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Educator Guide Who Lives in the Sea Grade 1-3 ISBN 1st to 3rd Grade The Largest Fish in the Ocean Whale Sharks H www.OurOceanAndYou.com 287 Who Lives In The Sea? The Largest Fish in the Ocean: Whale Sharks CONCEPT / TOPICS TO TEACH Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea, and although they are sharks, they are peaceful. Whale Sharks feed by filtering tiny plankton, small fish, and even squid from the water. Each whale shark has a unique spot pattern like a human fingerprint that can be used to help identify individuals. In many parts of the world, whale sharks are celebrated and protected with festivals including art, music, food, and sporting events. In other parts of the world, whale sharks are hunted and overfished by people. Whale sharks need to be protected. Objectives: Character Education: PERSEVERANCE » Students will work Many people lose their imagination and dreams, sometimes as early as second with a word list grade! If students are taught to be empowered with greatness and rise to any in an activity that challenge, they can learn skills that will get them over many obstacles. This starts requires them to create original with building self-esteem through self-talk. We must teach children to never quit poetry about whale or give up, but to PERSEVERE! As an educator, you can see when students find sharks. something too difficult and those wanting to quit. Ban the phrase “I can’t do » Students will it,” instead give students a mantra, “I can do anything!” Help them break down use the scientific problems into solvable parts, so they can demonstrate PERSEVERANCE. method of inquiry Giving up, quitting and not trying can start before kids get to school because they to investigate the effectiveness of are taught this behavior through peers, siblings and even parents. Brothers, sisters, different mouth cousins or other kids can have negative impacts on children at a very young types used to age through social situations. Building self-esteem and encouraging students to collect food through PERSEVERE through any challenge is a skill they can use throughout their lives. a simulation activity. » Students will practice setting Ocean Annie and Scuba Divers There is still much undiscovered. up a schedule by PERSEVERE! As scuba divers and scientists, planning a sequence we must practice patience and Before starting an activity, have of events for a whale PERSEVERANCE. Encourage shark festival. students imagine they are going scuba buddy teams to work together, diving. Have them form buddy teams » Students will complimenting one another and signal one another it is time to go practice rounding throughout the day. Help students down: OK to go down? You are going numbers to solve a through difficult activities or learning puzzle about whale to go on an adventure to experience points. Demonstrate PERSEVERANCE sharks. whale sharks while scuba diving. by never giving up. When buddy Although scientists have been studying teams have finished their exercises, whale sharks for many years, they have them communicate and signal are still discovering their migration OK to go up. Reward students patterns and hypothesize about where and recognize their efforts and the sharks go in the ocean. PERSEVERANCE. 288 www.AnnieCrawley.com 1st to 3rd Grade Getting Started Treasure Chest • Cartilage Required Materials • Denticles ❍ DVD “Who Lives In The Sea?” by • Elasmobranch Dive Into Your Imagination • Elasmobranchologist ❍ Large Dry Erase Board/Easel and Markers • Filter Feeding • Gill • Perseverance Anticipatory Set Lead-In • Plankton ✧ Become familiar with chapter eight, “The Largest Fish in the • Scientist Ocean: Whale Sharks” from the DVD “Who Lives In The Sea?” • Whale Shark ✧ Ask students if they are familiar with sharks. If so, what do they know or what have they heard about them? Where have they seen them? ✧ Are whale sharks fish or another type of animal? ✧ Before running the film clip, ask students to imagine they are elasmobranchologists, meaning they are scientists who specialize in the study of sharks, and will work individually or with their team to collect information during the run of the video. ✧ Explain even though this animal is called a “whale” shark, it is really a fish not a whale because it has gills to breathe, is cold blooded, does not produce milk to feed young, and has no hair. Have students compare fish and marine mammals. Here are some questions and answers you can use to build a brainstorming session: KWL LGL AG WP Questions for Students Answers for Educators Whale sharks open their mouth wide and either filter feed small How does a whale shark eat? plants and animals or gulp water sucking in small fish and other What does a whale shark eat? animals. Whale sharks eat plankton, small fish, and squid. Is a whale shark a Even though this animal is a whale shark, it is a fish not a whale. What fish or mammal? makes a fish, a fish? Can you see the whale sharks gills? How many sets? The pattern of spots is unique to each individual whale shark as How can we tell different whale your finger print is to you. Whale sharks have scars and scrapes on sharks apart from one another? their bodies and fins which help scientists identify them too. Remoras are known as sucker-fish and hitch-hike along What are remoras? with many sharks and rays. It is believed they feed on leftovers and scraps the host animal misses. www.OurOceanAndYou.com 289 Who Lives In The Sea? Video Review ✧ Sometimes we are faced with challenges we must overcome. If we have patience, ✧ After watching the clip about whale sharks persistence, and PERSEVERANCE we can once or even a few times, discuss and overcome any challenge. Discuss how write down additional facts, questions, and students have had to persevere in their lives. information students gained from the video What does this mean to them? for further research and discussion. ✧ Ask students what else they want to know ✧ Ask students to write a reflection in their about whale sharks and write ideas down for journal about whale sharks or plankton. later research. Imagination Play Have students imagine they are whale sharks, the largest FISH in the sea. Whale sharks need our help right now because they are endangered as a result of too many being taken from the ocean for their meat and their fins. Even though they are large, they are harmless and feed only on plankton and small animals. We need to protect whale sharks in order for them to survive. Through children’s perseverance and desire to help all sharks, we can change the state of the ocean! You can read this script or use your imagination and create your own! “On the count of three let’s say the magic word. 1, 2, 3...imagination. Let’s use our imagination and become a whale shark. If you are a whale shark, you live in a large area of the ocean and migrate through a territory. Scientists track and learn about whale sharks with satellite tags and imaging identification programs. During different times of the year, scuba divers know where to go on their vacations following whale shark migrations. If you are a whale shark, you might live off the coast of Australia, India, Galapagos or in the Caribbean Sea. Can you find these locations on the world map? Choose a location, where would you live? Whale sharks swim very slowly, only about 3-5 miles per hour, yet you can swim quicker if you feel danger. You use your entire body when swimming. You can grow up to 60 feet, 18 m, which makes you the largest fish in the sea! Although you are the largest fish in the ocean, you are not dangerous at all because you don’t use your tiny teeth. You have gill rakers in front of your gills that act like strainers as you filter feed. You are a gentle giant in the sea. Use your imagination and explore these activities pretending you are a whale shark. There are many people trying to help protect whale sharks. Use your imagination and let’s find a way to protect these gentle giants in the sea! How can you help whale sharks persevere?” 290 www.AnnieCrawley.com 1st to 3rd Grade CLASSROOM ACTIVITY STATION H1 WHALE SHARKS MUNCH A BUNCH Overview Students will make their own version of plankton from a variety of objects, and work from a word list to create poetry about the whale shark. Participating in this activity will give students practice with fine motor coordination, creative ability, artistic skill and help develop vocabulary and literacy skills. Materials: Construction paper, large sheet of butcher paper, egg crates (optional), scissors, glue, crayons, colored pencils or markers, glitter, sequins, ribbon, google eyes, “Munch a Bunch” word list Talking Points Lesson Procedure ✧ Ask students to use 1. Measure a 4.5 ft long by 8 inches high piece of butcher paper and their imagination to shape it into an oval to represent the mouth of a whale shark, and try and guess/visualize post it on a wall in the room. what life as plankton might look like. 2. Instruct students to trace their hands two or three times onto a colorful sheet of construction paper and cut them out. If students are ✧ Provide students with challenged with tracing, they can be given a cup from an egg crate a few clues: to decorate. • Plankton is a living 3. Explain to students they will be making plankton, the floating thing. animals and plants whale sharks eat. • Plankton floats in 4. Ask students to invert the hands or cups (so fingers point down) to water.
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