Under the Sea

Image of a bottlenose dolphinWhat has fifty football field-long tentacles, pink, glows, and lives in the ocean? It’s a . . . siphonophore! One of the largest, unique, interesting creatures in the sea. One of many extraordinary animals we will be learning about in our Oceanography science unit.

We wondered why we study Oceanography so we had a conversation with Mr. Keohane, our science teacher. He explained that oceans are important to all life on Earth. Oceans need to be protected because they are a valuable resource for life.Image of harp seals

“Ooh! It’s so scary!” and “Look at this … it’s the craziest creature you have ever seen!” Are exclamations Mr. Keohane hears while his students begin researching their sea creature science project. Students are amazed by the adaptations made by the creatures from the deepest and darkest parts of the ocean.

Image of a sea otterWe were curious  to know how long Mr. Keohane has been teaching Oceanography and if the unit was assigned. He shared with us that he has been teaching Oceanography for 5 years and that he inherited the unit from the teacher for whom he took over. When he taught 3rd grade, the science topic was the Solar System. We were interested to know, if he could pick any science unit, what would it be. He stated he would like to teach engineering because he loves to build things. But he also loves Oceanography, too.

Do you have a favorite creature which relies on the ocean for its survival?Image of a hammerhead shark We got to choose and research our favorite creature that depends on the ocean. From Clownfish to Manatees, Mr. Keohane let each student use a number-assigned laptop and let us research our wonderful animals along with their habitats, adaptations, and other fun facts. Then the students would go and type their reports using the information they gathered from various websites about predators, how humans impact the creatures life, diet, and the effects of climate change. It was a blast to learn all about the incredible creatures which do live in and/or rely on the sea!

Reported by:  Katana, Olivia, Cyrus, and Zach

Images:

harp seal
Apter, Elaine. seal070.jpg. 12/25/1995. Pics4Learning. 25 Feb 2014 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>.
bottlenose dolphin
Folks, Tami. dolphin5.jpg. March 2004. Pics4Learning. 25 Feb 2014 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>
sea otter
Smith, Lucine. otter12.jpg. June 2007. Pics4Learning. 25 Feb 2014 <http://pics.tech4learning.com>
hammerhead shark
“Hammerhead Sharks.” PowerKnowledge Life Science. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2014. Web. 4 Mar. 2014 <http://www.pklifescience.com/article/213/hammerhead-sharks>