Two way magnifying chambers for viewing small animal life
Beachcomber's Guide to intertidal marine invertebrates of
Southcentral Alaska
Dip nets
Rubber boots
Good listening ears
Procedures:
Consult the Tide Tables for low tides in your area before
setting off for the beach!
The puppet show, Life's a Beach, may be used as a nice introduction to the habits of the sea creatures found on and off shore.
Plan to visit the best and safest sites for observing animal and
plant life at the shoreline. Before visiting the shoreline, students
should read the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Be sure that the
students notice the different colors used for different animals.
Instructors should point out to the students that they are about to see
new animal and plant life at the beach. Prompt them to learn as many
living as well as non-living things they can remember. When they
return to the classroom have them make their own book of intertidal
creatures.
Divide students into groups. Explain the necessary rules of
behavior when nearing the water and walking on rocks. Also explain
that all animals and plants want to be kept in their natural
environment, i.e. left where they were found. If you'd like for them
to have a souvenir from their field trip it's a nice idea to let
students chose one special thing to take home. A loose strand of
seaweed that is lying about may be brought back for seaweed pressing
(See Pressing Seaweed Activity).
Have the students groups look for examples of the various
colors, textures, and shapes that were presented to them earlier in the
classroom. More than one example consisting of one characteristic
should be required, while examples containing all three characteristics
could be set as a challenge. Have students take you to the place where
they find a unique creature or plant so as not to disturb the beach
environment. Bring plant and animal identification guides to provide
information to students about the surrounding environment as well as
the names of animals and plants that are unfamiliar to them.
After students have show-and-tell in the intertidal zone, gather
them into one group. Sit students close together and explain to them
that they need to be very quiet for the next activity. Have students
close their eyes and listen very carefully to the sounds around them.
Students can be asked to count all the different sounds on their
fingers, so as not to shout them out. Let them listen for about a
minute and then have them open their eyes. Students should report back
to you the number and kinds of sound they heard (gulls, waves crashing,
water droplets, etc.). The reports could lead to a short discussion on
comparing beach noises with other common noises they might hear in
different habitats, e.g. forest habitats, mountain habitat, city
environments, etc.
Upon returning to the classroom, have groups share what they
observed and experienced. Continue with the Octopus, Octopus, What do you see?
Activity.
