When you are going to introduce the unit or lesson about the ocean, have the students go for a "sea hunt". Bury plastic sea creatures, beach toys (small ones or mini sized) and various kinds of shells in a container filled with sand. Once each student has found a hidden item, have them classify them, explaining their reasons. Begin your study of ocean life by having students illustrate and chart or graph their findings as a class.
                          -Janice Thayer, Bristol, VA

Create an under-the-sea feeling in the classroom. Put different colors of netting on the ceiling to simulate water and hang "seaweed" and "creatures" from the ceiling and walls as if they are swimming overhead. Dim the lights and play a CD of ocean/underwater sounds. Have the students create the ocean "floor": coral reefs, rock formations, and the creatures that live there.
              -Karen Anderson, Johnson City, TN

For an ocean related art project, have students draw an underwater scene with crayons. Then let them have some fun painting over the entire image with a blue wash made by diluting tempura paint. It works best to use a foam brush going in one direction across the picture.
               -Betty Barnes, Warner Robins, GA

Assign groups of students to research a fun beach destination online and create a travel brochure for their destination. Have students present their destination/brochure to the class. Invite parents to come wearing the appropriate beach attire and allow students to serve simple "tropical" desserts they have prepared.
                       -Joyce Jamerson, Muncie, IN

• The United States (48 states and D.C.) has an area of about 3,100,000 square miles. Have students find out how large each of the four major oceans are and to determine how much larger each is than the United States.
• Have students conduct research to determine the world's ten largest bodies of water. Then invite them to put the list in order from largest to smallest and create a bar or circle graph based on their findings.
• Provide students with blackline world maps and have them find and mark or color the locations of the ten largest bodies of water based on their findings from the activity above.
• Have students research a marine food web. After they have learned about the organisms, arrange students into groups, providing them with paper, scissors, and crayons. Have each group make examples of one part of the food web, and create a classroom bulletin board display in which each group will attach their creations to the appropriate area of the food web.
• Invite students to create a circle graph to illustrate the sources of ocean pollution
• Conduct a simple experiment with the class to demonstrate why salt water in the ocean doesn't freeze like fresh water does. Pour three paper cups halfway full of water. Measure 1 tablespoon of salt and add it to one of the cups, and 2 tablespoons of salt to another. Label the cups accordingly. Leave the cups in the freezer overnight. Observe and discuss the results, explaining that salt prevents or at least slows water molecules from joining together to form ice crystals, and that the more salt in the water, the colder it will need to be for the water to freeze.
• Have students research plants and animals that live in the ocean and create a mural of ocean life.
• Have students write and illustrate a glossary of ocean terms.
• Create a trivia game by arranging students into four groups and assign each group one of the four major oceans. Have them conduct research to find important facts about their ocean and nearby coastal areas. Provide each group with index cards on which to write their questions. Collect and shuffle the cards and play a trivia game in which students guess which ocean each of the facts is about.
• Have students research the ways in which our oceans are threatened. Have each student choose one threat and two or more ways in which that threat can be avoided or minimized. Suggest that their lists may include new laws, treaties, programs or citizen action projects.
• Encourage students to visit the National Geographic Pirates Web site, where they can participate in a pirate adventure, learn about real pirates of long ago, and find out what life was like aboard a pirate ship. Then have students research the life of a real pirate and have them write a story about one of the pirate's real or legendary adventures.
• Brainstorm with students a list of plants or animals that live in the ocean. Have students categorize and graph the plants, fish and other sea animals according to size, shape, color or other criteria.