Hermit Crabs live in snail shells. A hermit crab find an empty snail shell. The crab moves in. When the crab gets too big, it looks for a bigger shell. Can you find a picture of a hermit crab in your travels through the Internet or another source?
Draw your picture on Page 2 of your journal.
If you discovered something interesting about the hermit crab, you'll love the sea urchin. They have sharp spikes to protect them. Using toothpicks and clay, make one.
As you go swimming through the ocean floor, can you find out how a fish swims? Fish sweep their tails from side to side.
Draw this on page 4 of your journal.
A whale moves his tail up and down. Click here to see some whales.
This is also a good time to watch the video on whales. (See Resources.)
Draw a whale's tail in motion.
I know you're doing a great job so far, but tell me about the jellyfish. How do they swim? Does their umbrella close rapidly to move upward?
Draw this action for me on page 5 in your journal.
When is a fish not a fish?
When it's a jellyfish!
A true fish has a backbone, gills and fins.
Some animals are called "fish" but they are not.
Actually they are invertebrates, animals without
backbones. Here are some of them:
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Now the squid takes in water and forces it our to jet forward or backward.
Draw this on page 6 and tell me how you swim backwards and forwards.
Which animal do you swim like?
The scallop moves by opening and closing its shell rapidly. Can you prove this to me. Where can you find this information?
Write your answers on page 7 of your journal.
Now that we know a little bit about some sea animals, lets find out how fish breathe underwater. People have lungs that take oxygen from air. Fish have gills that can take oxygen from water. Can you show this process in a drawing? Where did you find this information?
Water flows into the fish's mouth,
then the gills, and out through slits in the
fish's sides.
If you were swimming in the ocean you would see lobsters catching crabs. Starfish use their arms to pry open clamshells. And jelly fish float by and catch small fish with their stinging tentacles. The ocean is a wonderful place to learn about fish. Most of you think that fish are only from the supermarket.
What is plankton?
Plankton is a mass of plants and animals that float near the surface of the ocean. Most plankton are very small. Many cannot be seen without a microscope.
Plankton plants make food by using energy from the sun. Plankton animals eat the plankton plants. Larger animals eat the plankton animals. This is called a food chain. Without the sun shining on plankton plants most ocean animals could not exist.
Create a food chain beginning with a large fish.
Do this on page 9 of your journal.
SHARKS ARE FISH
Most sharks are fast swimmers with razor-sharp teeth. Usually they eat ocean animals like crabs, fish, seals--even other sharks.
Draw them on journal page 10.
Do sharks have skeletons?
Sharks do not have bones like other fish. Their skeleton is made of cartilage. This is the same bendable material that is in your ears and the tip of your nose. Some of these sharks have killed people but the number is very, very small. What type of shark attacks people? Hint--it has the name of an animal.
The biggest of all sharks are the whale sharks. They are not whales but they are named after whales because they are so big. Find out more about this shark.
Write a short description of this shark, giving 5 important characteristics.
Do this on journal page 11.
Other animals in the ocean.
Although there are many other animals in the ocean they are not fish. These animals are dolphins, whales, seals and walruses. They are warm-blooded mammals like horses, dogs and human beings.
Most fish lay eggs but mammals do not. Mother mammals give birth to live young and feed their babies with milk.
Choose one of these animals for your one-page report on page 12 of your journal.
Hope you had fun!
