McCarthy

Kendall McCarthy
Professor Johnson
RAL 321
3/2/15
Ocean Sunlight Assignment
1. Ecology- Give a lesson on the food chain in the ocean, specifically how the energy flows
through the different levels from the beginning at the sun, to the producers
(phytoplankton), the consumers, and finally the carnivorous consumers.
Language Arts- Identify and explain the personification included in the book and then
have students write their own examples of personification featuring any of the creatures
or objects included and mentioned in Ocean Sunlight.
Science- Give a lesson on photosynthesis and emphasize the similarities and difference
between photosynthesis on land versus photosynthesis in the ocean.
Technology- Examine phytoplankton through a microscope to discover the numerous
shapes and sizes of the tiny plants, as well as improving upon and developing the students
skills with using the microscope.

2. 1) After the lesson on photosynthesis an informational video can be shown, which

examines how humans have harmed our environment and potentially the overall process of
photosynthesis, particularly through fossil fuels from gasoline. After the video
presentation on the ways that the environment has been affected as a result of humanity,
the class can extend their learning and write a mock persuasive letter to the government
suggesting ways that the environment can be improved upon, for the sake of
photosynthesis as a process. (Science, good citizenship, social studies, technology,
language arts, conservation)

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2) Following the ecology lesson on the food chain, the students may read an informational science
narrative, which further explains the flow of energy through the ocean food chain, implementing a
student led discussion afterwards. To further extend the lesson, the students may participate in
making a class video to visually represent how the energy flows through the food chain, enhancing
the video through rich information, various songs, and relevant props. (Ecology, technology, music,
language arts, science)

3) After the students discover the phytoplankton through the microscope, the teacher can begin to
introduce the horrors of pollution and how it affects our environment, particularly ocean life,
which includes phytoplankton. The teacher can expand on the pollution discussion by giving the
students a graphic organizer with pollution data (from cars, planes, trains, etc.) and the class will
figure out how much greater the pollution data figures are now than the data was years ago by
answering word problems through mathematical equations. (Technology, social studies,
conservation, mathematics, good citizenship)