A Deep Sea Dive Into STEM Exploration

In this incredible program, students journey from the tropics to the poles, inspect arctic food webs, simulate coral reef adaptations and survey everything from the great river deltas to the Mariana Trench. They collaborate to bring the California sea otter back from the brink of extinction and track great white sharks across the open ocean, learning and answering important sea-dwelling questions about the variety of the oceans and the differences in ecosystems.

Through action-packed activities, learners discover the physical and geological sciences that underpin all ocean life like density, buoyancy, heat transfer, plate tectonics and the water cycle. In Oceanic Exploration, STEM education is your oyster!

Grades: 4-6
Students: Up to 30
Contact Hours: 12+

Subject Targets:

Physical Science, Life Science, Earth Science, Engineering Design, Math Connections

Recommended Settings:

• Summer camps
• Elementary classrooms
• After-school programs

Each Activity Includes:

• Schedule
• Topic Background Information & Vocabulary
• Step-By-Step Activity Instructions
• Opening & Closing Discussion
• Optional Extension Activities

Curriculum Topics:

1. Ocean Geography
2. The Water Cycle
3. Deltas and Density
4. Buoyancy and Adaptation
5. Surface Temperature and Plankton
6. The Arctic and the Food Chain
7. Coral Reefs and Adaptation
8. Underwater Volcanoes
9. Deep Sea Trenches
10. The Kelp Forest, Overfishing and Extinction
11. The Kelp Forest, Science Research and Saving the Sea Otter
12. Tracking the Great White Shark

Product Orientation:

• Half hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $500+
• One hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $1000+
• Additional training available for purchase

Complete Program Includes:

• Instructor Guide: 1
• Printed Student Pages: 30
• Curriculum Digital Download: 1
• Storage tub: 1
• 100 mL plastic graduated cylinder: 6
• Index Cards: 100
• Baking soda (8 oz): 1
• Clay (1 lb): 7
• Colored pencils (pack of 12): 6
• Dice: 30
• Dry erase markers: 36
• Dry erase page pockets: 31
• Electric tea kettle: 1
• Food coloring (4 colors): 1
• Inflatable beach ball globe: 1
• Pencil sharpeners: 6
• Plastic bins (6 qt): 6
• Plastic pipettes: 32
• Salt (1 lb): 1
• Scissors: 15
• Feather: 1
• Sponge: 1
• Masking tape (60 yds): 1
• Vinegar: 1 qt

Curriculum Digital Download includes: Instructor Guide only, which includes master copies of all student pages.

Refill Kit

Looking to use your Oceanic Exploration Camp with a new group of marine explorers? This refill kit will get them back to observing the great depths of the seas!

• Baking soda (8 oz): 1
• Colored pencils (12 pk): 15
• Feather: 1
• Food coloring (4 colors): 1
• Index cards: 100
• Masking tape (60 yd): 6
• Salt (1 lb): 1
• Sponge: 1
• Vinegar: 1 qt
• Messages in Color Pages: 30
• Kelp Cards: 20
• Urchin Cards: 3
• World Map Student Pages: 30

Habits of Mind:

16 thinking habits developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick to empower students to succeed in a 21st-century learning environment.

• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
• Creating, Imagining, Innovating
• Gathering Data through All Senses
• Managing Impulsivity
• Persisting
• Questioning and Posing Problems
• Responding with Wonderment and Awe
• Striving for Accuracy
• Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition)
• Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
• Thinking Flexibly
• Thinking Interdependently

21st Century Skills:

A set of widely-applicable abilities essential for success in the information age.

• Communication and Collaboration
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Information, Media, and Technology Literacy
• Leadership and Responsibility
• Productivity and Accountability
• Social and Cross-Cultural Skills

© 2018 Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), p21.org. All Rights Reserved. P21 was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Next Generation Science Standards:

• NGSS 3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• NGSS 3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
• NGSS 4-ESS1-1 Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils to support an explanation for changes in the landscape over time.
• NGSS 4-ESS2-1 Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation.
• NGSS 4-ESS2-2 Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
• NGSS 4-LS1-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
• NGSS 5-ESS2-1 Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
• NGSS 5-ESS2-2 Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of water and fresh water in various resources to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth.
• NGSS 5-ESS3-1 Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
• NGSS 5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
• NGSS 5-PS1-1 Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.
• NGSS 5-PS1-4 Conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances.
• NGSS MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• NGSS MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
• NGSS MS-ESS2-3 Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
• NGSS MS-ESS2-4 Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
• NGSS MS-ESS2-6 Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.
• NGSS MS-LS1-5 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• NGSS MS-LS1-6 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy in and out of organisms.
• NGSS MS-LS2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
• NGSS MS-LS2-2 Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
• NGSS MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
• NGSS MS-LS2-4 Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
• NGSS MS-LS4-4 Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
• NGSS MS-LS4-6 Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.
• NGSS MS-PS1-4 Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

NGSS is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

Common Core State Standards:

• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.G.A.2 Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.MD.C.3 Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.B.6 Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1 Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

Julia Frisbie

Julia studied International Relations, Creative Writing, and Marine Biology at Stanford University. She fell in love with the kelp forest during a semester at the Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey, CA. Her two favorite marine animals are the harbor seal and the lettuce-leaf sea slug. She has a career in communications, and enjoys hiking, sea kayaking, and seal spotting near her home in Anacortes, WA.

Click links below to view files:

• Flyer
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