When the power goes off, Big Cuz, Nanna, Little J and Old Dog go to the beach. They use bread to catch hermit crabs, which in turn are used to catch a ‘bluebone’ fish. Big Cuz learns how to fish, Nanna makes a fire to cook the fish, and Little J finds a large clam shell to take to school the next day.

Engage - Pose and respond to questions, and make predictions about familiar objects and events

Theme - SEA

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 4 ‘Right Under Your Nose’, engage students with sensory imaginings about being at the beach. Ask them to close their eyes and imagine what they would feel, see, taste, hear, and smell, at the beach. Bring a collection of conical shells to class and have students listen to the sound of the sea trapped inside.

“Seashell resonance. There is a popular folk myth that if one holds a seashell—specifically, most often, a conch shell—to one's ear, one can hear the sound of the ocean. The rushing sound that one hears is in fact the noise of the surrounding environment, resonating within the cavity of the shell.”

Source: Seashell Resonance, World eBook Library

Access the video and activity sheet/s from Questacon – Science Time – Under the sea, to engage students with how they can hear the sound of the ocean by holding a shell to their ear.

Revisit Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 4 ‘Right Under Your Nose’, and ask students to think about ‘the sea’. Have students complete a KWHL chart with the information they already know about the sea, what they want to know as questions, and how they will learn new information, and what they will learn. List the ‘what, where, who, when, why, and how’ questions so that all students can see them.

Write the word ‘OCEAN’ on the IWB/board and ask students if they know what the study of the oceans is. Introduce students to the term ‘oceanography’:

“Oceanography covers a wide range of topics, including marine life and ecosystems, ocean circulation, plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor, and the chemical and physical properties of the ocean.”

Source: What does an oceanographer do?

Have students suggest what type of scientists study the sea, therefore the ‘who’ questions: Ocean scientists include oceanographer, physicists, chemists, geologists, (marine) biologists

and mathematicians. As a class, discuss the type of work these scientists do in respect to the oceans.

Set up a Quizlet with questions about:

• the number and names of the oceans in the world
• the difference between an ocean and a sea
• the percentage of the Earth that is covered by oceans.

Explain to students that the oceans are divided into three zones: (1) Sunlight zone, (2) twilight zone, (3) midnight zone – and write these on the board for reference. Access the following website to examine the diagrams of the ocean zones.

Select a clip/s to view and learn more about the oceans:

• Let's Learn the Ocean Zones!
• The Three Ocean Zones 
• What Are Ocean Zones? | A Cartoon Crash Course 

Recap on the information in the clips. Ask students why each ocean zone is titled as it is. Prompt students’ responses to understand the proximity of sunlight within each zone. Have students note that the Sunlight zone is defined as the only part of the ocean where plants can live (photosynthesise) and that most marine animals live here.

As a class, watch ‘The Octonauts, Anglerfish, Octo-glow, In the Midnight Zone’. Ask students to identify the various marine animals that feature in the different ‘ocean zones’ from beach to deep ocean.

Have students draw and colour their own diagram of a cross-section of the ocean, with the coast and shallow water on the left side of the image, the extended coastal shelf and then the land dropping away to the deep ocean. Have students include their labelled diagram in their Science Journal along with images of sea animals that live in each of the three zones.

A Science Journal is a record of a students’ observations, experiences and reflections. Each entry is dated and annotated by the student. Annotations may include written labels, drawings, diagrams, charts, small specimens, photographs, and graphs. Student engagement and learning is evident in the science journal.

Encourage students to read and find additional information in selected books about the ocean, such as:

• Andreae, G. & Wojtowycz, D. (2001). Commotion in the ocean. New York: Scholastic.
• Fredericks, A. D. and Dirubbio, J. (2002). In one tidepool: crabs, snails, and salty tails. Nevada City: Dawn Publications.
• Horowitz, R. & Kiesler, K. (ill.) (2000). Crab moon. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press.
• Hughes, C. D. (2013). First big book of the ocean. Washington, D.C. National Geographic Kids
• Marsh, L. F. (2012). National Geographic readers. Weird sea creatures. Washington, DC: National Geographic.
• Lauber, P. & Keller, H. (ill,) (2016) Who eats what? :food chains and food webs . US: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.