then create a graphic organizer with the different variables you will use to test your theory.
Test your theory while "Hatching Brine Shrimp" (Grades 6-8), Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"Under the Deep Blue Sea"
(Grades K-2)
(EDSITEment,
National Endowment for the Humanities)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23ed_sea.cfm
Students learn about the ocean and the creatures
that live there, listen to stories and poems with oceanic settings, conduct
research about oceanic life forms, and write their own stories and poems about
the sea.
"Application: Using Math in
Everyday Life" (Grades 1-8)
(Illuminations, National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23ill_math.cfm
This lesson includes an activity for students to
estimate the weight of a whale.
"How a Blue Crab Changes as
It Grows" (Grades 3-5)
(Science NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement
of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_crab.cfm
Students discover the changes that an animal (a
blue crab) goes through during molting.
"Pirate Map" (Grades
3-5)
(Xpeditions, National
Geographic Society)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23xp_pirate.cfm
Students learn the geography of pirate
routes.
"Sink It" (Grades
3-5)
(Science NetLinks,
American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_sink.cfm
Students develop experimental design skills while
studying the density of water and buoyancy of a boat.
"Light in the Storm:
Patterns of a Lighthouse" (Grades 3-6)
(ARTSEDGE,
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23ae_storm.cfm
Students work in teams to create light and sound
patterns for a lighthouse.
"Dolphin Brains" (Grades
3-12)
(Science NetLinks,
American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_dolphin.cfm
In this Science Update, students learn how one
scientist is studying dolphin intelligence.
"Hatching Brine Shrimp"
(Grades 6-8)
(Science
NetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_shrimp.cfm
Students learn how the growth and survival of
brine shrimp depends on physical conditions.
"Bouncy Blubber" (Grades
6-12)
(Science NetLinks,
American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_blubber.cfm
In this Science Update, students learn about the
energy-saving benefits of blubber.
"I'll Trade You a Bag of
Chips, Two Cookies, and $60,000 for Your Tuna Fish Sandwich" (Grades
9-12)
(EconEdLink, National
Council on Economic Education)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23econ_tuna.cfm
Students study the concept of supply and demand
through the fish trade.
"Piracy: A Continuing
Problem" (Grades 9-12)
(Xpeditions, National Geographic Society)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23xp_piracy.cfm
Students compare and contrast piracy in its
"golden age" with piracy in modern times.
"Using Algebra and Discrete
Mathematics to Investigate Population Changes in a Trout Pond" (Grades
9-12)
(Illuminations,
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23ill_trout.cfm
Students use graphs, equations, tables and
technological tools to investigate the effect of varying parameters on a
changing fish population.
"The Fish Trade" (Grades
9-12)
(Science NetLinks,
American Association for the Advancement of Science)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23sci_fish.cfm
Students examine the interdependence of global
trade in the context of the economic and social aspects of fisheries and
aquaculture.
"Can Captive Breeding Save
Species?" (Grades 9-12)
(Xpeditions, National Geographic Society)
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/partner/23xp_species.cfm
Students research and assess captive breeding
programs in zoos and aquariums.
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