How Can We Help Our Polluted Oceans

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How Can We Help Our Polluted Oceans?
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DID YOU KNOW . . .

• ALL living things need water?
• The ocean covers more than 70 of the surface of
  the earth?
• Our oceans and many of the creatures that live in
  them are in BIG trouble?

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Why are they in trouble?
Many species of marine wildlife are in danger of
extinction, and our coral reefs, wetlands, and
kelp forests are disappearing!
Pollution, oil spills, litter, and over fishing
are causing our oceans to be in trouble!
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What can we do?

• Three major ways we can help our oceans are by
• cleaning up litter
• cleaning up oil spills
• preventing other pollutants into the
  water

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YOUR TASK

• Today each of your groups will be
• observing, predicting, and experimenting
• with different ocean activities!

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THE LAY OUT

• There will be three stations set up in the
  classroom.
• Each station will deal with a different situation
  that can harm our oceans and the wildlife that
  live in them.
• Make sure your group goes to the station with the
  same number as your computer.

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STATION ONE

• Littering is one of the greatest dangers to
  wildlife in the oceans.
• Old fishing nets, plastic six-pack soda rings,
  and other ropes thrown in the oceans are a big
  hazard to a lot of animals.
• Sea turtles, dolphins, and shorebirds are just a
  few animals that can get themselves entangled in
  this litter and die.

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The First Activity

• Make sure each student in your group gets one
  rubber band.
• On one hand loop the rubber band around your
  thumb and fourth finger.
• Now try to get the rubber band off without using
  your other hand.
• Was it hard?
• How did you get the rubber band off?
• Write your answers on your piece of paper.

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STATION TWO

• Oil spills also harm our oceans!
• Many wildlife are affected.
• Ducks, birds, seals, and fish die by the
  thousands if the oil spill covers a large area.
• There will be four bowls of water for each group.
  
• Go to the station labeled with the same number as
  your computer.

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The Second Activity

• An oil spill has polluted your water! Your jobs
  are to experiment and figure out which device can
  clean your water the best.
• There will be a different device at each bowl
• -a sponge -a coffee filter
• -a strainer -a small amount of detergent
• Each member in the group will use a different
  device to experiment with.

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Prediction Time!

• Which device do you think will clean the water
  the best?

Coffee Filter
Sponge
Strainer
Detergent
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What Happened?

• Take a moment to observe and reflect.
• (1) Whos water is the cleanest?
• (2) What device cleaned the water the best?
• (3) How long do you think it would take to
  clean a small oil spill in the ocean?

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STATION THREE

• Felix the Fish encounters some pollutants on his
  trip through the ocean.
• Fish cannot live without water!
• They must live in an unpolluted stream of water
  in the natural environment.

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The Third Activity

• Felix our (sponge) fish has grown up in a clean
  bowl of water.
• He is going to go exploring away from his
  protected home environment.
• He will travel downstream in areas he has never
  been before.
• We are going to go with him and share his
  adventure.

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Felixs Adventure

• I have prepared some pollutants and we will watch
  the effect of the pollutants on the water and the
  fish.
• As each pollutant enters the water, ask
  yourselves, Hows Felix?
• Write down a one-word description of how Felix
  looks.

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Here We Go!

• Each member in the group must put at least one
  pollutant in the water!
• Now poor each pollutant into the water in this
  order
• 1st add the fertilizer (1 tbsp. soil brown
  sugar)
• 2nd add the oil (1 tbsp. pancake syrup)
• 3rd add the salt (1 tbsp.)
• 4th add the litter (10-20 punched paper dots)
• 5th add the sewage (2 drops of red food
  coloring)
• 6th add the toxic water (4 drops of green food
  coloring)

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OH NO!! WHAT HAPPENED TO FELIX?

• After all of the pollutants have been dumped into
  the water, lift Felix out and place him on the
  table.
• Does Felix look any different?
• Describe what has happened to him on your paper.

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Clean Up Time!

• After everyone is finished, clean up the station
  where you are at.
• Station 1
• Place rubber bands back in container.
• Station 2
• Rinse off devices and poor water down sink. Lay
  bowls and devices on paper towels to dry.
• Station 3
• Throw away the sponge fish and any wet paper
  towels. Leave polluted water on table, Miss
  Ogden will take care of it!

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Thank You for Working Hard!

• Hand in your paper to Miss Ogden.
• Make sure you have cleaned up your area and put
  the garbage in the trash.
• YOU ARE FINISHED!!!

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Resources

• The activities that were used in this
  asynchronous science lesson can be found at
• http//www.geocities.com/Athens/Atrium/5924/endang
  eredoceans.htm
• and
• http//www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid121
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