There are a lot of diverse and interesting places in this world, and I will go out on a limb and say the ocean floor may be one of THE most diverse and interesting! There are mountains (the tallest on earth), there are trenches which form the deepest valleys on earth, there are volcanoes, earthquakes, and plateaus. On the ocean floor there are crustaceans, plant life, rocks, sediments, fire, and all sorts of interesting things that can't be found anywhere else!
I think the ocean floor would be a great lesson to do with students. They can study the diverseness that is the ocean floor and how the environment at the deepest depths only lends life to a few creatures. What a great way to teach children about pressure and how that affects life down there.
"At the deepest point of the trench (and the deepest point on earth) the pressure is over 8 tons per square inch, or the equivalent of an average-sized woman holding up 48 jumbo jets."
Wow...I'm just saying, if you wanted to find a unit that could be used over and over again and bring in all kinds of subjects and really lend itself to creative liberties...you have it in a study of the ocean floor!
Some of my best memories of elementary school are my 4th grade study of the ocean, followed up by and Outdoor Ed, 3 day trip to the ocean for the whole 4th grade! That study was tied into our whole curriculum back in the early 80's. After the trip, we wrote "newspapers" about our experiences including articles and pictures, which was a great way for the teacher to assess what we took from the whole years study. And I agree...completely creative and the possibilities are endless!
ReplyDeleteHow crazy is the pressure per square inch? It is something you don't always think about and when they put it in "human terms" it really shows you how much it is!!
ReplyDeleteThe pursuit of the unknowable is what's always driving humans to explore. I too think an Ocean Floor unit would be terrific...in part because there are areas we cannot get to. There's room there for imagination. Great post!
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