Open Ocean Lesson Plan And Activity (Page 3 of 8) in pdf

Partnerships for Reform through Investigative Science and Math

Open Ocean is anywhere offshore (outside the reef) where you can’t see the bottom (water is

greater than 150 feet deep).

On chart paper, discriminate between some biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) characteristics

of the open ocean. Examples include biotic = fish, whales, plants while abiotic = ships, waves,

salt in water. Try to limit the brainstorm to 10 minutes, because it is easy to get sidetracked.

Make sure everyone has an idea of what the open ocean is.

2. Group Map Walk (20 min)

Explain that the maps show satellite pictures/data of physical (abiotic) features of the open ocean.

You should reveal (write on board) that these are 7 maps of physical (abiotic) characteristics of

the open ocean, two are of bathymetry (depth), and there is one each of salinity, temperature,

nutrients, currents, and wind. Draw attention to the key of each map as a clue to what that map

displays.

Explain the procedure of the worksheet. Students should hypothesize what each map

shows and why. For example, Map 1 shows depth because the water gets a different color the

further away from shore you go. Remind students that there are two maps that show water depth.

Break the class into groups and have each group start with a different map (3-4 members per

group). Scaffold students if needed.

3. Revealing the Maps (20 min)

Have students explain what they think each map is and why. Reveal each map and explain

briefly how each characteristic is important and how the students may identify each map in the

future. Explain the keys as needed. NOTE!! These maps, with the exception of

depth/bathymetry, show the ocean at one period of time or an average! Currents move,

temperatures change, and nutrients get used up! This means that the ocean is constantly

changing. Also these maps show the surface of the ocean. This concept will be important for the

next lesson.

Map 1: Bathymetry of Hawaii

This map shows the depth or bathymetry of the ocean bottom around Hawaii. The depth of the

ocean is very important to what type of organisms live in those areas. The islands are shown in

gray. Any area in red is probably shallow enough to support some coral. Notice how fast the

ocean gets deep off of Kona. This is why we have so many large fish so close to shore here.

Map 2: Bathymetry of the Pacific

This map shows the depth or bathymetry of the ocean bottom throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Make sure the students note where Hawaii is and how far away we are from other land. The key

is broken into light blue areas that are less than 500 meters deep and dark blue/black areas that

are deeper than 500 meters. Note the shallow areas close to land and the deep areas such as

trenches.

Map 3: Nutrients

This map shows the nutrient levels of the Pacific Ocean. Nutrients are measured by the amount

of chlorophyll that plankton or other plants produce. The higher the chlorophyll produced the

higher the amount of nutrients. Land masses are shown as green or yellow because they have a

Lesson 1: The Open Ocean

Open Ocean Lesson Plan And Activity Page 3