A Guide for Using The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor in the Classroom Based on the book written by Joanna Cole This guide written by Ruth M. Young, M.S. Ed. Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 6421 Industry Way Westminster, CA 92683 www.teachercreated.com ISBN: 978-1-57690-085-7 1996 Teacher Created Resources, Inc. Reprinted, 2009 Made in U.S.A. Edited by Mary Kaye Taggart Illustrated by José L. Tapia Cover Art by Wendy Chang & Diane Birnbaum The classroom teacher may reproduce copies of materials in this book for classroom use only. The reproduction of any part for an entire school or school system is strictly prohibited. No part of this publication may be transmitted, stored, or recorded in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Table of Contents Introduction........................................................... 3 About Author Joanna Cole and Book Summary............................. 4 Hands-On Lessons..................................................... 5 Area of the Ocean............................................................ 5 (comparing the area of water to land on earth) Observing Fish.............................................................. 9 (observing and drawing live fish) Density of Water............................................................ 10 (discovering the different densities of fresh and salt water and cold and warm water) Tides..................................................................... 12 (graphing the tides for one month and comparing this with the moon s phases) Ocean Mural............................................................... 20 (creating a mural depicting areas of the ocean visited in the lessons) Inside a Fish............................................................... 21 (dissecting a fish) Plankton.................................................................. 25 (sorting and identifying plankton drawings) Sharks.................................................................... 28 (measuring the lengths of sharks) Life in the Depths........................................................... 30 (investigating life in the deepest part of the ocean) Mapping the Ocean Floor..................................................... 33 (simulating mapping the ocean floor) Life on a Reef.............................................................. 37 (constructing a pop-up book of a reef) After the Book (Post-reading Activity) Ocean Currents............................................................. 38 (learning about causes of ocean currents and their patterns) Unit Assessment....................................................... 42 (open-ended question on becoming an ocean animal) Technology Tips....................................................... 43 (Web sites and other technology extender ideas for this unit) Resources............................................................ 45 (annotated list of related books and materials) Answer Key.......................................................... 47 #2085 Science/Literature Unit 2 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.
Area of the Ocean How Big Is the Ocean? Ms. Frizzle s students have been hard at work investigating various topics related to their study of the ocean, including environmental issues and animals found in the ocean. Wanda has written a report about how big the oceans are. She reports that There is more water than land on earth. Read the facts below to become familiar with the divisions on a globe. Then, use the Northern and Southern Hemisphere maps on pages 7 and 8 to compare the amount of land covered by the oceans and the amount of land above sea level. Latitude and Longitude Facts: The globe is divided by latitude and longitude lines to make it easier to find locations on the earth. Latitude lines are parallel circles beginning at the equator and moving north and south. The latitude of the equator is 0, the North Pole is 90 north (90 N), and the South Pole is 90 south (90 S). Longitude lines are half circles drawn from pole to pole. They are counted from the prime meridian, which goes through the original location of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. These lines are measured east and west of the prime meridian. Latitude and longitude lines form a grid on a map. Lines of Longitude North Pole Greenwich 90 North Latitude Prime meridian Equator 0 west east Lines of Latitude 90 South Latitude Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 5 #2085 Science/Literature Unit
Area of the Ocean How Big Is the Ocean? (cont.) Look at the Northern and Southern Hemisphere maps on pages 7 and 8 to complete the following information. Find the latitude circles on the maps. 1. How many degrees apart are the latitude circles from each other? 2. The 10 and 20 latitude circles have been marked for you. Continue to number the latitude circles up to 80 on both maps. 3. How many latitude sections are there from the equator to each pole? latitude sections The longitude lines are also shown 10 apart. These are drawn from the equator to the poles on both maps. The equator is a circle, so it is 360. Use this information to complete the following. 4. How many sections of longitude are on this map? longitude sections Explain how you got your answer. There are the same number of latitude sections from the equator to each pole; they get smaller as they get closer to the poles. Both maps have the same number of sections. You will need to know how many total sections there are on both maps. Use the information you learned from the questions above in the formula below to find the total sections on both maps. 5. latitude sections x longitude sections = total sections on one map 6. total sections on one map x 2 = MT (total sections on both maps) Count the number of sections in each latitude ring which are all ocean (white) and those which show very little land (black). Record the data on the chart below to discover how much of the earth is covered by water. The first one has been done for you. Latitude Section 0 10 10 20 20 30 30 40 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Amount of the Earth Covered by Water Northern Hemisphere 30 sections Southern Hemisphere Totals: (N) sections (S) sections (N) + (S) = (T) Total sections covered by oceans (T) (MT)* = % of earth covered by oceans *Total latitude and longitude sections on both maps from number 6. #2085 Science/Literature Unit 6 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.
Observing Fish Gone Fishing Ms. Frizzle s students made posters of some of the animals which live in the sea, including comparing how they move. Observe a live fish to see how much you can learn about it. Materials: goldfish, guppy, or other small fish; fish bowl or large jar; a piece of gauze Procedure: Gently place a fish into a bowl or jar. Place the gauze over the bowl so that the fish will not be able to jump out. (Hold the gauze in place with a rubber band.) Watch the fish as it swims for a few minutes. Watching a (type of fish) Compare the way a fish swims with the way a person swims. Describe what your fish looks like and then make drawings of four different views of it. Add as much detail as you can. Label the parts of the fish. Use arrows to show the ways it moves its fins and body. Side View Front View Rear View View from Above Teacher Created Resources, Inc. 9 #2085 Science/Literature Unit
Density of Water Comparing Salt Water to Fresh Water Tim s report titled Why Is the Ocean Salty? stated that much of the salt in ocean water comes from the rocks which are worn down by water. Although ocean water tastes salty, it is really only about 3.5% salt. Most of the salt is sodium chloride, which is the salt we use to flavor our food. The amount of salt in the ocean is not the same everywhere. In areas where it is very warm, the surface water evaporates, and the water is saltier. Near the equator, it rains a lot, adding fresh water to the ocean surface. This makes the ocean so it is less salty here. Do an experiment to compare salt water and fresh water. Materials: salt, water, green and blue food coloring, two droppers, two clear 1 oz. (30 ml) cups, two 9 oz. (270 ml) cups, green and blue crayons or markers, balance Procedure: Pour tap water into the two 9 oz. (270 ml) cups until they are half full. Pour 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of salt into one of these containers and stir the water until the salt dissolves. Pour enough of this salt water into one of the 1 oz. cups to fill it 3 / 4 full. Then, add drops of green food coloring to the small cup of salt water to make it dark green. Fill the other small cup 3 / 4 full with fresh water and color it dark blue. Place a dropper in each of the small water cups. Use the dropper to add drops of the green salt water to the clear fresh water. Observe and draw what happens. Add drops of the blue fresh water to the cup of clear salt water. Draw what you observe. Use the crayons to show the location of the salt water (green) and fresh water (blue) in your drawings. Adding Salt Water to Fresh Water Adding Fresh Water to Salt Water 9 oz. cup 9 oz. cup Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. 1. What happened to the salt water when it was added to the fresh water? 2. What happened to the fresh water when it was added to the salt water? 3. Refill the small cups with green salt water and blue fresh water, putting the exact same amounts of water in each of them. Place them on different sides of a balance. What do you notice? How does this explain what happened in your experiment with the salt water and fresh water? 4. What do you think happens when fresh water runs into ocean water? Why? #2085 Science/Literature Unit 10 Teacher Created Resources, Inc.