What this unit is about…
The largest river in the Salish Sea emptying into Georgia Strait. Photo courtesy of NASA.
The ocean is the lungs of the earth. Physically, its circulation is responsible for our weather and climate and biologically, for most of the oxygen we breathe. Just how does the ocean circulate? In this Ocean Motion unit we will wonder about the physical drivers of ocean movement, explore density differences, and take a look at some tiny creatures who struggle to keep their place in the water column in the midst of all that ocean motion.
Next Generation Science Standards in this unit:
3-PS2-1 Research effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of plankton.
4-LS1-1 Structures and functions that aid survival of plankton.
5-PS2-1 Argue with evidence that gravitational force is directed down.
5-ESS2-1 Model ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
5-ESS3-1 Ways individual communities use science to protect Earth’s environment.
3-5-ETS1-3 Engineer and test a plankton model.
MS-ESS2-1 Model the cycling of Earth’s processes (ocean circulation).
MS-ESS2-4 Model the cycling of water driven by the sun and gravity.
MS-PS2-2 Investigate to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-ETS1-2 Engineer to evaluate competing design solutions and their fit to the problem.
Various diatoms (phytoplankton, tiny ocean plants) under a microscope. Image by Kathleen Newell, UW School of Oceanography
The Sequence
After you have registered for the curriculum, preparing the unit is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
Review the unit plan, and customize it to suit your needs
This unit plan is flexible, adaptable, and in Word format to ensure that your experience can be tailored geographically to your local watershed and community, and to your particular teaching objectives and needs. Use the plan like a map- it has directions, resources, learning targets and performance expectations, and more to guide every step of the way, but the adventure you and your students share is your own.
Review and customize the slideshow
This slideshow presents helpful background information, including links to online resources and videos. With helpful presenter notes, it also acts as a guide as you progress. As with the unit plan, you may want to customize certain slides to make them even more relevant and local. For this reason, it is in PowerPoint. Save a copy and make the change you see fit.
Review, customize, and print the accompanying student journal
This editable Word document is your students’ place to wonder, record observations, take notes, diagram, and plan and record scientific investigation or engineering processes. It is also a place to celebrate hard work with well-deserved stamps on the back page. Review and customize the journal to reflect the changes you’ve made in your unit plan and slideshow.
HOW TO PRINT
In Microsoft Word, click on the Layout menu, then the arrow to expand the Page Set Up options. Click Margins and select “Book Fold” in the drop down menu by Multiple pages. Print in landscape orientation on 8.5 x 14” (legal) paper with two staples along the center fold. Note: the font is Helvetica. Changing the font can change alignment of journal pages.
Utilize the materials below for additional student resources throughout the unit.
Additional Resources & Materials
Assessments
Every unit has its own pre- and post-assessments for tracking the progress and growth that students make throughout the curriculum. Links to these (and additional formative assessments!) are also provided in the unit plan.
OCEAN MOTION POST-ASSESSMENT
OCEAN MOTION PRE-ASSESSMENT
WONDER
Give your students a visual or sensory experience that provides a chance to wonder at movement in the ocean or a particular aspect of it. This may be a hands-on outdoor activity, an observational field trip, or an in-classroom presentation or video. Use the “Friendly Floaties” slide about the rubber duckies spilled overboard in the Ocean Motion Slideshow to get students thinking about the ocean being a dynamic body of water and wondering what makes it move.
Essential question
After students experience the “wonder” phenomenon, it is time to give an Ocean Motion Student Journal to each person. Have students read the book Chapter 1: Where is the Salish Sea?. Here is a time to write their thoughts, ideas, and questions inspired by their reading. After students have read and written, invite an open discussion with the class. Encourage them to share what they already know about ocean circulation (whether it moves or stays still, its effects on ships and boats, etc.). Guide them to develop an overarching essential question, and steer it to be about ocean motion.
Background research
Once you have established an essential question, the information-gathering begins...or continues. The Explore the Salish Sea book is a great place to start, there are some additional resources in the link below, and you may find many more of your own. Of course, you’ll come back to this step throughout the process, as your questions and claims will require support.
put science to work
In chapters 1-8, students will conduct their own authentic, hands-on research, as well as consult existing science. This introductory Task Force unit prepares them for doing so. In this unit, students must glean evidence from existing research and tribal perspectives to make their own recommendations to the Governor for killer whale recovery. They do so by simulating the Working Groups of the actual Governor-appointed Southern Killer Whale Task Force of 2018.
communicate your findings
This is a crucial part of the scientific process! It is the part where the results of all your hard work can make a difference. Your research can equal a difference in the choices a few citizens make each day to help the sea or vote for a new bill that changes the way our whole state or province helps the whales. Click on the Learn More button below for three options for Science Communication, with resources to guide you and your students toward making your work public.
Photo courtesy of Drew Collins
Click the button below to go to the Box folder of all the documents for this unit in one place.
Ideas for improvement? Share ideas and resources with our Education Coordinator, Mira, at mdlutz@ucdavis.edu.