Dear Marine Reporters,
Most marine biologists believe the ocean is 4,500,000,000 years old. That's pretty old! Today, the ocean is home to an amazing amount of diversity of life at every depth. Scientists believe that there are nearly one million different plants and animals living in the ocean, though we only have recorded about 1/4 of the existing marine species. Your job is to learn about a marine animal, and then keep a journal and pretend to be that animal. What would your typical day be like? Enjoy the plunge.
Sincerely,
Ms. Salchli, Editor of the Ocean
Dear Diary.... Marine Animal Journal
Part 1: Marine Animal Research
- Begin your work by reviewing different types of animals that live in the ocean.
- There is a stunning array of different marine animals, including the tiniest animals, zooplankton, jelly fish, fish, invertebrates, marine mammals so spend some time looking around. Go to the Internet Resources section to find websites.
- Select an animal that interests you, after all you will pretend to be this animal. You need to research the animal and know enough about it to be able to pretend to write a journal as the animal.
- Use the questions below to guide your research. Answer all the questions and take notes in your science notebook. You can print a copy of the questions to look at while you are researching: Marine Animal Research Questions.
- Give a physical description of your marine life. Find out information about physical characteristics. It is helpful to know about any physical features that are different between males and females of your species. Other physical characteristics may include:
· Body coverings (scales, shells, skin, fur)
· Size (in some species there is a large difference in size between males and females)
· Other physical adaptations of interest - Description of the area where you live (your habitat in the ocean)
· climate
· environment
· location
· shelter/housing - Description of diet. What kind of things does your marine life eat?
- Describe everyday activities that your marine life carries out. (For example, swimming, hunting for food, escaping from prey, impressing human tourists)
Part 2: Dear Diary... Writing a Journal As Your Marine Animal
_Once your done with your research, you need to pretend to be this animal. Think about how your animal spends its time in a typical day, does it spend time with other animals like itself? Does it spend most of its time alone searching for food? What other animals would it meet up with on its daily journey? What about human?
Your animal journal should cover one week period of time, and if you wish you can specify an exact date or the time of year. Be sure to include the following in each entry (7 entries in total):
Your animal journal should cover one week period of time, and if you wish you can specify an exact date or the time of year. Be sure to include the following in each entry (7 entries in total):
- date
- place or setting
- activity
- other animals or plants it meets along the way
- meals