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Substitute Teacher Kit

An Ocean Adventure (Grades 3-4)

Introduction

As a substitute in a third- or fourth-grade classroom, you can ensure an exciting, engaging time by planning an in-class ocean adventure. You may want to base an entire day or week on these activities, or you may want to use just a few.

Preparation Materials
Classroom Management Tips
Activities
Closing Activities

Preparation Materials

Books to Read:
Humphrey the Lost Whale by Wendy Takudo and Richard Hall
I Can Be an Oceanographer by Paul Sipera
Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
Swimmy by Leo Lionni

Classroom Management Tips

Start-the-Day Riddle – Icebreaker
• Before students arrive, write this riddle on the board: We are made of water. Some people count five of us. Others count four. Millions of plants and animals live in, on, or near us.
• As students arrive, invite them to read the riddle and brainstorm possible solutions on a piece of paper.
• When everyone has arrived, verify that the answer is the oceans. Name the oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic). Explain that many people think the Antarctic Ocean is part of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

Ocean Guessing Game – Icebreaker
• Prepare sticky notes with the names of things that live in or are related to the ocean (shark, whale, seaweed, shell, rock, sand, water, boat, island, volcano, fish).
• Place a sticky note on each child's back or forehead.
• Students can walk around the room asking "yes/no" questions of other students to figure out who or what they are.

Ocean Creatures Nametags
• Provide index cards and invite each student to cut out a nametag in the shape of a favorite ocean creature.
• Have students decorate their nametags with crayons or markers and then show them to the class before taping them to their shirts.

Ocean Library to Ease Transition Times
• Send a student to the library to collect books about the oceans.
• Then read aloud if you must wait for PE, lunch, or art class.
• Have pairs read a book and then tell the class about it.
• Let students read books independently when they finish assigned tasks.
• Challenge students to use the books to gather information for ocean articles or reports.

Ocean Teams to Reinforce Appropriate Behavior
• Divide the class into four teams.
• Name each team for one of Earth's oceans. Teams can earn points for behavior, assignment completion, and cooperation.
• Explain that teams will be awarded a privilege if they have the most points at the end of the day. (If all teams work hard, award the privilege to everyone.)
• Toward the end of the day award privileges, such as a free drawing time or an indoor game time.

Stress Reliever
If your nerves (or students' nerves) get frazzled at some point in the day, stop and lead the class in an ocean visualizing activity. Have students rest their heads on their desks. Turn off the lights, and play relaxing background music if possible. Prompt students to imagine that they are deep in the ocean. Guide them to remain very still, listening for the ocean sounds they hear and sights they observe. Encourage students to share their experiences.

Activities

Social Studies – Earth's Oceans
Materials: map of the world, Earth's Oceans Activity Sheet
• Display a classroom map or refer students to a map in a textbook.
• Direct their attention to the water on Earth, explaining that water covers 3/4 of Earth's surface.
• Point out that water from all the oceans is connected, but that we give separate names to each ocean.
• Distribute Earth's Oceans Activity Sheet and have students work in pairs or small groups to label the map and answer the questions.

Science - Food Chains
Materials: reference materials, pencil, paper
• Write the words "food chain" on the board. Explain that in a food chain several kinds of living things are linked because each uses the next as food. (Example: Wolves, owls, snakes, mice, and seeds make up a food chain.)
• Use classroom books, reference books, or online references to help students find information about ocean food chains.
• Encourage them to draw the food chains, adding arrows to show what each living thing eats.

Reading/Language Arts - My Life in the Ocean
Materials: paper, pencil
• Work with the class to brainstorm an extensive list of ocean animals, such as shark, whale, dolphin, manatee, sea lion, squid, crab, lobster, and starfish.
• Each student can select an animal and write a short story from that animal's perspective.
• Prompt them by asking questions such as: Where do you live? What do you eat? What plants and animals are around you? What enemies do you have?
• Have students use classroom or online encyclopedias to gather facts. Or encourage them to use their imaginations to write creative stories about their animals.

Math - How Deep Are the Oceans?
Materials: paper, pencil
• Display the following information:

Depth of Four Oceans (Average):
Pacific: 13,740 feet
Indian: 12,740 feet
Atlantic: 12,254 feet
Arctic: 3,407 feet
Deepest Point in Four Oceans:
Pacific: 36,200 feet
Indian: 25,344 feet
Atlantic: 28,374 feet
Arctic: 17,881 feet
• Invite students to write math questions related to the number facts. Examples: Which ocean is the deepest? How deep would the Arctic Ocean be if it were 1,000 feet deeper?
• Invite students to exchange their math problems with a partner and challenge them to solve the problems. Once students have completed their problems, encourage them to switch partners and repeat the process.

Physical Education - Big Sharks and Little Fish
Materials: none
• Take students outside or to a large open room.
• Ask a child to stand on one side of the play area and pretend to be the big shark.
• Have the other children stand on the opposite side of the play area and pretend to be little fish.
• Identify a wall, tree, swingset, or other object as the "boat."
• When you give a signal (such as clapping your hands), little fish try to "swim" to the boat without being tagged by the shark.
• Little fish that get tagged become sharks in the next round.
• Play as many rounds as it takes to have only one little fish left. He or she is the winner.

Art - An Ocean Mural
Materials: craft paper, art supplies
• Lay a large sheet of craft paper on the floor and invite students to create an ocean scene. Their scene should include both ocean plants and animals.
• Have them write labels for each item in the scene.
• Guide them to title the mural.
• Display the finished product on a wall or window.

Enrichment Activity

Distribute Our Amazing Oceans Activity Sheet to the students. Invite them to use art supplies to create an ocean board game that they can play with their classmates. Encourage them to use online and offline reference materials to find additional facts for their board game.

Closing Activity

Encourage students to tell what they've learned about oceans. Write their ideas on chart paper. Then help them make a list of questions they still have. Challenge individuals to find the answers to the questions and to share information with the class.

•	Before students arrive, write this riddle on the board: We are made of water. Some people count five of us. Others count four. Millions of plants and animals live in, on, or near us.
•	As students arrive, invite them to read the riddle and brainstorm possible solutions on a piece of paper.
•	When everyone has arrived, verify that the answer is the oceans. Name the oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic). Explain that many people think the Antarctic Ocean is part of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

•	Prepare sticky notes with the names of things that live in or are related to the ocean (shark, whale, seaweed, shell, rock, sand, water, boat, island, volcano, fish).
•	Place a sticky note on each child's back or forehead.
•	Students can walk around the room asking "yes/no" questions of other students to figure out who or what they are.

•	Provide index cards and invite each student to cut out a nametag in the shape of a favorite ocean creature.
•	Have students decorate their nametags with crayons or markers and then show them to the class before taping them to their shirts.

•	Send a student to the library to collect books about the oceans.
•	Then read aloud if you must wait for PE, lunch, or art class.
•	Have pairs read a book and then tell the class about it.
•	Let students read books independently when they finish assigned tasks.
•	Challenge students to use the books to gather information for ocean articles or reports.

•	Divide the class into four teams.
•	Name each team for one of Earth's oceans. Teams can earn points for behavior, assignment completion, and cooperation.
•	Explain that teams will be awarded a privilege if they have the most points at the end of the day. (If all teams work hard, award the privilege to everyone.)
•	Toward the end of the day award privileges, such as a free drawing time or an indoor game time.

•	Display a classroom map or refer students to a map in a textbook.
•	Direct their attention to the water on Earth, explaining that water covers 3/4 of Earth's surface.
•	Point out that water from all the oceans is connected, but that we give separate names to each ocean.
•	Distribute Earth's Oceans Activity Sheet and have students work in pairs or small groups to label the map and answer the questions.

•	Write the words "food chain" on the board. Explain that in a food chain several kinds of living things are linked because each uses the next as food. (Example: Wolves, owls, snakes, mice, and seeds make up a food chain.)
•	Use classroom books, reference books, or online references to help students find information about ocean food chains.
•	Encourage them to draw the food chains, adding arrows to show what each living thing eats.

•	Work with the class to brainstorm an extensive list of ocean animals, such as shark, whale, dolphin, manatee, sea lion, squid, crab, lobster, and starfish.
•	Each student can select an animal and write a short story from that animal's perspective.
•	Prompt them by asking questions such as: Where do you live? What do you eat? What plants and animals are around you? What enemies do you have?
•	Have students use classroom or online encyclopedias to gather facts. Or encourage them to use their imaginations to write creative stories about their animals.

•	Take students outside or to a large open room.
•	Ask a child to stand on one side of the play area and pretend to be the big shark.
•	Have the other children stand on the opposite side of the play area and pretend to be little fish.
•	Identify a wall, tree, swingset, or other object as the "boat."
•	When you give a signal (such as clapping your hands), little fish try to "swim" to the boat without being tagged by the shark.
•	Little fish that get tagged become sharks in the next round.
•	Play as many rounds as it takes to have only one little fish left. He or she is the winner.

•	Lay a large sheet of craft paper on the floor and invite students to create an ocean scene. Their scene should include both ocean plants and animals.
•	Have them write labels for each item in the scene.
•	Guide them to title the mural.
•	Display the finished product on a wall or window.