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You will begin with everyone in the class getting some background about tide pools. Next you will become an expert on the plant or animal assigned to you. Occasionally you may run into a word you are unfamiliar with. If that happens please look it up in the online dictionary.
Then, between you and your partner, one of you will draw a picture or make a sculpture of the plant or animal and the other will prepare a short presentation to share what you have learned with the class. In your presentation you will represent your plant or animal and try to convince the class that it is the most important living thing in the tide pool habitat. You will be evaluated at the end of this project based on several criteria in this rubric.
After all the plants and animals have been presented, the class will create a tide pool food web by connecting the predators and prey with yarn.Then the class will vote for the most important living thing in a tide pool.
Explore the web links on tide pools to get an idea of what they are like and why they might be difficult to live in.
- Tide pools - An introduction to tidal pools
- Tide pools - Three basic laws of survival
You and your partner will explore Internet resources about your plant or animal. You will look for the following information: what your subject eats, what eats your subject, how your subject protects itself from other tide pool creatures and the harsh conditions of life on the rocky shore. You should also be on the look-out for interesting facts about your plant or animal because you need to select one to share with the class. So click on one of the links below to take you directly to the section with your plant or animal.
Plants | Crustacean | Shells | Echinoderm
Pretty Plant Contestants
Click on each Internet link for your plant or animal listed below. Explore the information on the page. Look for the answers to the questions on your worksheet. Find an interesting fact about your subject. Fill out your worksheet as you find the information.
Share the information you recorded on your worksheet with your partner. Check to be sure you agree on the answers to the questions. If your answers do not agree, go back to the Web links and check your answers together.
Once you agree on all the answers, decide who will be the artist and who will be the presenter. The artist will represent your plant or animal by drawing a picture or creating a sculpture. The presenter will share what you have learned with the whole class. The presenter must tell what your plant or animal eats, what eats it, how is protects itself in its tide pool habitat, and two interesting facts about it. (One fact from each partner's research.)
Crusty Crustacean Contestants
Click on each Internet link for your plant or animal listed below. Explore the information on the page. Look for the answers to the questions on your worksheet. Find an interesting fact about your subject. Fill out your worksheet as you find the information.
Share the information you recorded on your worksheet with your partner. Check to be sure you agree on the answers to the questions. If your answers do not agree, go back to the Web links and check your answers together.
Once you agree on all the answers, decide who will be the artist and who will be the presenter. The artist will represent your plant or animal by drawing a picture or creating a sculpture. The presenter will share what you have learned with the whole class. The presenter must tell what your plant or animal eats, what eats it, how is protects itself in its tide pool habitat, and two interesting facts about it. (One fact from each partner's research.)
Barnacles - Their diet, lifestyle, etc.
- Barnacles - How they live
- Crabs - Anatomy and labeled drawing
- Crabs - Diet, description, etc.
- Hermit Crabs - Diet, pictures, etc.
- Hermit Crabs - Anatomy, diet, etc.
- Hermit Crabs - Stages of life
Silly One- or Two-Shelled Contestants
Click on each Internet link for your plant or animal listed below. Explore the information on the page. Look for the answers to the questions on your worksheet. Find an interesting fact about your subject. Fill out your worksheet as you find the information.
Share the information you recorded on your worksheet with your partner. Check to be sure you agree on the answers to the questions. If your answers do not agree, go back to the Web links and check your answers together.
Once you agree on all the answers, decide who will be the artist and who will be the presenter. The artist will represent your plant or animal by drawing a picture or creating a sculpture. The presenter will share what you have learned with the whole class. The presenter must tell what your plant or animal eats, what eats it, how is protects itself in its tide pool habitat, and two interesting facts about it. (One fact from each partner's research.)
Limpets - Description and drawing
- Limpets - Strange facts
- Mussels - Description, behavior, diet
- Mussels - Size, habitat, etc.
- Periwinkle - A story
- Periwinkle - Photo and description
Ickly-prickly Echinoderm Contestants
Click on each Internet link for your plant or animal listed below. Explore the information on the page. Look for the answers to the questions on your worksheet. Find an interesting fact about your subject. Fill out your worksheet as you find the information.
Share the information you recorded on your worksheet with your partner. Check to be sure you agree on the answers to the questions. If your answers do not agree, go back to the Web links and check your answers together.
Once you agree on all the answers, decide who will be the artist and who will be the presenter. The artist will represent your plant or animal by drawing a picture or creating a sculpture. The presenter will share what you have learned with the whole class. The presenter must tell what your plant or animal eats, what eats it, how is protects itself in its tide pool habitat, and two interesting facts about it. (One fact from each partner's research.)
Sea Stars - Description of food web
- Sea Stars - Description, diet, etc.
- Sea Urchins - Diet, it's predators, types
- Sea Urchins - Its eating habits and predators
Each presenter will explain how his/her group's plant or animal survives in the tide pool. The artist will participate in the presentation by sharing his/her picture or sculpture.
Then everyone will vote for the Most Important Living Thing in the Tide Pool!
