Assessment Methods
Assessment is an integral part of education.
Because assessment engages naturally from the
activities in the lessons, students are assessed in
the same manner in which they are taught.
Students may, for example, perform experiments,
record their observations, and participate in class
discussions.
Such assessments permit the
examination of processes as well as of products,
emphasizing what students know and can do.
This method allows the teacher the flexibility to
make decisions regarding review, reinforcement,
and extensions.
In order to assess the child’s success with
concepts, skills, and attitudes in this science
module, the teacher may use a variety of
assessment tools, some of which may include:
▪ Science journals
▪ Record sheets
▪ Pre- and Post- unit assessments
▪ Class discussions
▪ Anecdotal observations
▪ Homework assignments
▪ Student products and drawings
▪ Individual student conferences
A Cautionary Note to Parents:
In order for the science instruction to be truly
inquiry-based, we ask that you avoid “prepping”
your child for upcoming lessons. This brochure is
designed to keep you informed about your child’s
science experiences at school and to provide you with
suggestions for extending the studies at home.
Please don’t give away any of our teaching secrets!

Oceans
Student Resources
Below please find fiction and non-fiction titles to
support this particular science unit of study.
Beneath the Oceans
Clarke, Penny
Inside Oceans
MacQuitty, Miranda
Life in the Oceans: Animals, People, Plants
Baker, Lucy
The Deep-Sea Floor
Collard III, Sneed B.
Book of Oceans
Peel, John
Dark Day in the Deep Sea Osborne, Mary Pope
The Twenty-One Balloons Pene du Bois, William
Dolphin Song
St. John, Lauren
http://seawifs.gsfcnasa.gov/ocean_planet.html
http://www.oceansforyouth.com/resources.html
A Science Module Handbook for Parents
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road
Madison, NJ 07940
Grade 6
Concepts, Skills, and Goals
What is Inquiry-Based Science?
The Madison School District participates in a National
Science Foundation supported science reform effort
called inquiry-based science instruction. Through this
approach to science education, children are able to view
themselves as scientists in the process of learning. The
centerpieces of our program are the modules that serve
as our primary science curriculum materials.
Throughout these units, students participate in a variety
of activities involving observation, measurement,
identification of properties, and controlled experiments
that uncover important concepts in the life, physical,
and earth sciences. The children’s own questions often
lead them to investigations that they plan and carry out.
This hands-on, motivational approach captures
children’s natural curiosity and stimulates their interest.
As children experiment, they propose explanations and
solutions and build a store of concepts. Students use a
variety of communication methods, including journals,
reporting out, drawing, graphing, and charting. They
are encouraged to listen, speak, and write about their
growing understanding of science with parents,
teachers, and their peers. Direct student participation
means that students discover science concepts for
themselves and, as a result, have a deeper understanding
of science.
Overview
The Oceans Module allows students to investigate our
water planet with a graphic model that compares water
to land, salt water to fresh water, oceans to seas, and the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Then, they get their
hands wet investigating several ocean phenomena:
saltiness, wave action, and currents. Students use ocean
depth data to create a 3-D model of the ocean floor,
make hydrometers to measure water density, and
assemble a tidal dial to explore the ocean’s rise and fall.
Students model adaptive features of fish and marine
mammals and use sea specimens to study an assortment
of mollusks and other creatures of the intertidal zone.
Students will also learn about the composition of ocean
water, features of the ocean floor, how ocean waters
move, and how oceans affect weather and climate.
Students will:
▪
Identify the four oceans that make up the world
ocean
▪
Discuss ways to distinguish between samples of
fresh water and salt water
▪
Speculate about how the oceans became salty
▪
Discover how the presence of salt increases the
density of ocean water
▪
Infer the shape of the ocean floor based on depth
profiles
▪
Compare a simulated water cycle with the water
cycle in the environment
▪
Observe how waves are produced and identify the
parts of a wave
▪
Discover how Earth’s rotation affects the
movement of surface currents north and south of
the equator
▪
Model the effect of the Moon’s gravitational pull
on Earth and its oceans
▪
Demonstrate how marine mammals maintain a
warm body temperature in cold water
▪
Examine a variety of mollusk shells, and learn to
distinguish between bivalves and univalves
▪
Examine the skeletons of some sea creatures
commonly found in the intertidal zone and the
shallow ocean area covering the continental shelf
Parent Involvement
Guest Speakers: In order for students to appreciate
the life cycle of insects in the real world, it is beneficial
to have guests visit the classroom. If your field of work
or hobbies relates to our science module, please inform
your child’s teacher if you would be interested in
speaking to the class.
Classroom Assistance: Classroom volunteers may be
needed for assistance with some science activities. If
you would like to volunteer some of your time to help
with these activities, please let your child’s teacher know
when you are available.
Parent-Child Communication:
In order to
encourage broader communication with your child
regarding each science lesson, ask your child to explain
what they did in science today.
Extension and At-Home Activities
▫
▫
▫
Once your child has learned about the chemical
composition of ocean water ask them if they think
fresh water or salt water freezes more quickly. To
test their prediction have them fill two small paper
cups, one half full of tap water and the other with
2 tsp. of salt added to tap water. Put both cups in
a freezer overnight.
To reinforce what causes ocean waves to form and
how they move you can have your child create
wave action in a length of rope by tying one end to
a doorknob and then flicking the other end with
an up-and-down motion. Tie short ribbons at
several points along the rope to prove the wave
moves but the rope does not.
Once your child has made depth profiles and used
them to learn about the shape of the ocean floor,
have them create a “mystery box” to determine
the contours of an object and guess its identity.
Punch holes evenly spaced in the lid of a shoe box.
Tape an irregularly shaped object to the bottom of
the box. Tape the lid closed and use straws as
probes to determine the object.