Ten Ocean Topics to Capture Your Kids!
Lori Roberts is a high school biology teacher in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama. Lori is a leader in ocean education and is a graduate
of National Geographic Education’s two-year professional development
program, the National Teacher Leadership Academy.
Kids can be easily distracted in a classroom environment; therefore, finding ways to motivate and involve them can become a major issue. When I introduce a new concept, I like to use a cool topic to capture the interest of my students. I recently asked each of my students to tell me what in the ocean they wanted to know more about. Then I grouped and compiled their answers into the following list of ten. Hopefully you will find them helpful tools to “hook” students on learning about the ocean!
1. Dolphins, Sea turtles and Sharks, Oh My!
Students love predators with personality. Dolphins, for example, are so smart that they have been trained by the Navy to “sniff” out mines and perform underwater surveillance. Sea turtles, one of my personal favorites, start out life on the beach in a dramatic fashion–with a precarious “race” to the ocean. Then, after struggling to survive those early days, they are rewarded by a very long life. And sharks, well… anything dangerous is fun to talk about! It is a well-known fact that kids love these big ocean animals.
2. Bioluminescence
Isn’t it awesome that there are sea creatures that can produce their own light? How do they do it? Which ocean organisms can produce light? And just what is bioluminescence, anyway? To start, show students the TED talk by Dr. Edith Widder, in which she says that, “bioluminescence is the rule and not the exception in the ocean.” This would also be a good online research topic for your students. Give them a list of questions to seek out the answers to online (such as the three above), and then have them report back to their classmates.
3. Fun Fact or Fantasy?
Giant squid actually exist–and we have proof. But what about sea serpents, sea dragons, and mermaids? Teach students the truth behind these myths, past and present (check out the oarfish–ancient people mistook these creatures for real sea serpents).
