Coastal Creatures
Martha Vogel, Associate Educator, Mathematics & Science Center
Developed with funding from the Mathematics & Science Center
Grade/Subject
Grade 5; Biology; Environmental Sciences
Major
Understanding
The ocean and the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia have different physical,
geological, and biological characteristics. The organisms that live in these
bodies of water vary depending on these characteristics. Accordingly, there is a
great biodiversity of organisms that live in Virginia waters, including members
of all major kingdoms of living things.
Objectives
Name the major kingdoms of living things.
Define vertebrate and invertebrate and identify each by observing
specimens.
State the average salinity of seawater and explain how it differs from the
salinity of the Chesapeake Bay.
Understand that different organisms tolerate different environmental
conditions, adding to the diversity of the life in an ecosystem.
Understand that the people living in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
have a direct effect on the health of the Bay and the Virginia ocean.
Collect data and summarize the data using a bar graph.
Time
Safety
Coastal Creatures
Introduction
PowerPoint Presentation: Coastal Creatures
Observation of living and preserved specimens and completion
of worksheet.
Closure
5 min
15 min
30 min
10 min
Students should wash their hands before handling live specimens, being careful
to wash off all. Impress on students the need to be careful with the specimens.
Rules for handling specimens should soap residues. They should also wash
their hands after handling live or preserved specimens include the following:
 Keep live animal over the water. If the animal is dropped or crawls out of
the student’s hand, landing in the water will prevent it from being injured.
 Support all parts of the animal’s body. Hold starfish in the middle as
opposed to holding one of the arms; do not pick up sea urchins by one or
1
MathinScience.info



Materials
two spines, etc.
Do not poke the animals or specimens with pens or pencils.
Do not shake or open specimen jars.
Do not push any specimen into another student’s face.
For each student:
Student Worksheet: Coastal Creatures
For the class:
Living specimens of coastal animals (varies by availability, see Teaching Tips
for species listing and aquarium set-up instructions)
Classroom Aquarium
Preserved or dried specimens of coastal animals and plants.
Marine aquarium set-up for live specimens
For the teacher:
PowerPoint Presentation: Coastal Creatures
State and National
Correlations
Virginia Standards of Learning: Grade 5 Science (5.1, 5.5, 5.6)
National Science Education Standards: Observe characteristics of organisms;
Populations and ecosystems; Diversity and adaptations of organisms; Collect
data.
Instructional
Strategies
Coastal Creatures
1.
Anticipatory Set. Begin the lesson by asking the students if they think
that water is necessary for life on earth. Discuss the fact that water is one
of the most important resources in the world and is one of the main
reasons that our planet can support the great diversity of life that it does.
Discuss with the students the need to organize that biodiversity and ask
them to name the kingdoms of living things. Ask the students if they think
that representatives of all the major kingdoms live in our Virginia waters.
2.
Explanation. Use the PowerPoint Presentation: Coastal Creatures to
introduce to the students some of the history of the Chesapeake Bay and
the physical attributes that make it so important to the ecosystem. Discuss
the fact that all of the organisms do not live in the same type of water and
that the physical conditions of the coastal areas will determine the types of
organisms that live there. Explain that the physical conditions in the
Virginia waters allow for great biodiversity of organisms, including
vertebrates and invertebrates.
3.
Set-up: Touch Table. Set up the touch table for the live animals. An adult
should be present at this table at all times. Preserved and dried specimens
can be divided up between two additional tables. Each specimen should
have a label that identifies the organism and gives the salinity of the water
in which it commonly lives. Divide the students up into three groups,
which will rotate to each station to complete their worksheet. Using three
groups gives a good size for the group at the touch table.
2
MathinScience.info



Practice
Closure
Coastal Creatures
The touch table group will concentrate on holding the animals and
examining their structure. Worksheets and pencils should not be
brought to this station because of the water.
The group(s) at the specimen table(s) will be filling out their
worksheets based on the structure of the organism and the salinity of
the water in which it lives. Students will use the salinity key at the
bottom of the worksheet page to classify the organisms according to
habitat.
If you have access to classroom computers, the third group could be
assigned to complete one of the online games that are listed in the
“Practice” section.
4.
Investigate the Organisms.
 Divide the students into three groups.
 Hand out the Student Worksheet and explain the procedure.
 Assign each group to a station to begin.
 Instruct students to examine the organisms carefully, looking for clues
as to their classification as a vertebrate or invertebrate.
When working at the specimen tables, have students note the salinity,
measured in “parts per thousand” (ppt), of the water in which the aquatic
organisms live. They can use this to identify the habitat of the organisms.
1.
Have students go the SeaWorld site: http://www.seaworld.org/animalinfo/info-books/bio-diversity/classroom-activity.htm. This is an activity
on biodiversity that will test their knowledge of organisms and their role in
an ecosystem as well as their classification.
2.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
DEQ has an environmental site for kids called the “Kids’ Cave” as part of
their online, “e-Brary.” This link will take you to their “Rivers” site.
There is information for students to read and then there is a quiz at the
end.
http://www.deq.state.va.us/kids/library/rivers.html
3.
Have the students complete the activity Salinity Changes in the
Chesapeake Bay.
1. Go over the worksheet with the students, having them correct their
answers.
2. Have the students count the number of vertebrates they identified.
3. Direct the students to use the template and make a bar graph on the
second page of their worksheet, indicating the number of
vertebrates found.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 above for the invertebrates.
5. Have the students count and record the numbers of organisms that
live in each of the aquatic habitats listed.
6. Direct the students to use the template on the second page of their
worksheets to construct a bar graph showing the numbers of
3
MathinScience.info
organisms that live in each of the 3 aquatic habitats.
7. Students should then use the information on the graphs to answer
the questions at the bottom of the worksheet.
Extensions
EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program
This site has links to lots of lessons and activities for students. They also have
word searches on Bay topics, games and puzzles.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/bayfun.htm
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
This portion of the Maryland DNR website is for students and has lots of
information and games for kids, including their new “Bay Game.”
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/mydnr/
Maryland Department of Natural Resources also has a program designed
for Maryland schools called “Raising Horseshoe Crabs.” MDNR provides the
schools with equipment, activity guides and juvenile horseshoe crabs for
students to learn the ecological, medical and historical importance of the
species as they raise horseshoe crabs in their classrooms. They also have a
“Release Field Day.” Though Virginia is not eligible for the materials, you can
request the instruction packet from them and order juvenile horseshoe crabs on
your own.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/education/horseshoecrab/raising.html
The Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command
This Navy website, called “Neptune’s Web,” has a teacher and a student site.
After exploring some of the information on the site, students can go to the
“Student’s Sea of Knowledge,” and take the online test, “Neptune’s Quiz.”
http://pao.cnmoc.navy.mil/educate/neptune/neptune.htm
Project VIEW, Schenectady City School District
The school district worked with SERC (Smithsonian Environmental Research
Center) to develop a Quick Time video “electronic field trip” called “Where
the River Meets the Sea: Exploring Life in the Chesapeake Bay with
Smithsonian Scientists,” which can be used in the classroom. You can access
the video by clicking on “Play Now.” There are also some related lesson plans
available here.
http://www.projectview.org/SERC/WRMS.Lessons.htm
SeaWorld.org
The scientific names for organisms are in Latin and it is often hard for students
to understand why this is done. This activity from SeaWorld.org makes a game
out of using Latin names and helps the students to understand that the Latin
words may describe the organism.
http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/bottlenose/classroomactivities-ll.htm
Students will enjoy another SeaWorld activity that involves singing. This is a
Coastal Creatures
4
MathinScience.info
song that teaches some classification of vertebrates.
http://www.seaworld.org/fun-zone/song-books/found-a-mammal-song.htm
Assessment
The following items are provided to assess student learning:



Paper-Pencil Test: Coastal Creatures
Product: Creature Hats
Rubric: Creature Hats
The table below shows how the assessment items are related to specific
objectives.
Objective
Name the major kingdoms of living things.
Define vertebrate and invertebrate and
identify each by observing specimens.
State the average salinity of seawater and
explain how it differs from the salinity of the
Chesapeake Bay.
Understand that different organisms tolerate
different conditions, adding to the diversity of
the life in an ecosystem.
Understand that the people living in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed have a direct
effect on the health of the Bay and the
Virginia ocean.
Collect data and summarize the data using a
bar graph.
Major Understanding: The ocean and the
Chesapeake Bay in Virginia have different
physical, geological, and biological
characteristics. The types of organisms that
live in these bodies of water vary depending
on these characteristics. Accordingly, there is
a great biodiversity of organisms that live in
Virginia waters, including members of all the
major kingdoms of living things.
Teaching Tips
Paper-Pencil
Test
3, 4
5, 6, 7
Product/
Performance
1, 2
9
10
8
Product: Hat
Creatures
Rubric: Hat
Creatures
Answer Key to Student Worksheet
Answer Key to Paper-Pencil Test: Coastal Creatures
Teaching Tips
For background information see the Chesapeake Bay Program website at:
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/about.htm
References
Coastal Creatures
EPA Chesapeake Bay Program
This website is an invaluable resource for any and all information on the
5
MathinScience.info
Chesapeake Bay.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/index.cfm
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
The Maryland DNR has lots of information on the Chesapeake Bay, as well as
teacher lesson plans and background information.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/
Mathematics & Science Center
Information on educational programs available to students, teachers and school
divisions and procedures for registering for programs.
http://mathsciencecenter.info
Mathematics & Science Center: On-Line Educational Programs
Learn through on-line virtual classrooms, web-based lessons and on-line
courses. Access proven lesson plans and instructional modules.
http://MathInScience.info
V.I.M.S. – The Bridge
This is a reference site that has been developed for teachers by the Virginia
Institute of Marine Science. Lots of good information and links to many other
marine science resources.
http://www.vims.edu/bridge
Coastal Creatures
6
MathinScience.info