OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Ocean Currents – What Are Their Effects?
Lesson Overview:
Students will observe a demonstration on how the temperature of water creates
water movement. On a map, students will locate and draw the major gyres and
ocean currents that have an effect on Canada’s climate. They will compare how
ocean currents affect the climate of two different coastal locations.
Grade Level:
Middle School: Grades 6-9
Time Required:
Approximately two 40-minute classes
Curriculum Connection (Province and course):
Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation Curriculum for Social Studies
People, Place and the Environment General Curriculum Outcome:
ƒ Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of people,
places and the environment
Prince Edward Island, Grade 6, Social Studies
Prince Edward Island, Grade 8 Science
Atlantic Canada in the Global Community common curriculum: Prince Edward
Island, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, Grade 9 Social Studies; New Brunswick,
Grade Eight Social Studies
Link to Canadian National Geography Standards:
Essential Element #1: The World in Spatial Terms
ƒ Map types
ƒ Distribution of major human and physical features at country and global
scales
ƒ Map projections
Oceans Scope & Sequence Standard #1: The World in Spatial Terms
ƒ Location and patterns of ocean characteristics
Essential Element #3: Physical Systems
ƒ Global patterns of wind and water
ƒ Weather
ƒ Climate types
Oceans Scope & Sequence Standard #3: Physical Systems
ƒ Simple ocean dynamics
ƒ Ocean physics
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
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OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring Geographic Information
ƒ Use maps to collect and/or compile geographic information
Geographic Skill #3: Organizing Geographic Information
ƒ Prepare graphs to organize and display geographic information.
Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required:
ƒ Teacher Demonstration:
- One large clear container (such as an aquarium) with room temperature
water to a depth of about 25 cm
- Food colouring - red and blue
-Two 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks
- Hot water and cold water
- A class set of red and blue colour pencils (other colours will be needed
for the
student graph)
ƒ TV/VCR
ƒ Oceans in Motion (video, approx. 24 minutes) by National Geographic
Society, 1998. This video shows the impact of ocean currents around the
world.
ƒ Black line world map (available from following websites)
http://atlas.gc.ca/site/index.html
http://www.edselect.com/maps.htm
http://www.graphicmaps.com/aatlas/moremaps.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps/
ƒ Student access to encyclopedias or the Internet to complete the map.
Websites that can be used to access information for the maps are:
http://www.glacier.rice.edu/oceans/4_windcirculation.html
http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/ (website is still being
worked on)
ƒ Graph paper, colour pencils and rulers
ƒ To get average temperatures for the graphs, use:
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.
html
Other helpful/related websites:
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8q.html
http://earth.usc.edu/~stott/Catalina/Oceans.html
http://school.discovery.com/curriculumcenter/oceans
http://school.discovery.com/quizzes20/curriculumcenter/CC_Ocean
s.html (online ocean quiz)
Main Objective:
To become familiar with the location of the major gyres and ocean currents and
to see how they can affect the climate of different regions.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
2
OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
ƒ Explain how temperature differences in water cause water movement
ƒ Locate and map the ocean gyres and major ocean currents around
Canada
ƒ Examine and graph how currents affect climate.
The Lesson:
Conclusion
Lesson Development
Introduction
Teacher Activity
Divide the class into groups of two or three. The teacher
will demonstrate how warm water and cold water move to
cause convection currents.
(See “Teacher Demonstration” below)
Student Activity
In small groups, students will
hypothesize the movement of the hot
and cold water. Students can sketch
a series of drawings to represent
what happens during the teacher’s
demonstration. Students explain how
temperature differences create water
movement.
Give each student a blank copy of a world map (see web
sites above to get a copy) and a copy of the Student
Worksheet.
Using the websites given on the
worksheet, students will label the
oceans and gyres on the world map.
Inform students that they are to accurately and neatly label
their maps. The currents and gyres are to be colour coded.
Students will label the major currents
in the ocean to which they live
closest.
Have the students choose two Canadian coastal locations.
Using information from the Environment Canada website,
students are to draw a line graph to compare the average
monthly temperatures of their chosen locations. Remind
them that their graphs will be marked on neatness,
accuracy and completeness (see Ocean Currents
Evaluation Rubrics).
Show the video, Oceans in Motion.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
Using the website on the worksheet,
students will choose two coastal
locations near two different oceans.
They will construct a line graph to
compare the average temperatures of
these two locations. Students will try
to draw conclusions as to the role of
currents in the temperature
differences between the locations.
Have the students write a brief
summary of the video to hand in.
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OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Teacher Demonstration:
With a partner or in small groups, have the students hypothesize what will
happen when a flask of red hot water is placed on one side of a container of
room temperature water and a flask of blue cold water is placed on the other
side. Point out to the students that the water in the container should not be
moving. The students will make a series of quick sketches using a red and blue
pencil that shows how the water movements differ because of their temperature
(and because the cold water is more dense). They can have 5-6 pre-made
sketches of the container in their notebooks. The sketches should be labeled in
one minute intervals, starting at 0 minutes. When enough time has passed for the
students to see how hot and cold water moves differently, they can explain in
their own words how differences in water temperature play a role in creating
currents.
A variation could be a similar demonstration with different salinities of water
instead of different temperatures.
Lesson Extension:
ƒ Students could prepare various types of projects to present to the class.
Possible ideas include: a poem, song, play, cartoon, puppet show or story
about the formation of currents; or a poster that illustrates the main ocean
currents that affect the climate of the Canadian coast closest to them.
ƒ Using the website
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/07/22/rubber_ducks030722, map the
locations of where rubber ducks were found.
ƒ Create an “Ocean Scrapbook”. Include any articles and pictures from
newspapers, magazines and web sites about currents, tsunamis, ocean
research and discoveries and marine organisms.
Assessment of Student Learning:
ƒ Completion of “Ocean Currents Evaluation Rubrics”:
ƒ Students will have a hypothesis and sketches related to the teacher
demonstration. They will also have a summary (conclusion) from the
demonstration that explains how temperature causes the water to move.
ƒ Students will have a completed map of gyres and/or currents that can be
marked. A quiz on the map could also be given.
ƒ Students will produce a graph that compares the climates of two coastal
locations.
ƒ Students will have a journal entry summarizing the video.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
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OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Student Worksheet: Ocean Currents - What are
Their Effects?
1. In a group of two or three, form a hypothesis as to what will happen to the
hot and cold water that your teacher will be using in the demonstration.
2. Individually, sketch six drawings of the container filled with room
temperature water. These will be your templates to sketch what happens
during the demonstration. Label each of these templates 0 minutes, one
minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes and five minutes. Using
a red and blue colour pencil, draw what happens to the red (hot) and blue
(cold) water at each one-minute interval.
3. In a brief paragraph, summarize how the hot and cold water moved. How
would this help to create ocean currents?
4. Using the following websites, label the world’s oceans and the ocean
gyres. Use a different colour for each gyre. Label the major currents that
are found in the ocean that you live closest to.
http://www.glacier.rice.edu/oceans/4_windcirculation.html
http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/
5. Log on to:
http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html.
Select two cities on the coasts of two different oceans. For each of your
cities, locate the daily average temperature for each month. On the graph
paper provided by your teacher, draw a line graph to compare the monthly
temperatures of each city. Remember to label your axis (temperature in °C
and months). Each city must be represented with a different colour. Your
graph must have a title. Rulers are to be used.
6. What conclusion could you make about the role of ocean currents in the
climates of different locations?
7. After watching the “Oceans in Motion” video, write a summary about other
ways ocean currents can impact the world.
8. Submit all of your work to your teacher for assessment.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
5
OCEAN CURRENTS – WHAT ARE THEIR EFFECTS?
P.E.I. – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Ocean Currents Evaluation Rubrics
Map
Content
Line
Graph
Video
Summary
1
2
3
4
Several
oceans and
gyres are not
labeled or are
not accurately
placed.
Most oceans
and gyres are
labeled. Some
are not
accurately
placed.
Currents are
not labeled.
Oceans, gyres
and currents
are accurately
labeled, but
could be
neater.
Oceans, gyres
and currents
are accurately
land neatly
labeled.
Colour is used
for the gyres.
1
2
3
4
Graph is
completed,
although not
accurately.
Ruler was not
used. X-axis
and Y-axis
units are not
evenly
spaced.
There are
some
accurate plots
made.
Ruler was
used. The
units are not
evenly
spaced.
Most plots are
accurately
placed on
graph.
Ruler was
used and the
units are
evenly
spaced, there
is no colour.
X-axis and Yaxis are not
labeled. No
title on graph.
X-axis or Yaxis is
labeled. No
title on graph.
X-axis and Yaxis are
labeled. No
title.
All plots are
accurately
placed and
connected.
Overall, the
graph is neat
and legible.
Units are
evenly
spaced.
Colour has
been used.
X-axis and Yaxis are
labeled with
variables and
units.
1
2
3
A few facts
with only a
couple of
spelling and
grammatical
errors.
Brief summary
with no
reference to
the impact of
currents.
Many
grammatical
and spelling
errors.
Slight
reference to
the impact of
currents.
Several
spelling and
grammatical
errors.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (www.ccge.org)
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
4
Well thought
out summary
with several
facts and no
spelling or
grammatical
errors.
6