Baltimore and Ashkelon:
Bodies of Water
Overview
Participants will gain an appreciation for the diversity of marine life in the bodies of water near
Ashkelon and Baltimore. This lesson teaches that Ashkelon, Israel is near the Mediterranean Sea and
Baltimore, MD is near the Chesapeake Bay.
Goals
• Appreciation of the many types of marine life all around the world that are very different, yet
have similarities. Specifically, many marine animals in the Mediterranean look different than
the marine animals in the Chesapeake Bay.
• Understanding the difference between salt and fresh water.
• Develop comparing and contrasting skills.
• Expand Hebrew vocabulary
Logistics
Audience: Ages 3-6
Setting: Indoors
Number of Participants: 5-15
Timing: Preparation – 20 minutes, Implementation – 45 minutes, Clean-up – 10 minutes
Facilitator must have basic knowledge of marine ecosystems and animals
Materials
 Book about fish, seashells, and marine life such as A House for hermit Crab by Eric Carle
 Map of the world or globe
 Salt
 Drinking water
 Cups
 Pictures of marine animals from the Mediterranean Sea and the Chesapeake Bay with magnets
attached to the back (See appendix)
 Fishing rod made from string and a stick with a magnet at the end of the string
 Seashells
 Paint
 Paper
Core Competencies - Participants will be able to:
• Differentiate between salt and fresh water
• Recognize marine animals that live in shells
Core Concepts - Participants will know:
• That some marine animals make shells as their homes.
• That marine animals are different around the world.
• That Baltimore is on the Chesapeake Bay and Ashkelon is on the Mediterranean Sea.
• The word for sea in Hebrew: Yam ‫םי‬
Lesson Outline
Introduction (10 minutes)
Book
• Read a book that discusses marine animals that live in and create shells, or a book about marine life in
general.
Discussion: Are we close to the water?
• Look at a map or globe of the world and locate Baltimore (or wherever the class is located). Ask
the students if they see any water close to where we are. Let them locate the Chesapeake Bay
and teach them the name of the bay.
• Then try to find Israel on the map. Ask if Israel is close to any water. Let them locate the
Mediterranean Sea and teach them the word Yam, which means sea in Hebrew.
Our Bodies of Water - Activity (35 minutes)
Taste Test (5 minutes)
• Have a cup of salt water and a cup of freshwater on the table.
• Give each of the students a straw/spoon and have them dip it into the fresh water and taste it.
Then have them taste the salt water.
• Ask the students questions such as: Did the two waters taste different? Why do you think they
tasted different? Which one tasted better to you?
• Explain that some animals like salt water while others, like humans, like fresh water.
Go Fish (15 minutes)
• Prepare two “bodies of water” on the floor with a blue carpet, sheet, etc. One is the
Mediterranean Sea and one is the Chesapeake Bay. In each one there should be pictures of
marine animals that live in each body of water. The pictures should be face down with magnets
attached to them.
• Using the fishing rod (a stick with string and a magnet at the end), have the students go fishing
in the bay and the sea to discover what they might catch.
• Have the students compare the fish that they caught from each body of water. What is the same
about them? What is different?
Sea Shell Painting (15 minutes)
• Pass around some sea shells for the students to look at.
• Refer back to the book that was read about shell-dwelling creatures.
• Ask them questions about the shells such as: Are the shells bumpy or smooth? Do they all look
the same? What colors are they? Are they all the same size?
• Set up some paint and paper and let the students use the seashells to create prints on the paper.
Make sure there is a variety of seashells available so the prints will have different shapes,
textures, etc.
Fish from the Mediterranean:
Fish from the Chesapeake Bay
Appendices/Additional Resources