Grade 5 (Social Studies):
Oceans, Seas, Capes, and Isthmuses
Fifth Grade students in New York State expand their study of the history of the local community to the westward
expansion of the United States and extend their perspective with a study of Canada and Mexico. The theme of
expansion corresponds to geography as well. From the 4 th Grade study of rivers and inland seas students learn about
the ocean, ocean transportation, and their role in a still expanding world..
Throughout history nations that have controlled the seas have prospered.
Much of the world’s
economy has based on
maritime advances,
e.g.: the Athenians,
Florentines, Norse,
Spanish, Portuguese,
Dutch, and English.
Smithsonian Institute on the Vikings. The
Mariners’ Museum has an online exhibit
about navigation. A summary of European
maritime history to the 19th century and
British. View the ship Mary Rose.
Nabataea.net describes the confluence of
European and Arab navigation.
“While islanders’ outlook is limited to their
land and inshore sea, maritime people look
toward the sea and beyond it…Whereas
maritime people are enterprising and
adventurous, islanders are conservative;
one is open-hearted, the other is suspicious;
one is broad-minded, the other is narrowminded; one is friendly, the other is
exclusive” (pp. 97-98).
The National Maritime Society has a
program called Sea History for Kids. Great
list of links on sailing.
Less advanced nations
and civilizations have
often been dominated
by nations with
maritime superiority.
A case study of the British Empire: British
colonialism as a maritime power.
“Oceanic transportation has been greatly
advantageous for developed nations, but for
developing nations it has been nothing short
of a disaster” (p. 94).
Oceanic temperament
seems to go hand-inhand with progressive
viewpoints.
Examples of 17th century Portugal, 18th
century Netherlands, 19th century England
“Developed nations have largely overcome
obstacles to ocean travel; in a word, they
have opened new frontiers” (p. 95).
Life on the seas has captured human imagination
Ancient times
The Iliad
The Age of
Exploration
Life on the sea can be understood through
several novels such as Powder Monkey by
Paul Dowswell or Slave Dancer by Paula
Fox. Legends of pirates
Modern times
Children’s literature
The life of fishermen
Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The
site has many links to topics such as
history and other resources for educators.
Ocean travel has been opened by great navigators and explorer: case studies
Prince Henry of
Portugal
See Prince Henry the Navigator and the
highways of the sea by Thomas Chubb.
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James Cook
Wikipedia
The ocean is the world’s thoroughfare
The globe is one
tremendous market.
The merchant marine is summarized in
Wikipedia. Great links, stories of WWII
merchant marine sailors, information about
freighters.
The ocean is a
convenient means of
transportation
Videoclips of ocean liners and a gallery of
pictures.
There are many
dangers in sea travel.
Problems of navigation, a story of two
men crossing the ocean, natural dangers.
Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling:
read or view film
Atlantic Ocean
Summaries: WorldFactBook, wikipedia,
TeachersDomain, and many interactive
links at NOAA.
Pacific Ocean and the
Pacific Rim
Summaries: WorldFactBook, Wikipedia,
TeachersDomain, and many interactive
links at NOAA.
Inland seas and straits have helped build empires
“Inland seas such as the Mediterranean Sea
were stepping stones to the ocean. It almost
seems as if Nature granted us inland seas as
a place to practice the art of navigation” (p.
109).
Lakes and rivers are
relatively calm places
to navigate. It took
humans thousands of
years to develop the
navigation skills to sail
on seas and oceans.
See Oars, Sails and Steam: A Picture Book
of Ships by Edwin Tunis for an excellent
treatment of this development. Queens
Library Catalog.
As can be seen in the
case of Greece and
Rome, inland seas such
as the Mediterranean
supported civilizations
that arose on
peninsulas.
Slideshow about Mediterranean maritime
history.
Role of the North and
Baltic Seas in Europe
and Northern European
power
Short history of medieval Baltic navigation
with great bibliography
“Although Britain occupies only a small
corner of the world, its people recognize
heir homeland as a base of freedom from
which they can rove and thrive around the
world” (p. 103).
The South China Sea
and Eastern Asian
power
Looking at the spice trade of the South
China Sea.
“Once we escape from this artificial world
and experience the greatness of Nature, we
begin to think of rising above the
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Strings of off coast
islands such as the
Canary and Azores
Islands lure people to
the ocean
The role of the Azores in maritime history.
ordinary…Perhaps this explains why so
many great people throughout history come
from sea-going cultures” (p. 105).
Straits connect two different seas
Straits have had crucial
military importance
Stories about the Strait of Gibraltar, the
Taiwan Strait, the Strait of Malacca.
Straits have important
commercial importance
as can be seen in the
city-country of
Singapore
Wikipedia
“The wealth of the ocean belongs to those
who command the sea, and the command of
the sea belongs to those who control the
straits” (p. 115).
Ocean currents and human life
What are ocean
currents? How were
they discovered?
The UN Atlas of the Oceans
What are warm and
cold currents?
Near our latitude warm currents influence
the growth of sardines, prawn, shrimp,
crab, squid, and octopus. Cold currents
yield sea weed, kelp, salmon, trout,
codfish, herring, sea otter, walrus, and
seals.
How do ocean currents
influence navigation?
Great lessons about ocean currents. ARM
has a teachers lounge with links to lesson
plans about ocean currents. Athena
discusses ocean currents and tracking
buoys.
How do ocean currents
influence climate?
“The ocean is a place where we can escape
from the ever-present limits of time and
space, and taste the infinite power of
Nature. Even wild fishermen and brutal
pirates cannot help praying for divine
grace. A sense of entrusting the Ultimate
with their lives comes into being
spontaneously. This is why fishermen are
pious” (p. 105).
How do ocean currents
influence fishing?
The ocean and climate
The ocean is the major
source of rainfall
The water cycle is described by NASA
oceanography page.
The ocean moderates
temperature, especially
near coastal regions.
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
has lessons and links about this topic.
“The oceans exert a great influence on us.
We who receive such enormous blessings
from the ocean should seriously seek to
understand its mysteries” (p. 100).
The ocean and industry
Fishing is major source
of food
The fishing industry described by
Wikipedia.
Aquaculture businesses
See Wikipedia articles on fish farming and
“Once you enter into the infinite ocean,
whether in a warship, a strong merchant
ship, or a small boat, you become but a dust
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can cultivate oysters,
clams, and other fish
aquaculture.
Strategies are needed
to keep fishing a
sustainable industry
Environmentaldefense.org has many
references about dangers to the ocean
ecosystem and sustainable fishing.
particle upon the blue sea (p. 105).
Waves, tides, and human life
Waves clash against
rocks and erode the
shore
Wikipedia article about waves.
Can the power of
waves be used to
harness electricity?
See BBC News and Wavegen, a company
that turns wave energy to electricity.
Tides are caused by the
gravitational action of
the moon and sun
There are many sites that explain about the
action of tides, including animations.
Different animals live in tide zones. There
are possibilities of converting tidal power
to electricity. Tides have been a recurring
theme of poetry.
“Spring” tides and
“neap” tides are caused
when the sun and
moon work in concert
or opposition.
“Waves turn a monotonous ocean into an
expressive one. A gust of soft wind brushes
the surface of a calm sea, and the water
ripples on and on, as though it were
beaming with joy…The sea beams like a shy
maiden breaking into a pretty smile. But
when the wind becomes still stronger, waves
from afar surge higher and higher,
approaching the shore like white foam on
their crests and break against the rocks of
the shore as though to scatter white
flowers” (p. 105).
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