Topic: In the pelagic zone

Target group

4th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

General aim of education

Students discuss conditions in the sea and characterize selected ocean organisms, describing their meaning in the food chain.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• present conditions prevailing in the sea;

• discuss the importance of plant plankton in the food chain;

• recognize animals inhabiting water;

• to assess the threat to animals of the seabed from overfishing.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• colored paper;

• newspapers;

• rigid transparent foil;

• scissors;

• glue;

• map of the room in which the lesson takes place (one map for each group).

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• The teacher prepares maps of the room in which classes will be held (one for each three‑person group).

• The teacher cuts three fish from red, blue and green paper and three from the newspaper. Then it glues all the large sheets of the newspaper. Fish from the newspaper is arranged in such a way that they are as little visible as possible. Before the students enter the room, they hang sheets on an opaque surface (eg a wall).

Introduction

• The teacher gives the topic, the goals of the lesson in a language understandable for the student, and the criteria of success.

• The teacher asks the chosen student to exchange the factors that determine the life in the water.

Realization

• The teacher instructs students to read the fragment „Living conditions in the pelagic zone”, then discussed the common features of the sea and the depths of the lake and determined the differences between them.

• Students read a fragment entitled 'The importance of plankton in ocean food chains'. The volunteer writes an example of the ocean food chain on the board. The other students assess its correctness, and then note in their notebooks their own proposals for ocean food chains. The teacher monitors students' work, gives advice, corrects mistakes..

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• Students look at photographs depicting selected species of organisms inhabiting sea waters. They discuss their characteristic features.

• The teacher asks pupils to count how many fish are on the sheets of the newspaper. Then he illuminates each sheet and asks a question that initiates a discussion about animal camouflage: „Which fish would most likely be eaten last and why?”.

• The teacher summarizes the conclusions of the discussion and discusses the interactive illustration of „Fish Camouflage”..

• Students choose groups of three. The leader of each team assigns a specific letter and passes a set of materials needed for the next sentence (colored paper, rigid transparent foil, newspapers, scissors, glue). Pupils create fish with dimensions of at least 15x5 cm, which will be the least noticeable, although they will be exposed in visible places of the room. Each team means a fish assigned to him a letter and wonders where he can put it.

• The whole class leaves the room. Representatives of the teams come in and leave their fish at predetermined locations.

• All students return to the room and each team receives its map. For 2‑3 minutes, the pupils „hunt” fish, marking their location on the map of the room. The teacher collects maps and indicates the winning team, whose fish had the best camouflage, thanks to which she was least often found.

Summary

• The teacher asks pupils to describe the adaptations of their fish to the „habitat” in the classroom.

Homework

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

In the pelagic zone

By far the largest part of seas and oceans lie in the pelagic zone, separated from the shores. This means that the living conditions for organisms are completely different to those on land, and in the coastal zone. As the water deepens, the living conditions of organisms change significantly. The amount of light decreases, which makes it difficult for organisms which feed via photosynthesis to grow. The oxygen content and water temperature also decrease.

The first link in the pelagial food chain is phytoplankton. Microscopic organisms float in the pelagic zone to depths, where sunlight still reaches. They are not able to move independently. Phytoplankton is eaten by zooplankton. These microscopic planktonic animals have small organs of movement, but even so, they are unable to resist waves or sea currents. Both types of plankton become food for fish, cephalopods and shellfish. These in turn are food for certain birds and mammals. Birds which look for food in the pelagic zone spend most of their lives in the air. They lay eggs on rocky islands where there are no predators and their chicks can remain for a long time without being cared for.

• Only phytoplankton ensures the production of organic substances in the pelagic zone.

• Zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and become food for other animals.

• Most animals living in the pelagic zone of seas and oceans feed on plankton.

• The excessive catching of fish and other organisms living in the pelagic zone has caused a reduction in their numbers and threatens them with extinction.