Lesson Plan #4

A Line Graph of the Ocean Floor

Duration:  2 to 4 days

Objectives:     The students will use a spreadsheet to create and import a line graph
                        into a word processing document describing the ocean depths.
                        The student will analyze and identify the parts of the ocean floor.
                        The student will design and construct a model of the ocean floor.
                        The student will evaluate the importance of the oceans.

Materials:              
ClarisWorks or any word processor and spreadsheet program can be used.

Modeling clay, cardboard shoe boxes, rocks of different sizes, pictures of the ocean floor from science books, map of the world, index cards, Science notebooks, teacher-made worksheet.

Key Vocabulary:    continental shelf, continental slope, mid-ocean ridge, plains, underwater volcanoes, trenches

Procedures:  

Ask these questions: Has anyone ever been to the ocean? (Students discuss experiences.) What are the names of the oceans? (Indian, Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern Oceans.) Tell students to look at a map of the world; ask students to locate oceans on the map. Tell students that they will be learning about the oceans and will specifically be learning about the ocean floor.

Tell students that most of the earth is made up of water, and most of the water is located in the oceans. Ask: What other things do you find in the oceans? (Record student responses on the chalkboard/overhead: fish, plants, rocks, etc.). What are volcanoes? What is a mountain? What are the continents of the world? (Record students responses on chalkboard/overhead). These features are all part of the ocean floor.

Using an overhead transparency, poster, or science books, display pictures of the ocean floor. Explain how the ocean floor is constructed, and explain the vocabulary terms associated with the ocean floor: continental shelf: part of a continent that slopes away from the shoreline; continental slope: part of a continent that is between the continental shelf and the ocean floor; mid-ocean ridge: underwater mountain range; plains: large, flat areas of the ocean floor. Discuss that the ocean floor has high mountains, deep canyons, volcanoes, trenches, which are the deepest parts of the ocean. Discuss that the Hawaiian islands are volcanic islands that are formed by the ocean volcanoes rising higher than the water level of the ocean. Explain that if the water in the ocean was removed, the ocean floor would look like land with many land features.

STEP ONE :  A Model of the Ocean Floor

Have students create a realistic model of the sloping, dipping and rising of the bottom of the sea on centimeter graph paper and draw horizontal line representing the top of the ocean along the top of their paper.  Then have them create points along the graph where their ocean floor intersects the vertical lines of the graph paper and write the distance in centimeters below sea level of that point along the ocean floor.  Remind students that the ocean floor is actually thousands of feet below sea level, not centimeters.

STEP TWO:  Writing a Report

Have students write a brief report about diversity of the ocean floor and type it in the word processing application of ClarisWorks or similar program.  Have students add a title and their name.  Students will save the file.

STEP THREE Creating a Spreadsheet

Next, students will enter the data from their model into a spreadsheet file to create a line graph for their report.

Click here to learn How To Create A Spreadsheet.

STEP FOUR  Create a Graph

Now you can create a graph of the information from the spreadsheet.

Click here for the steps on Creating a Graph.

STEP FIVE  Import Graph into Word Processing

Now you have a chart and a report describing the ocean depths, but they are not together .  You can easily import your graph from the spreadsheet file to the word processing file.

Click here for the steps to Importing a Graph.

STEP SIX 

Print your work.  Teacher will display students work on a bulletin entitled " Charting the Ocean Depths."

National Geophysical Data Center fantastic color relief pictures and animations of the  earth, ocean floors, the great lakes, and much more from this division of the National Geophysical Data Center.

Assessment:   Student will be evaluated using a Research Rubric.

 Home Learning:   Student write a descriptive paragraph about the ocean floor of their dreams.

Extensions  Students will construct a model of the ocean floor, using the pictures of the ocean floor as a model. Distribute modeling clay; students will use shoe boxes as the ocean floor. Students will create features of the ocean floor: continental shelf, continental slope, mountain range, volcanoes, etc. with clay and rocks. Students will label the ocean features with index cards. The teacher should circulate around the room and offer help when needed.