We are very excited to have you and your students visit us at Sound to Sea. To help you prepare
your students for their field trip, we have compiled some suggested lessons. Some of these
lessons are intended to introduce your students to barrier islands and the different habitats that
they will be exploring. Other lessons introduce important concepts that may be applied during
their time at Sound to Sea and can also be applied to your local area.
The Bogue Banks Barrier Island Wall Mural……………………………………………….2-6
Students design and create a large wall mural of a cross-section of a barrier island.
Name Tags and Journals……………………………………………………………………….7
Students design and make name tags and journals for their trip.
Website Scavenger Hunt…………………………………………………………………..…….8
Students explore the Sound to Sea website and learn more about their upcoming trip.
Learning to Look, Looking to See……………………………………………………...……….9
Students describe differences seen in an environment and give reasons for the importance of
looking closely to any environment.
What’s for Dinner? …………………………………………………………………………….10
Students list and analyze sources of foods and generalize that all animals depend on plants as a
food source, either directly or indirectly.
Litter We Know………………………………………………………………………………...11
Students collect and evaluate ways litter pollution can endanger wildlife and propose ways they
can eliminate these dangers.
Interview a Spider………………………………………………………………………………12
Students use interview techniques, research and write to develop natural history information
about wildlife species.
Wetland in a Pan……………………………………………………………………………13-14
Students make a model that demonstrates the flood-buffering and filtering effects of wetlands.
Moving Ocean……………………………………………………………………………….15-26
Students predict the patterns and characteristics of surface ocean currents.
Vocabulary…………………………………………………………………………………..27-29
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The Bogue Banks Barrier Island Wall Mural
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Practice math skills such as using grids, division, and fractions
2. Practice map skills to identify Bogue Banks
3. Create a wall mural of a large barrier island cross-section
4. List the habitats and their characteristics that they will observe at Sound to Sea.
Materials: Map of North Carolina, paper, copies of page 5, A large sheet of paper, ruler, pencils,
crayons or markers.
Procedure:
 Artists, today and in times past, have used the grid method to transfer small drawings to a
larger canvas. Students should practice by first enlarging the rabbit drawing (at the end
of this section) either individually, or in pairs.
 Have the students look at a map of North Carolina. Ask them to find the outer banks and
trace the barrier island system with their finger. Then have them look for the island
labeled Bogue Banks. Explain that this is the barrier island they will be visiting. (For an
extension you could have them label a blank map either of the island names or of the
habitats found on a barrier island).
 Explain to the students that the basic goal is to end up with a big island drawn on the
large grid squares that looks like the Bogue Banks Gridded Guide Map page. Discuss
with the students the grid method of enlarging and decide how big to make their grid
squares so that the mural will fit on the appropriate wall or piece of paper. Because the
goal is to make it fairly large, the mural should be no smaller than 2 feet tall by 7 feet
long. The grid will be 4 blocks tall and 14 blocks long, regardless of the block size. To
figure out the block size, use the following equation:
Height of mural = Block size
4 blocks tall
Then, to figure out the mural length:
Block size x 14 blocks = Mural length
 Number the grid blocks vertically from top to bottom (1-4) on the left-hand side.
Number the grid blocks horizontally from left to right (1-14) on the bottom. Numbering
the grid keeps students from losing their place when transferring from the mural guide
page and drawing parts of the island in the wrong blocks on the large grid.
 The key to this procedure is to make sure that island outline crosses the large grid blocks
in proportionately the same place as in the guide map blocks. Fractions are important
because students will have to judge whether lines cross blocks half way over or 1/3 of
the way over, etc. Sometimes, it helps to put marks or dots where lines cross blocks and
then connect the dots by (looking at the guide map) drawing between them the best that
you can. Also, when students work in pairs, one can be drawing and the other checking
for accuracy (and periodically, they can switch).
 Briefly discuss the five habitats at Sound to Sea and list (for each habitat) plants and
animals that they think they might find at Trinity Center. Below are definitions of the
habitats and examples of some of the plants and animals that can be found in each:
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Beach: The part of the shore of an ocean, river, or lake washed by the tide or waves.
Common plants: Sea rocket, sea elder, sea oat, American beach grass, pennywort, salt
meadow hay.
Common animals: Coquina clam, jingle shell, ponderous ark, whelk, lettered olive,
bluefish, menhaden, mackerel, mole crab, ghost crab, shrimp, keyhole urchin, brown
pelican, willet, sandpiper
Maritime Forest: A forest community within range of salt spray.
(Maritime means “near the sea.”)
Common plants: Red maple, devil’s walkingstick, American beautyberry, musclewood,
common witch hazel, American holly, Yaupon holly, eastern red cedar, partridgeberry,
Virginia creeper, loblolly pine, live oak, poison ivy, muscadine grape.
Common animals: Grey squirrel, raccoon, opossum, grey fox, striped skunk, marsh
rabbit, Southern toad, green treefrog, Eastern glass lizard, Carolina anole, rough green
snake, barred owl, red-tailed hawk, Carolina chickadee, mockingbird, Northern cardinal
Ocean: A vast body of salt water that covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface.
Common plants: Sargassam, deadman’s finger
Common animals: Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, moon jelly, cannonball jelly, brown
pelican, sand dollar, Southern stingray, clearnose skate, dolphinfish, mackerel, herring
gull, flounder, bull shark, lettered olive, horseshoe crab, sea urchin
Pond: A quiet body of water shallow enough that sunlight can reach the bottom.
Common plants: sedge, common cattail, common elodea, Southern milfoil, saw grass
Common animals: Mosquito fish, channel catfish, sheepshead minnow, blue gill,
dragonfly nymph, mayfly nymph, damselfly nymph, water striders, water boatman, giant
waterbug, mosquito, midgefly, whirligig beetles, kingfisher, egret.
Salt marsh: Low-lying wetland that is frequently flooded by salt water.
Common plants: saltmeadow cordgrass, common cattail, wax myrtle, glasswort, spike
grass, eel grass
Common animals: meadow mouse, marsh rabbit, raccoon, marsh crab, marsh
periwinkle, ribbed mussel, fiddler crab, mud snails, blue crab, shrimp, eastern oyster.
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Sound: A semi/enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it
and with a free connection to the open sea.
Common plants: Sea lettuce, Dead man’s fingers seaweed, sea hair, dictyota
Common animals: Common spider crab, shrimp, parchment worm, sea cucumber, sea
squirt, sponge, hermit crab, mud snails, blue crab, whelks, scallop, Eastern oyster,
Quahog clam, barnacles, comb jelly, pipefish, flounder, pinfish, menhaden, silverside,
double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, belted kingfisher
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Students may want to research each organism on their list prior to illustrating it on the
mural or use their imagination and creativity as they draw. Remind the students to draw
their plant or animal to scale in relation to the rest of the mural. For example, make sure
that a student's drawing of a fish doesn't take up the whole pond on the mural. The
school group can choose to bring the mural to Sound to Sea, where we will display it or
hang it in a central location at school to view before their trip.
While at Sound to Sea students will discover more about each habitat and can rearrange
drawings from their expectation-session and add new ones to the mural when they get
back to school.
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Name Tags and Journals
Name Tags
Students should wear their name tags while at Sound to Sea. Consider establishing a size
guideline and having students make name tags using recycled or reused one sided paper. Attach
a loop of yarn so students can wear them around their necks.
Students can be responsible for designing and making their own name tags. Alternatively,
students can either draw names out of a hat and make a name tag for a fellow student or teacher,
or make a name tag for a student in one of their three groups -- their cabin, dining room table, or
habitat study group.
If you choose to have students make name tags for their habitat study group members, they could
also come up with a group name. Each habitat study group could draw one of the five habitats
from a hat and come up with a name that relates to that habitat, like a plant, animal or other part
of that habitat.
It is helpful if the name tags include: habitat study group number, dining hall table number and
dorm information.
Journals
Much of our scientific and historical knowledge comes from the journals of folks who lived in
the past. For example, John White's drawings (of Native Americans in the northeastern part of
North Carolina in the late 1500s) and comments are extremely important because they represent
some of the earliest written information we have about coastal Native Americans. Many early
explorers were really scientists because they kept journals filled with notes about and drawings
of plants and animals they observed.
Students can make journals to bring with them to Trinity Center. Once at Sound to Sea they can
make drawings of plants and animals they observe during their habitat study classes and take
notes about the specific habitats. Journals should include several pages for each of the five
habitats (Sound, Salt Marsh, Pond, Maritime Forest, and Beach).
Students can take time after dinner or in their cabin before lights-out to write poems, record their
feelings, and describe cabin life or other activities.
When they return to school, students can use the information in their journals to provide details
for a newspaper article or a story with fictional characters from the barrier islands.
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Website Scavenger Hunt
Purpose: To introduce students to the Sound to Sea website and what they can expect while
here.
Materials: Computers with internet access, pencils, print-out of scavenger hunt
Website Scavenger Hunt
Go to www.trinityctr.com/soundtosea. On the left toolbar, click on “Kid’s page”
1. Which Sound to Sea staff member is from the furthest away from North Carolina?
2. Which Sound to Sea staff member grew up closest to your home town?
3. What habitats will you visit during your trip?
4. What can cause barred owl feathers to turn pink?
5. How much does the average raccoon weigh?
6. How does a spider crab camouflage itself?
7. Which sound animal is able to change color to make the sand?
8. Which pond animal does not have mouthparts as an adult? Why?
9. How does a giant water bug eat its prey?
10. Explore 3 different websites found on the “Links” page and write one thing that you
learned from each site:
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Website #1:
Interesting fact:
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Website #2:
Interesting fact:
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Website #3:
Interesting fact:
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Practicing Observation Skills:
Learning to Look, Looking to See (From “Project WILD”)
(Grades K-8)
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Describe differences seen in an environment as the result of casual versus detailed
observation
2. Identify the importance of looking closely at any environment.
Materials: Note pads or paper, pencils, pens, markers or crayons
Procedure:
 Cover a desk, bulletin board or other wall display, with a large cloth or sheet of paper
before students come to class. Ask the students to write down all the things they thought
they saw there before the area was covered. When their lists are completed, ask them to
turn over their papers. Remove the sheet. On the backside of their first lists, have the
students make a new list of what they see. What kinds of things did they remember?
What kinds of things were most often missed? Brainstorm why they think this happened.
 Have the students go outdoors and pick one spot near a tree, a fence, a brook, a field, etc.
Each student should find a spot alone, at least 50 feet from the closest human neighbor.
 Instruct the students to record everything they “see.” The students should look in a broad
sense of the word- seeing, touching, listening and smelling. A few hints to increase the
senses include: cupping hands around their ears to simulate animal hearing has a dramatic
effect on abilities to hear; blindfolding seems to cause a compensation toward better
hearing as well; moistening the undersurface of the nose and upper lip area increases
smelling ability.
 Allow approximately 15 minutes for observations, less for younger students. Use an
agreed upon signal to indicate when the time is to return to the group.
 Bring the students together for a discussion, centering on the process they went through
as well as their list of sightings. Did they focus on any one area for a long time? Did they
continue to shift their gaze? How did they focus their hearing and smelling?
 Talk with the students about the joy and importance of seeing as fully as we can- as a
way of appreciating, respecting, and learning more about the world in which we live.
Older students: Discuss the importance of careful observation of our environments
beginning with the basis for our fundamental life support systems- air, water, soil, plants,
and animals.
 Optional, with older students: Talk about the process of continuing to develop our senses
as being a life-long process for each of us. Sensing more in our surroundings can help us
detect changes in our environment, in turn this can cause us to become better, more aware
and informed decision makers.
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Food Web Lesson:
What’s For Dinner? (From “Project WILD”)
(Grades 3-7)
Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Recognize where their food originates from.
2. Understand that all animals, including people, depend on plants as a food source,
either directly or indirectly.
Materials: Notebooks or paper, pencils, pens, markers or crayons
Procedure:
 What’s for dinner? Ask students to go home and make a list of everything that they have
for dinner on a particular evening. Or, they can invent a dinner menu of their choice.
 In the classroom, ask the students to work alone or in groups to analyze where their food
comes from. Every food from their dinner menu should be traced back to a plant. As each
item on a menu is examined, ask the students to create a flow diagram or chain which
shows the major sources of each food from the product they eat all the way back to the
plant origin. For example: Me -> Milk -> Cow -> Grass. Some chains will be short;
others will be long. Sometimes the students may not be sure what particular animals eat
for food, so they will need to do some research to find out.
 Have a general discussion with the students. “What are some of the things you have
learned from this activity?” After the students have described things they have learned,
encourage them to make two conclusions about plants and animals. 1) all animals,
including people and wildlife, need food; and 2) all animals, including people and
wildlife, depend upon plants for food. (Listen for the insight that ultimately plants need
animals too! The decay of animal life after death into nutrients in the soil provides
sustenance to plants as well!)
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Trash Lesson:
Litter We Know (From “Project WILD”)
(Grades 4-6)
Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
1. Identify and evaluate ways that litter pollution can endanger wildlife
2. Propose ways they can help eliminate litter pollution.
Materials: Large sheets of paper, glue, different types of litter, work gloves, trash bags.
Procedure:
 Divide the class into three or four teams.
 Ask each team to bring a collection of litter to class in a bag or collect litter during class
time. Suggest the students look around their house, in parks, camping areas, or school
grounds. Advise students to wear work gloves. Caution them about hazards such as
broken glass and medical wastes. NOTE: They should not take things out of garbage
cans.
 Have the teams make and display collages of these items.
 Ask each student or group to choose one or two items that they collected and evaluate its
potential effects on wildlife in the area.
 Encourage the students to research general effects of litter on wildlife. It may be helpful
to have each student group concentrate on a specific ecosystem (i.e. the ocean) for their
investigations. It may also be of interest to collect information about the quantity of litter
collected from local litter collections or national trash clean-up events.
 Discuss the effects litter has on wildlife. Suggest that the students make a “pros and
cons” list for specific types or pieces of litter. For example, a plastic soda bottle in the
ocean may serve as an artificial habitat for goose barnacles and algae (a pro) however
over time the plastic bottle will break down and leach potentially harmful chemicals into
the water (a con). Optional: Ask a wildlife expert to join the class for the discussion. If
available, show a film or provide additional reading material on the subject.
 Propose and evaluate ways that people can eliminate litter pollution. What can students
do personally as individuals, or as groups and family units to eliminate or reduce their
own litter?
Further Discussion (optional):
 Discuss alternatives to litter. For example, can manufacturers make cans with openings
other than pop-tops? Could they devise another method for packaging six-packs? How
could people fishing have more control over losing their fishing lines? How can
individuals be instructed about the dangers as well as the unsightliness of littering? What
progress has been made in recent years? What actions are still needed?
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Article Investigation:
Interview a Spider (From “Project WILD”)
(Grades 5-8)
Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Use proper research, interview and reporting methods and create a written report using
these skills
2. Understand that wildlife ranges in size and occurs in a variety of forms, colors and
adaptations.
Materials: Writing and research materials
Procedure:
 Optional: Invite a local newspaper reporter to talk with your students. Ask him or her to
describe what a reporter does and especially talk about the techniques of interviewing and
writing used.
 Have the students brainstorm a list of wildlife species. Check the list to make sure it
includes many different types of wildlife. Optional: Make available a list of native
species to help them focus on nearby animals they might not have readily been classified
as “wildlife.”
 Work with the students to establish a research, interview and reporting format for their
use as reporters. For example:
Research: Each team of students should:
 Decide what animal to “Interview”
 Write a list of questions to ask.
 Use reference materials to take notes for appropriate responses to the questions.
Interview: It’s time to conduct the interview! Each team of reporters selects an animal
to study. The team will first need to gather information about the animal. They can do
that by actually observing the animal, consulting resource materials or both! One
student asks questions while the other student assumes the role of the wild animal and
responds to the interviewer’s questions. Students then switch roles. Remind the
students to convey the perspectives of the interviewed animal without projecting
inapplicable human attributes.
Reporting: Now it’s time to organize the information gathered through the process of
researching and interviewing the animal. Each team should use its notes as the basis for
writing a newspaper article about the wild animal they interviewed.
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Discuss the diversity of wildlife the students chose to write about and some of the
interesting facts they learned about their animals. Ask students to define wildlife to show
his or her understanding of the term, including that wildlife can range from microscopic
forms to those many tons in size and occur in a variety of forms, colors and adaptations.
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Wetland Activity:
Wetland in a Pan (From “WOW!: The Wonders of Wetlands”)
(Grades 3-12)
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Define what a wetland is
2. Describe interrelationships among precipitation, runoff and wetlands
3. Relate the importance of wetland functions to their own needs in their daily lives
Materials: Modeling clay, long shallow pan (tip: a long 13” by 9” sturdy metal or glass pan with
smooth, flat bottom or perhaps a rolling paint pan), scraps of indoor-outdoor carpeting or florists
“oasis” foam or sponges, watering can or similar device, cup of soil and jar of muddy water
To make model:
 Spread a layer of modeling clay in half of the baking pan to represent the land. Leave the
other half of the pan empty to represent a lake or other body of water such as a river or
ocean.
 Shape the clay so that it gradually slopes down to the water. Smooth the clay along the
sides of the pan to seal the edges. You can also form meandering streams in the clay that
lead into the body of water.
 Cut a piece of indoor-outdoor carpeting [or sponge or florist’s foam] to completely fill
the space across the pan along the edge of the clay. This represents a wetland buffer
between dry land and open water. Tip: Be sure the wetland fits well. The model won’t
work if there are large spaces under the wetland or between it and the sides of the pan.
Procedure:
 Discuss with the students what a wetland is and what types of plants and animals you
might find there.
 Present the wetland model and point out its features. Explain that wetlands, like all
habitats, are very complicated natural systems. They perform some very important
functions such as filtering pollutants, reducing flood damage, and preventing soil erosion.
Some wetlands, at times, recharge underground water supplies. Explain that the model
will demonstrate some of these functions in a very simplified way.
 Ask the students what effects “rain” will have on the model and what they think will
happen to the rainwater? (Rain will run downhill and end up in the body of water.)
 Fit the piece of carpeting or sponge into the wetland area, slowly sprinkle some “rain” on
land, and let the students observe and describe what is happening. Some of the water is
slowed down by the wetland (carpeting). The excess water slowly flows into the body of
water. Point out, if the students have not already, that the wetland absorbed some of the
water (pick up the wetland and squeeze some water out to prove it).
 Discuss what the students think will happen if the wetland is removed? (The water will
not be absorbed; it will flow more quickly into the body of water.) Remove the carpeting
and water. Pour the same amount of water on the model at the same spot and rate as
before. Have the students note any differences. The water should fill the body of water
much more quickly and may eventually overflow and flood the land. That’s because it is
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no longer buffered by the wetland
Explain that most wetlands are shallow basins that collect water and slow its rate of flow
and retain water for a time. This slowing process helps reduce flooding and also helps
prevent soil erosion.
Ask the students what might happen if a wetland is destroyed and houses are built there,
what might happen to the houses during a severe rainstorm? Why? (They might be
flooded because the wetland will not be there to absorb and slow the rush of water from
higher ground.) In many areas, wetlands are drained and filled in, and houses and marinas
are built right along the water. Without a wetland buffer, these developed areas
particularly along the coast are often subjected to severe flooding and erosion, especially
during violent storms.
Pour the water from the last demonstration out of the model and replace the piece of
carpeting. Explain that this demonstration will be just like the first, except that soil will
cover the clay. Ask what they think will happen to the bare soil when it rains? (The rain
should pick up and carry some sediment over the land and into the body of water.)
Spread soil over the clay and make it rain or pour muddy water from the jar onto the land.
Explain that this water represents polluted runoff. Ask the students to compare the water
that ends up in the body of water with the water in the jar. Explain that the soil particles
were trapped by the carpeting, making the water in the body of water much clearer. The
“uphill” side of the wetland should be coated with trapped sediment.
Remove the carpeting, pour out the water, and try the experiment again. What happens
without the wetland in place? Ask the kids why all the dirt particles end up in the body
of water this time. The thick mat of plant roots in a wetland helps trap silt and some types
of pollutants much as the carpet or foam did in the model. Without a wetland, excessive
amounts of silt and pollutants can end up in lakes, rivers and other bodies of water.
Extension:
Discuss with students:
 How might muddy water affect fish? (Makes it harder for them to see and breathe with
clogged gills, and could lead to their death.)
 How might other animals and plants be affected by the muddy water? (Settling sediment
smothers oysters, plants do not get sunlight needed for growth, birds and other animals
who eat fish or plants have less to eat if food sources die or can’t be seen in muddy water,
etc.)
 How would boats and ships be affected by muddy water? (The mud settles out and
eventually fills channels important for navigation.)
 How might all of this affect you? (Decrease in natural resources and food sources;
decline in quality drinking water; impacts on recreation such as swimming and fishing;
change in aesthetics; change in community economy, such as shipping problems that
affect jobs and industry, etc.)
 How can we prevent these undesirable effects? (By protecting wetlands and helping to
make their benefits known!)
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Moving Ocean:
Ocean Currents (From “The Maury Project: Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation”)
(Grades 7-12)
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Define gyers, currents, and upwelling
2. Describe the typical gyre circulation pattern found in each of the major ocean basins.
3. Describe the relative speeds, temperatures, and directions of the currents comprising a
typical gyre.
Materials: Current Cards, Global Ocean Basin Chart, Global Ocean Surface Current Chart,
pencils, markers/crayons
Procedure:
 Cut out sets of Current Cards, enough for every group to have a set of cards. A set can
either be all the Pacific Ocean Basin or Atlantic Ocean Basin or just Northern or
Southern hemisphere of each ocean. Groups will be able to exchange and share cards
throughout the activity. Sort them into four groups by Northern and Southern
Hemisphere and Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Basin. For example, all four Northern
Hemisphere Atlantic cards should be together in one group and all Southern Hemisphere
Atlantic in another group.
 Copy enough Global Ocean Basin Charts for each student/group.
 Introduce the activity by discussing ocean currents including flow direction in each
hemisphere, temperature and speed. Depending on the age group and background
knowledge, the group can make predictions about the characteristics of currents or
specific information about ocean circulation may be given.
 Explain that currents in major ocean basins are driven by the prevailing wind systems.
The basins are defined and contained by continental boundaries and deflected by the
Earth’s rotation. The currents flow in large, roughly circular patterns called gyres. The
gyres play an important role in redistributing heat from the low to the high latitudes, thus
influencing ocean temperatures, weather and climate.
 Explain that this activity will help determine and visualize major ocean gyres and their
characteristics.
 Give each student group a stack of Current Cards. As a group go over the information
on the back of the cards to identify characteristics, such as direction of flow and
temperature, of each current. As a group decide how to represent the flow (arrow),
temperature (color), and speed (size of arrow) of the currents.
 Give each group a Global Ocean Basin Chart and instruct them to draw in their currents
on the Chart. Remind them to use the Characteristics of the currents to determine flow,
temperature and speed.
 Once a student group has completed one current, have them switch cards with another
group or challenge them to predict what the currents will look like and their
characteristics in the opposite hemisphere or ocean.
 Continue the activity until all groups have all ocean currents illustrated on their Global
Ocean Basin Charts. A copy of the Global Ocean Surface Current Chart may be
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provided to double check their illustrations
To complete the activity, discuss each group’s findings and have them describe
characteristics about each gyre.
Further Discussion (optional):
 Brainstorm how the temperature fluctuation of the gyres affects distribution of animal
and plant species.
 Discuss and predict relationship of gyre temperature fluctuations and weather patterns.
Challenge the students to predict changes in temperature and thus speed of the gyres as ice
caps/glaciers melt (cooling the water at the poles) and how that may affect species distribution
and weather patterns.
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Vocabulary
Abiotic: A non-living factor in an environment; something that is not alive and has never been
alive; ex. Light, water, temperature
Adaptation: A change, over time, of the structure, function or behavior of a plant or animal,
which enables it to survive in its habitat.
Aquifer: An underground bed of saturated soil or rock that yields significant quantities of water.
Barrier Islands: Islands which parallel the coast and act as barriers for protecting the mainland
from the full effects of ocean forces.
Biodegradable: Capable of being broken down by biological agents, especially bacteria.
Bivalve: Two-shelled, two siphon mollusk. Clams and scallops are bivalves.
Brackish: Moderately salty water; seawater that has been significantly diluted with fresh water.
Canopy: The layer formed by leaves and branches of the forest’s tallest trees.
Carnivore: An animal that eats other animals to obtain nutrients and energy.
Community: All plants and animals living in a particular area that interact with each other.
Consumer: Organisms that do not make their own food but eat other organisms.
Crepuscular: Organisms that are active at dawn and dusk.
Crustacean: A member of the invertebrate group of animals called Arthropod characterized by
jointed legs, segmented bodies, and a hard external skeleton. Include: shrimp, crab, barnacles
Debris: Carelessly discarded refuse; litter.
Decomposer: Bacteria and fungus that chemically break down dead plant and animal matter and
use it as a source of energy and nutrients.
Detritus: Plant, animal and other matter, such as bacteria, that has been broken into small pieces
to make a rich mud.
Diurnal: Organisms that are active by daylight.
Ecology: The study of the interaction of organisms and their physical and biological
environment.
Estuary: A water area where salt and fresh water mix, such as in the coastal sounds near the
river mouths of North Carolina.
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Filter Feeder: An animal which strains or filters water flowing through or around its body to
capture suspended food particles.
Gastropod: A member of the group of invertebrates called Mollusks, which includes snail-type
animals and others which have a one piece shell or no shell, and a broad ventral "foot". Whelks
and sea slugs are gastropods.
Grazer: An animal which moves slowly over a surface, feeding on organisms found there.
Ground water: Water found in spaces between soil particles underground.
Gyre: A spiral oceanic surface current driven primarily by the global wind system and
constrained by the continents surrounding the three ocean basins (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian).
Habitat: The arrangement of food, water, shelter or cover and space suitable to animals’ needs.
Herbivore: An animal that eats only plants to obtain its nutrients and energy.
Inorganic: Compounds or substances that contain no carbon and are not of animal or plant
origin; they are essential in living processes and are obtained by plants primarily from soil and
water.
Intertidal: The area along a shoreline that is exposed at low tide and covered by water at high
tide.
Limiting Factor: A biological or physical factor that limits the growth of an organism.
Marine: Of or relating to the oceans and salt water.
Mollusk: A hard shelled, soft bodied organism.
Niche: The particular way in which an organism obtains its food, shelter and special behaviors;
an organism's way of life. The role a species plays in a community.
Nocturnal: Active at night.
Omnivore: An animal that eats both plants and animals.
Operculum: A lid-like covering which serves as a protective "door", sealing the opening to the
shell of gastropods when the animal withdraws into the shell.
Organic: Substances or compounds containing carbon, derived from plants and animals; they
are a source of energy and nutrients, especially for consumers.
Phytoplankton: Drifting plants in the ocean.
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Plankton: Drifting organisms in the sea. These can be as small as microscopic algae or as large
as an 1800 pound sunfish.
Population: All of the organisms of a kind living together in an area.
Producer: Plants, including algae, that are able to produce food from basic raw materials.
Radula: The rasping organ inside the mouth of gastropods which is covered with small "teeth";
used for scraping, tearing, boring, and ingesting food.
Raptor: A predatory bird with good eyesight, talons and a sharp beak.
Salinity: A measurement of salt dissolved in water.
Salt marsh: A low coastal grassland frequently inundated by the tide.
Scavenger: Animals that eat the remains or wastes of other organisms.
Sound: Areas of water which separate the mainland from the outer barrier islands.
Species: A group of organisms distinct from all other groups of organisms that is capable of
reproduction and producing fertile offspring.
Substrate: A surface available for living things; the bottom material on or in which an organism
lives or to which it is attached.
Understory: The layer of plants growing under another higher level of plants.
Vertebrate: An animal with a segmented spinal column or "backbone" containing a central
spinal cord; fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Watershed: The land area from which surface runoff drains into a stream.
Wetland: Lands where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil
development and the types of plant and animal communities.
Zooplankton: Drifting animals in the ocean which include the larval stages of many larger
animals; feed on phytoplankton and other zooplankton and, in turn, are an important food source
for larger animals in marine food webs.
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