The Digital Notebook is a space to hold your thoughts, questions, and growing understanding throughout this Unit. You will be able to access it from every Module. Use The Digital Notebook to jot your thinking, take notes, or as a space to develop your writing. You can print and export it anytime, and at the end of lesson 8 you’ll be reminded to save a copy for yourself.
One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
How to Hide an Octopus by Ruth Heller
Jellies The life of Jellyfish by Twig C. George
Giant Squid by Candace Fleming
One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
How To Hide An Octopus and Other Sea Creatures by Ruth Heller
Jellies: The Life of Jelly Fish by Twig C. George
Standards & BlueTech Alignment
Anchor Phenomena | Under the Sea: Ocean Animal Moves |
Student Action / Outreach | Public Service Announcement (PSA) |
Career Connection | Marine Veterinarian |
Blue Tech Alignment / Ocean Literacy Principles (OLP) | OLP 6: The Ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected. (K-2) |
Water Issue(s) Addressed | Conservation, Trash, Pollution |
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) | K-ESS3-3
Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the environment. K-2-ETS1-1 Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. |
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) | ![]() |
Literacy Standards | Language
Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Reading informational CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. Writing CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). |
Visual Arts | VA:Cr2.3.Ka Create art that represents natural and constructed environments. |
Progression of Modules
Inquiry Launch
Module 1 Wondering launch: Underwater Life |
Career Connection
Module 2 Career Connection: Meet a marine veterinarian |
Inquiry Deep Dive
Module 3 Research: What are marine animals? |
Hands-on Investigation
Module 4 Research: How do humans impact marine animals? (Helping JJ the Whale) |
Engineering & Design
Module 5 Engineering challenge: Animal Rescue |
Student Action
Module 6 Student Action: Produce Public Service Announcements |
Reflection & Assessment
Module 7 Students explain the phenomenon and reflect on their learning. |
Module 8
Exhibition of Learning |
Overview
The purpose of Module 1 is to spark student wonderings about the ocean environment and the animals that live there. What makes this environment and the animals special? Why should we care about protecting the ocean environment and its inhabitants?
Have students ask questions and share their wonderings. As they talk, support them to build on prior knowledge and begin meaning-making around the phenomenon.
Launch the Anchoring Phenomenon: Under the Sea: Ocean Animal Moves
Offer time to talk again, capture more noticing, wondering. Discuss the rich variety of marine life, and let students know they will be exploring and learning much more about what lives under the sea, and why these marine animals matter
Explore
Elicit prior knowledge about marine animals. Create a T-chart of land habitat and water habitat. Print pictures of land and marine animals, and have children sort the different animals into the land and water habitat columns. Have a discussion with students about their sorts and why they sorted their animals the way that they did. Get students to start thinking about what makes a marine animal able to live in the ocean.
Engage
Read Aloud
Read aloud varied texts about marine animals to add to the collective wonder, and begin constructing understanding about the animals. Choose both compelling nonfiction and realistic fiction so children not only learn facts, but gain a sense of the beauty and awe of these animals. If possible, choose texts about marine animals from the launch video. Remind students of the animal in the video, invite them to notice the ways texts help us to answer questions, and ask more questions.
Add new questions to chart already started, or begin a new chart about that particular marine animal
Digital read alouds if needed:
One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
How To Hide An Octopus and Other Sea Creatures by Ruth Heller
Jellies: The Life of Jelly Fish by Twig C. George
Giant Squid by Candace Fleming
Shared and Small Group Reading
Recommendations for leveled and TK/Kindergarten NGSS-aligned texts for shared and small group reading are included in the Blue Tech materials matrix. Shared reading instruction for this unit should include:
Additionally, shared and small group reading should include focus points specific to the nonfiction genre. This genre specific instruction will support children’s meaning making as they delve deeply into meaning making in both read aloud and independent reading. Focus points for nonfiction genre shared and small group reading in TK/Kindergarten may include:
Independent Reading
To the extent possible, gather a collection of visually appealing nonfiction texts about marine animals in a range of levels and perspectives for children to peruse and read independently . If possible, include texts about the same animals in the video. Allow students independent time to explore and read with their questions in mind, ask more questions, and construct understanding. Invite students to talk about the marine animals they’re exploring.
Explain
In this unit, children will work as writers to craft texts that compel their readers to care about marine animals, and persuade them towards stewardship. The children will be studying the ways books work, and stapling pages of paper together to make their own books.
Encourage children to consider what exciting new thinking about marine animals they might like to share with others. Offer ample paper, and the option to staple pages to make books. Model using a mix of pictures and words to capture your own wonder and thinking about a marine animal, drawing to capture your thinking, and moving from drawing to writing. As you share your draft, model drawing from the range of talk to help you add more.
Elaborate
As a pre-assessment, have students use books or photos online to look closely at their favorite marine animal. Encourage them to notice specific details, such as whether or not it has legs or fins, how many fins, blowhole, nose or gills, etc.
Then, encourage them to draw their favorite marine animal as realistically as possible in their inquiry notebooks. Notice whether or not children add details such as fins, tail, gills, antenna… We’ll return to these drawings for comparison at the end of the unit.
Reflect
Gather students to discuss:
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