Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
The big blue ocean
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/ocean/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/ocean/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Most of Earth's surface is ocean, and almost all Earth's water is in the ocean.
- There is one global ocean with five named parts.
- Sea water is salty because rivers carry salt from rocks.
- The top of the ocean is sunny; the deep is dark and cold.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: spin a globe and stop it with a finger. Did you land on sea or land? Repeat ten times. |
| 10 min | Read the text and find the five oceans on the globe. |
| 15 min | Egg experiment in groups. |
| 5 min | Sunny top or dark deep? game. |
| 5 min | Quiz. |
| 5 min | Worksheet drawing. |
Materials for the experiment
- Two clear cups or jars
- Water
- Salt (about 6 big spoonfuls)
- A spoon
- A raw egg (or a small potato piece)
- Paper towels
Safety: Do not drink the salty water. Raw egg can carry germs: an adult handles the egg and everyone washes their hands afterwards. Wipe up spills so no one slips.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| There are seven separate oceans. | All the water is joined into one global ocean; we name five parts of it. |
| The sea is salty because fish make it salty. | The salt comes from rocks on land and is carried to the sea by rain and rivers. |
| The ocean is light all the way to the bottom. | Sunlight only lights the top part; the deep is always dark. |
Worksheet answers
- A drawing with a light top part and a dark lower part with a glowing animal.
- Yes.
- Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic or Southern.
Quiz answers
- Is there more land or more ocean on Earth? More ocean. The ocean covers more than 70 out of every 100 parts of Earth's surface.[1]
- Where does the salt in the sea come from? From rocks on land. Rain and rivers carry it to the sea.[3]
- What is it like deep down in the ocean? Dark and cold. Sunlight does not reach the deep ocean.[8]
- Which one is the name of an ocean? The Pacific. The Pacific is one part of the one big ocean.[2]
- Where does an egg float more easily? In salt water. Things float more easily in salt water.[4]
Going further
Taste test with care: dip a clean cotton bud in tap water and in salty water (no swallowing) and compare. Then let a saucer of salty water dry on a sunny windowsill for a few days and look at what is left.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] How much water is in the ocean? (NOAA National Ocean Service): reliability High
- [2] How many oceans are there? (NOAA National Ocean Service): reliability High
- [3] Why is the ocean salty? (U.S. Geological Survey (FAQ)): reliability High
- [4] Discover your world: Please pass the salt (NOAA National Ocean Service (education activity)): reliability High
- [7] How much oxygen comes from the ocean? (NOAA National Ocean Service): reliability High
- [8] Layers of the ocean (NOAA National Weather Service (JetStream online school)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/ocean/sources/
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