Aquarius Lesson Plan
Focus
Grade Level
Focus Question
Adapting Behaviors to Survive Among Environmental Changes
Fourth Grade - Science
What are the biggest ways that the Aquanauts who live in Aquarius
must adapt their behaviors in order to survive under water?
Learning Objectives:
NC State Objective and Goal Being Addressed:
4.L.1 – Understand the effects of environmental changes,
adaptations and behaviors that enable animals (including humans)
to survive in changing habitats.
4.L.1.1 - Give examples of changes in an organism’s environment
that are beneficial to it and some that are harmful.
4.L.1.2 - Explain how animals meet their needs by using behaviors in
response to information received from the environment.
4.L.1.3 - Explain how humans can adapt their behavior to live in
changing habitats
Learner Objective(s): At the completion of this lesson,
students will be able to:
Materials
Audio/Visual Materials
Understand and relate to the effects of adapting to a new
environment; and how an organism has to change behaviors to
survive in that new habitat. Students will be able to connect
Aquarius to a changing environment by studying what the scientists
and aquanauts must do in order to survive while living under water.
1. Large sheet or blanket (blue if possible just to make it look
more as if they students are under water when they are
under the table)
2. Cover a table/group of desks with the large sheet or blanket
3. 6 Goggles
4. 6 Snorkels (3&4 are just for fun, not absolutely necessary)
“Aquarius” –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N768QRMNT4&feature=relmfu
“The Locals” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kQdY4D6i0Y&feature=BFa
“Music Video” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExO6eYwLFZc&feature=BFa
“Aquarius Tour” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSVYO8dx8LM&feature=BFa
“Aquarius Underwater Habitat Underwater Documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPFkYm7YJMI&feature=related
Grand Tour http://blog.wsd.net/jreeve/files/2012/04/aquarius_habitat.jpg
Picture of outside of Aquarius - http://marinesciencetoday.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/09/Aquarius-Underwater-Laboratory-PhotoCredit-NOAA.jpg
Cabin/Workspace - http://marinebio.org/i/aquarius2.jpg
http://www.chrisroubis.com/wp-
Aquarius Lesson Plan
Teaching Time
Seat Arrangement
Maximum Number of Students
Key Words
Background Information (Prior
Knowledge)
Opening Activity
Learning Procedure ( Activity)
content/plugins/RSSPoster_PRO/cache/408c8_aquarius4.jpg.492x0_q85_crop-smart.jpg
Floor Plan - http://www.theblaze.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/09/Snapz-Pro-XScreenSnapz0196.jpg
1.5 - 2 hours
Seats can be arranged either as small groups of desks placed
together or as students sitting at several small tables together.
Prepare accordingly for one of these tables/groups of desks to be
used for the bunk room simulation.
N/A; but divide students into small groups of 6 for the simulation
activity
Adaptation; Environmental changes; Behavior; Survival techniques;
Aquarius; Aquanauts; Habitat
1. Humans normal habitat is Earth and their normal survival
method involves breathing oxygen in through their lungs
2. Fish live and breathe under water (using their gills) in order
to survive
Introduce the lesson by reading the book “Adventure Beneath the
Sea” by Kenneth Mallory. It will get the students engaged right
away because it will grab their attention. This book is great at
demonstrating the extent of training that the Aquanauts must
acquire before living in Aquarius. It also has great illustrations that
will grab the students’ attention right away. I chose to implement
this activity first because it provides a great basic introduction to
Aquarius and a great foundation for what the students will learn
that day.
1. Once the book is read, go through the youtube.com videos
listed above one by one to give the students a virtual
perspective of Aquarius. This will give them a great visual
and a few live images of what it truly means to be inside
and around Aquarius; which will really capture their
attention and interests. They will also see and hear some of
the Aquanauts speaking themselves.
2. Teach the students that the pressure deep under water
Aquarius Lesson Plan
Connections to Other Subjects
Closing Activity and Assignment
takes training and that the Aquanauts must be healthy and
in great shape to live that deep under water. Teach the
students that they have to adapt to their new environment,
by using an oxygen tank; since there is no oxygen under
water. Also explain how the Aquanauts eat their meals
throughout the day, how they use the bathroom, and how
they adapt to their environment of swimming around fish
all day.
3. After teaching the students about how humans (specifically,
the Aquanauts) adapt to a changed environment, have the
students create a Venn diagram (attached below in
resources) of how living under in the ocean is different from
living on earth. This will give the students a written form to
view how the Aquanauts have to adapt their behaviors to
survive under water.
4. Next, you can show them the pictures from the internet of
what Aquarius looks like from the inside and outside so that
they can begin trying to place themselves in that
environment while they imagine what it would be like to
live in Aquarius. These pictures in Aquarius will begin the
transition into the main activity; which is the bunk room
simulation.
 Divide the students into groups of 6(if possible), since the
bunk room in Aquarius has 6 beds
 Keep the picture of the bunk room up on the
board/projector so remind the students of the realistic
image.
 Instruct the students that this is the space that 6 Aquanauts
had to live in for weeks at a time together. Explain that
because we cannot simulate swimming at the bottom of the
ocean; sleeping in this bunk room is only a small part of the
experience. But that they can sign up to live at Aquarius
when they graduate college!
1. This can connect to Social Studies because the book,
“Adventure Beneath the Sea” by Kenneth Mallory, and
many of the youtube.com videos describe the history
behind Aquarius.
2. It can connect to Health because it encourages the
importance of having a healthy life style; because the
Aquanauts had to be healthy and exercise as a part of their
training to live in Aquarius.
The teacher will wrap up the lesson by asking the students to return
to their seats and make their best fish face to show the teacher that
they are ready to adapt to their new environment (which fancy for
is discussion time). For the closing activity, ask the students what
they think would be the hardest part about adapting to and living in
Aquarius and working under the sea. Then ask your students what
Aquarius Lesson Plan
Assessment
Other Links and Resources
they think would be the best and most exciting part about adapting
to and living in Aquarius and working under the sea. The time frame
for this discussion will be about 20-30 minutes, depending how
detailed your students choose to get. The teacher will review the
material presented by going over the top ten ways the Aquanauts
had to adapt their behavior to live in Aquarius and work under the
ocean. The teacher will keep all the students actively involved until
the end of class by having them make a fish face every time they
lose focus, to learn to adapt to their environment. The teacher will
also always keep the kids engaged by asking for their involvement
and their input.
The teacher will verify that the students accomplished the
objectives and met the standards by reviewing their Venn Diagrams
and searching for their understanding of adaptation concepts within
their Venn Diagrams (attached below in resources). The teacher will
assess their understanding of the objectives by how many examples
they provided, and how detailed and specific those examples were.
Another form of assessment will be the discussion at the end of the
lesson. The teacher can assess the students from their amount and
quality of input, as well as their answers to the discussion questions
that the teacher posed as the closing activity.
Venn Diagram http://www.theholidayzone.com/grandparentsday/venn2.gif