Oceanography

Oceanography
Oceanography or Marine Science is the study of Earth's Oceans and Seas. It covers many different specific areas such Sea Floor Cartography, Marine Biology, Wave Science, Plate Tectonics, Ocean Currents, and more.

The study of the Sea Floor helps us to understand how Plate Tectonics works with discovering how land both under the water and above is produced and destroyed. Further it helps in the understanding of water currents which drive the weather patterns on Earth. It is a fascinating area of Science that can sometimes be overlooked.

The following activity / assessment is a fascinating and enjoyable way for students to investigate what is often a hidden landscape below the ocean surface. It is based on the a curriculum from the US.

http://mrswilsonscience.com/stretchingforward/ocean-floor-models/

=Ocean Floor Models =  [|Classroom], [|Creativity] , [|Experiences] by [|Janelle]

 One of our standards states that students should model the features of the ocean floor. Last year, I decided to incorporate the modeling process into a project. Basically, students are instructed to create a model of ocean floor features (continental shelf, continental slope, abyssal plain, trench, mid-ocean ridge, seamount, and volcanic island). The model must be three-dimensional, but the modeling material is student choice. I do provide a salt dough recipe to give students an idea of where to start. Yesterday, students turned in their projects. Since these tend to be a bit large, students usually bring them in to me during homeroom. Yesterday, my lab was buzzing with excitement as students turned in their projects. Everyone was so excited to see each other’s projects. Students were having so much fun, I had trouble getting them to leave to get to their own homerooms. I snapped a few photos because it was so exhilarating I don’t think there is anything more amazing during a school day than a room full of students excitedly sharing their learning! I had some amazing models made out of cake, paper mache, clay, foam, ice cream, and Lego. During one of my classes, a student pulled out his laptop to show me his project. He had made his model using Minecraft. As we displayed his project through the class projector, the whole class watched in awe – and so did I! I love this project because students get intimate knowledge of the ocean floor as they model the features. It also allows for creativity. Plus, making the model is relatively easy using clay, Play-Doh, or salt dough, so it’s not an intimidating project. In fact, most students usually remark about how fun it is. Do you have a fun “art” project that really is all about science? I’d love to hear about.