Oceanography is an ‘Earth Science’, often more aligned with geography due to its long history with exploration. Somewhat old-fashioned ideas still lie at the heart of oceanography, such as cartography (or map-making), the study of ocean currents, waves, and the chemical property of the sea. Though this may seem daunting, this makes it an ideal topic for young learners as it can be used to introduce children to subjects such as geography, physics, chemistry, geology and history as well as to the oceans. Modern oceanography has branched out into ‘the study of the oceans’ including biology, ecology, environmental and conservation science.
Personally, I prefer to separate oceanography from marine biology and ocean history. This isn’t because I don’t believe that they don’t belong together but because ‘exploring the oceans’, the history of ‘major ocean events (such as the titanic)’ and ‘explorers’ as well ‘marine animals and plants’ are topics which children love. Having spoken with teachers it seems that children can get a lot out of each of these topics so I’ve separated them to give each topic room to shine.
What’s in this post?
Principles of Oceanography
In workbook 1 (Marine Science for Kids 5+) I introduce the basic principles of oceanography in the first unit over three smaller sections; Wonderful Oceans, Ocean Features and Ocean Exploration. In case you would like to build your own lesson plans I’ll quickly go over the main principles and ideas that would help build lesson plans.
A good starting place is ‘the ocean makes the world habitable’ with the important ideas being that ‘life doesn’t exist without water’ and that ‘most water on earth is in the ocean’. This leads nicely to the principle of ‘one big ocean’ which is that the earth has one ocean. The main ideas of this are ‘the properties of ocean water’, ‘that one large ocean covers over 70% of the earth’, and that it is split into ‘the ocean basins’ and finally that there are ‘features on the ocean floor’ which are similar to those on land. The final principle I’ve covered in the workbook for this age group is that ‘the ocean is largely unexplored’ with the main ideas being ‘people have always explored the oceans’ – through work and hobbies – as well as that ‘all living things depend on resources’ from the ocean.
Wonderful Oceans
Workbook 1 starts with ‘wonderful oceans’, which covers some of principles 1 and 4 of ocean literacy, (grades K-2). This section teaches;
· The concept of what the ocean is
· that it consists of salt water and
· the names of the five ocean basins.
If you like to start your lessons with a video then,
1. This short video from BBC introduces continents and oceans
2. This smile and learn video ‘OCEANS for Kids - Geography for Kids’ goes into a bit more detail about the five ocean basins.
3. This Learn Bright video introduces the five ocean basins, discusses some ocean vocabulary, and that the oceans consist of salt water. This video is around 8 minutes long and is the most consistently similar in information to ‘Wonderful Oceans’ section. If you are using Workbook 1, then I would say this video is a great way to start ‘Wonderful Oceans’.
If you’d like something more practical, check out this simple salt water experiment from sciencekiddo for kids.
Ocean Features
The second section in Oceanography is ‘Ocean Features’. The bottom of the ocean has many features similar to those on land (ocean literacy principle 1, grades k-2). This section focuses on;
· learning the names of ocean features and
· their similarity to features on land
A fairly simple section, that will fit in well with a geography lesson on landforms, which could be accompanied by this useful ocean floor video.
Ocean Exploration
‘Ocean Exploration’ is the third section in Workbook 1’s Oceanography unit, this aligns with principle 7 of ocean literacy (grades K-2) by touching on the fact that we explore the ocean in different ways. But it also encourages children to think about what they might find.
I would say there is a slight difference between ocean exploration and exploring the oceans. Exploring the oceans is something that we do together such as visiting aquariums, going to the beach, using live cam feeds or virtual field trips. Compared to ocean exploration as a subject which includes learning about the methods we use to explore the oceans – such as diving, submarines and conducting scientific surveys.
This video from Nat Geo Kids, Ocean Explorer: Katy Croff Bell, Best Job Ever, might help kick off a lesson about ocean exploration.
*** UPDATED LINKS: If you don't want to make your own lessons then a lesson pack oceanography is now available for workbook 1. If you don't want to purchase the workbook but would like to teach the lessons then a booklet and lesson bundle is now also available. There is also now a printable version of the workbook available (much better for teaching multiple children).
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