Average
Sea Surface
Temperature
March-July
Upwelling
The Ocean in Motion
Around Monterey Bay
Average
Sea Surface
Temperature
August-October
More Lessons from the Sky
2016
Satellite Educators Association
http://SatEd.org
Can you spot the coastal
upwelling in Monterey Bay?
More Lessons from the Sky is pleased to spotlight Immersion Presents Monterey Bay,
a lesson plan provided by NOAA’s National Ocean Service at the following URL:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/yos/lesson/Grades%203-5/oceaninmotion.pdf.
Please see the Acknowledgements section for historical contributions to the
development of this lesson plan. This form of “Upwelling: The Ocean in Motion Around
Monterey Bay” was published in May 2016 in “More Lessons from the Sky,” a regular
feature of the SEA Newsletter, and archived in the SEA Lesson Plan Library. Both the
Newsletter and the Library are freely available on-line from the Satellite Educators
Association (SEA) at this address: http://SatEd.org.
Content and Internet links revised and updated, May 2017.
Teaching Notes
Upwelling
The Ocean in Motion Around Monterey Bay
Invitation
In his 1945 novel Cannery Row, John Steinbeck brings to life the intertwined
adventures of the colorful inhabitants along a Great Depression era boulevard in
Monterey, California, the same street that was once lined with active sardine canning
factories. One of the characters, Doc, was a marine biologist scouring the coastline for
tidal specimens for sale to supply houses in support of research and education. This
character was based on Ed Ricketts, the self-employed marine biologist and long-time
friend of Steinbeck who really did operate a small research and specimen collection
laboratory on Ocean Avenue (“cannery row”) in Monterey. In Between Pacific Tides,
first written with Jack Calvin in 1939, Ricketts describes his measurements and
findings of changes over time in the intertidal zones and near-shore ocean areas of the
California coast. The Monterey canneries were in decline after the sardine boom of the
1920s; the sardine populations were moving steadily southward. Ricketts thought the
migration was due in part to changes in seasonal upwelling along the coastline. Just
what is upwelling? How can it affect marine fauna and human economy so drastically?
To help students understand upwelling and other ocean movements, More Lesson from
the Sky is pleased to spotlight Immersion Presents Monterey Bay, a lesson about
upwelling in Monterey Bay and made available by NOAA’s National Ocean Service and
National Marine Sanctuaries. In this lesson, students will explore “ocean motions” both horizontal ocean currents and vertical upwelling. They will construct and use a
model of Monterey Bay to examine how upwelling takes place and consider its
importance.
Grade Level:
Time Requirement:
Prerequisites:
Relevant Disciplines:
3-5
1 class period
None
Physical Science, Earth & Space Science
About Standards
A standard set from the Next Generation Science Standards consists of four parts. The
performance expectation (PE) ties together the other three parts: a disciplinary core
idea (DCI), a science and engineering practice (SEP), and a crosscutting concept (CC).
All three should be incorporated to some degree in the same lesson.
Grades 3: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
PE- 3-PS2-2 – Make observations and /or measurements of an object’s motion to
provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motions.
DCI- 3-PS2.B – Objects in contact exert forces on each other.
SEP- Scientific investigations use a variety of methods, tools, and techniques.
CC- Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified.
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association
Upwelling
1
Teaching Notes
Grade 4: Earth’s Systems
PE- 4-ESS2-2 – Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of
Earth’s features.
DCI- 4-SEE2.B – The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean
floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most
earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along boundaries
between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside
continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and
water features areas of Earth.
SEP- Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical
reasoning.
CC- Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.
Grade 5: Earth’s Systems
PE- 5-ESS2-1 - Develop a model using an example to describe ways in which the
geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.
DCI- 5-ESS2.A - Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock,
soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air),
and the biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact
in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes. The ocean
supports a variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes landforms, and
influences climate. Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the
landforms to determine patterns of weather.
SEP- Develop a model using an example to describe a scientific principle.
CC- A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.
Objectives
•
•
•
Describe how upwelling works
Explain how upwelling is related to the richness of marine life around Monterey
Bay
Build a model to simulate upwelling around Monterey Bay
Assessment Suggestions
It is recommended that the teacher continuously “monitor and adjust” throughout all
student group work. In this way, help will be available when and where it is needed,
accidents avoided, and the teacher is left with a good sense of individual student
accomplishment. Summative assessment arises from students’ teamwork and the
successful modeling of upwelling and the Coriolis effect as well as the student answer
sheet.
Student Activity
A complete description of the student activity is found in the original publication
available at this web location:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/yos/lesson/Grades%203-5/oceaninmotion.pdf
It includes “Leader Notes” and student information sheets decorated with attractive
and relevant artwork.
2
Upwelling
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association
Teaching Notes
Background
Full background information for the teacher and for students is set in a colorful and
student-friendly presentation in the original publication. For the teacher, there is an
“Additional Information” section listing relevant books, videos, and web sites. Find it at
the above URL.
Preparation
This lesson module is provided in portable document format (PDF) requiring Adobe
Reader or equivalent to view the file. The Student Activity page is also provided in
Microsoft Word document format (DOCX) enabling the teacher to adapt the page to the
needs of the students, the curriculum, and the classroom situation.
Immersion Present Monterey Bay is a complete lesson plan. All needed materials
and how to use them are listed, precautions for safety and convenience, important
terms, questions to think about, “Taking It Further” suggestions, and, of course,
complete set up tips.
For teacher convenience, we have included a student answer sheet created from the
Discussion Questions in the original lesson plan document. Use or not, or modify as
needed.
Acknowledgements
The actual authors of this lesson plan are unknown. Thanks go to the National Ocean
Service Education Office, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, for posting this lesson plan on their web site and making it available.
The summarizing Teaching Notes and Student Activity pages for this lesson plan were
developed as part of More Lessons from the Sky by J.P. Arvedson for the non-profit
Satellite Educators Association. More Lessons from the Sky has its roots in an original
collection of more than fifty lessons compiled by Satellite Educators Association, Inc.
and published in Lessons from the Sky, © 1995 by Amereon, Ltd. More Lessons from
the Sky is a regular feature of the free, on-line Satellite Educators Association
Newsletter. More information about the Satellite Educators Association, its annual
Satellites & Education Conference for teachers, international environmental research
collaborative for K-12, and access to the Newsletter can be found at http://SatEd.org.
All More Lessons from the Sky lesson plans are archived in the on-line SEA Lesson
Plan Library available at http://SatEd.org. The web site features a description of the
library contents, how the lessons are matched to the National Science Education
Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards, several search tools for finding
lessons easily, separate resource files for lessons where needed, and the library’s
Analysis Toolbox.
When duplicating or otherwise using any portion of this lesson or its associated
materials, full credit to all contributors to the lesson and its associated materials must
be included.
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association
Upwelling
3
Teaching Notes
Resources
The entire original lesson plan can be read online or downloaded and printed here:
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/yos/lesson/Grades%203-5/oceaninmotion.pdf
Important Note
In the original lesson plan, the “Additional Information” page lists a number of webbased resources by name and without URLs. This practice may be helpful as URLs are
often changed when updated. The URL listed for access to all of the other links has
also changed to http://www.immersionlearning.org/links2/monterey-bay. As of this update,
however, many of the links listed for “The Ocean in Motion” are outdated and no
longer available. Updates and potential substitutes are listed below.
COSEE West’s Ocean Tube: Movies and Animations: Phytoplankton video – Although no longer
active, COSEE West maintains a legacy web site that includes student-made videos
explaining each of NOAA’s Ocean Literacy Principles in English and Spanish. The video
Ocean Principle 5 (running time 5:23) includes phytoplankton information.
http://www.cosee-west.org/oceanliteracy.html - use the All videos link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__bCziWIOrM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Education and Research: Testing Hypotheses:
Coastal Processes: Upwelling Case Study
http://www.mbari.org/products/educational-resources/earth/
http://www.mbari.org/upwelling-case-study/
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – works as listed
http://montereybay.noaa.gov/
NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service’s Investigating the
Ocean: Ocean Upwelling
https://www.ncsu.edu/ncsu/pams/science_house/nesdis/upwelling/index.html
NOAA National Fisheries Science Center’s Coastal Upwelling – works as listed
https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/fe/estuarine/oeip/db-coastal-upwellingindex.cfm
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries’ Ecosystems: Connected by the Currents – no longer
available as listed – try these sites…
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/teachers/pdfs/west_coast_guide_2014.pdf
http://www.noaa.gov/resource-collections/ocean-currents
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/currents/05currents3.html
NOAA National Ocean Service’s Currents Lesson Plans – works as listed
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html
NOAA Ocean Explorer’s Sanctuary Quest: Upwelling
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02quest/background/edu/edu.html
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02quest/background/upwelling/upwelling.html
NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research’s El Niño
https://www.climate.gov/enso
OceansLive Teachers’ Oceans for Life: Biodiversity
4
Upwelling
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association
Teaching Notes
NOAA’s OceansLIVE no longer supports this item. A quick web search for “Oceans for Life:
Biodiversity” yields many useful sites.
Weather Doctor – works as listed
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/shoes.htm
Windows to the Universe – works as listed
https://www.windows2universe.org/?page=/earth/Water/ocean_currents.html
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association
Upwelling
5
Name_______________________________________ Class______________ Date_________________
Upwelling
Discussion Questions
1. What is upwelling and what causes it to occur around Monterey Bay?
2. Why is upwelling important to the life around Monterey Bay?
3. What did the modeling clay, ice water, and room-temperature water in your
model represent? What did blowing through the straw represent?
4. What happened to the colored water when you first added it to your model
ocean? What did it represent?
5. What happened to the colored water when you blew air across the model
ocean? What did it represent?
6. How is your upwelling model different from the real-life upwelling that takes
place around Monterey Bay?
6
Upwelling
More Lessons from the Sky, 2016, Satellite Educators Association