Aquarius Lesson Plan
Focus
Grade Level
Focus Question
Ocean Life
Kindergarten- special education
What kind of ocean life and environment would the
scientists see outside the window of Aquarius?
Learning Objectives:
NC State Objective and Goal Being Addressed:
Goal 3: The learner will make observations and build an
understanding of the properties of common objects.
Objective 3.02. Develop and use a vocabulary associated with the
properties of materials:



Color.
Size.
Shape.
Texture.
Learner Objective(s): At the completion of this lesson,
students will be able to:
-identify basic life and environment in the ocean
-describe some sensory details of sand, sea shells, and rocks
found in the ocean
-create a realistic and creative drawing of what can be seen
outside the window of Aquarius
Materials
Audio/Visual Materials
Sea shells, sand, rocks, magnifying glasses, crayons and
paper
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aquariusreefbase/page6/
Images of Aquarius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NupRxTV38s
Video of Aquarius and what can be seen around it
Smart board or projector
Teaching Time
Seat Arrangement
Maximum Number of Students
Key Words
45 minutes
5 Groups of 4 students
20
Ocean Life, Environment, Seashells, Rocks, Aquarius
Background Information (Prior Knowledge)
Students will know basic information about what is under
water, such as fish, sand, rocks, sea shells. They will have
had some explanation in previous class about what
Aquarius’ purpose and where it is located.
Opening Activity
Students will find a seat on the carpet in front of the projector
screen. I will engage students with opening questions such as
who has been to the beach before?, What ocean is our city by?
and so on and call on volunteers to give some of their
experiences about the beach and the ocean. Students will be
asked if they remember the previous day introduction to
Aquarius. Then students will be shown video of Aquarius.
Students will be told to look out for what they see around
Aquarius prior to watching the video so they will be prepared for
Aquarius Lesson Plan
the main activity.
Learning Procedure ( Activity)
Connections to Other Subjects
Closing Activity and Assignment
Assessment
Other Links and Resources
Students will remain on the floor for the first part of the
activity. I will have a giant piece of construction paper and
we will make a list of what can be seen outside the
window of Aquarius. Once the list is compiled, students
will be picked randomly to form 5 groups of 4. Students
will use their knowledge of what is in the ocean from what
has been complied on the list to identify and describe
objects from the box. On the table there will already be a
box with sand, sea shells and rocks. Students will be
instructed to go through the items in the box and fill out a
worksheet about what they see and feel. The students will
be provided with a magnifying glass to view the sea shells,
rocks and sand better. The observations can be discussed
in the groups, but each student will need to complete their
own worksheet. I will walk around the room and make
sure everyone is on task and to answer questions.
Art-drawing pictures. English-Using vocabulary to describe
the objects and what they can see and feel.
Students will be instructed to place all supplies back in the sand
bucket. I will remove the buckets from the tables as they are
doing the next activity. Then students will be asked to draw a
picture of what they expect and would want to see out of the
Aquarius window based on knowledge learned in today’s
activities. This will show that they understand basic life and
environment in the ocean. They can use paper and crayons to
make their masterpiece. This activity should take 5 minutes.
I will pick a group of volunteers to share their pictures with the
class. For all students I will be verbally and visually assessing
them by asking them as they draw what is in their picture. Then
all students will get to hang their picture on the “under the sea”
section of the wall. If there are any remaining questions about
the ocean and sea life, we will write to Aquarius and ask them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aquariusreefbase/page6/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NupRxTV38s