OCEANS   (Grades 4 – Adult )

            The OCEANS kit is designed to help older students study the many facets of the areas that deem us the blue planet.  From the enclosed specimens to the abundance of books, each learner will find something that captures the imagination and encourages further study.

Contents include:
Preserved specimens, some in sealed containers:  Rock crab, brittle star, octopus, sea horse, box of sea shells, shark egg cases (one in formalin)
Ocean fishing net piece
Posters:  Gray Whale and Whales of the World
Wonders of Learning kit, National Geographic Society, with a teacher’s guide, reproducible worksheets, and 12 copies of Life in the Sea, suitable for young learners.
Books include: (higher level reading)
Monterey Bay Aquarium, four teacher’s guide notebooks: Marine Mammals - Searching for Sea Life; Fishes; A Habitat is Home; Food Webs in the Sea. Eachwith activities, marine mammal cards and other reproducibles
Ocean, Eyewitness Book, 72 pgs.  Much information including past and present oceans, shores, life in oceans, geology, ocean products, etc.  Highly illustrated.
A Feasting of Whales,  National Geographic article, Alaska’s southeast
The Whalebook, Whale Protection Fund, 64 pgs.  A conservation manual, source book, and teaching tool
A Citizens Guide to Plastics in the Ocean, Center for Environmental Education, 130 pgs. Sources, people’s role, solution, future, with appendices.
Sea Otter - Core of Conflict: Loved or Loathed, El Moro Pub., 167 pgs.  A study of the sea otter, with a focus on interactions with man; maps, b&w photographs.
Common Seashore Life of Southern California, Naturegraph Co., 64 pgs. Black & white drawings, some full color
Marine Tropical Fish, 95 pgs.  A marine aquarium guide.
Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales, & Dolphins, National Audubon Society, 800 pgs.  Full color photographs and much information
Octopus and Squid, The Soft Intelligence, Cousteau, 304 pgs.  Full color photographs, maps, drawings
Field Guide to Shells of the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. National Audobon Society, sponsor, 295 pgs.  Organized by family, contains b&w photographs with strong geographic base.
Herrings Go About the Sea in Shawls, Viking, 106 pgs.  Humorous tidbits taken from test papers, organized by subject. 
Books include: (lower level reading)
The Sea Around Us, Rachel Carson, young readers edition, 165 pgs. Highly illustrated, with maps.
Starfish, Seashells, and Crabs, Golden Junior Guide, 36 pgs, full-color drawings
Beach Birds, Western Outdoor Environmental Guide, 32 pgs.  Easy to read book, full-color drawings
n.b.  Informative coloring books on various ocean aspects are found in the SEA LIFE kit.

LEARNING STYLES ADDRESSED IN THE OCEANS KIT INCLUDE:

Visual-spatial – The kit contains many visual features including highly illustrated books, posters, and specimens.  Students may draw the specimens. 
Verbal-linguistic – Shared orally or in written format, background information provides much detail regarding the environment and the species found within. 
Physical-kinesthetic – When learning centers are utilized, student movement will direct their attention to the contents.  Handling the unboxed specimens is encouraged.
Logical-mathematical – Math-based skills are found in many of the books, particularly the Monterey Bay Aquarium notebooks.  Researching endangered species through this site http://www.fws.gov/endangered ) will appeal to this learning group.
Auditory-musical – playing mood-enhancing tapes (educator-obtained) of sounds found in the environments may focus these learners.  Interpersonal –
Learners can share knowledge with members of their groups
Solitary – Especially when used in learning centers, the intrapersonal learner can gain knowledge through self-study.

CONTENT STANDARDS (CA, 2008) ADDRESSED BY THE OCEANS KIT INCLUDE