Transcript 8th Grade Oceanography Mrs. Katrina D. W. Alegado, M.A.T. 8th Grade Science Teacher ASB Advisor/Leadership Teacher Twin Falls Middle School Snoqualmie Valley School District Washington State.

8th Grade Oceanography
Mrs. Katrina D. W. Alegado, M.A.T.
8th Grade Science Teacher
ASB Advisor/Leadership Teacher
Twin Falls Middle School
Snoqualmie Valley School District
Washington State
Oceanography Unit Details
 Taught to four 8th grade science classes.
 132 students total.
 11% Free and reduced lunch.
 22 IEP students.
 Students of all different levels.
Unit Objectives
 Gain a deeper understanding of basic
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oceanography topics: El Nino/La Nina, ocean
acidification, Atlantic & Pacific Coasts
(temperature and currents), and microbes.
Navigate through websites to apply information
and answer questions.
Utilize near-real time data to make conclusions by
analyzing data.
Engage in class discussions.
Synthesize learning by completing a visual quiz.
Next Generation Science Standards
Patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships can provide
information about natural and human designed systems.
Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect
relationships.
Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data.
Science investigations use a variety of methods and tools to make measurements
and observations.
Advances in technology influence the progress of science and science has
influenced advances in technology.
All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long term
consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural
environment.
Unit Analysis/Rubric
Strengths
Weaknesses
Technology integration
Not in curriculum
Student engagement
Reading level on some websites
Current events
Not enough time! 
Higher level questioning
Data interpretation struggles
Unit Modifications/Adjustments
 Creation of introduction presentations to provide
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background information for each topic.
Formative assessments (through questioning
techniques & webquests).
Clear expectations for the research portion (see
student sheets).
Comprehension help for my lower level readers.
Visual quiz to help students synthesize their
learning.
Graph Analysis-Lesson #1
 A brief introduction to El Nino/La Nina and data
analysis preceded this lesson.
 Students analyzed near-real time data from HOTDOGS (Hawaii Ocean Time-series Data
Organization & Graphical System).
 Focusing on 1997 and 1999, students recorded
temperature, salinity, and oxygen data from these
two years.
 Working in groups, students analyzed the
data/graphs and determined which year was El
Nino or La Nina.
Atlantic and Pacific Coasts-Lesson #2
 Students completed a webquest to introduce
NANOOS (Northwest Association of Networked
Ocean Observing Systems) and SECOORA
(Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional
Association).
 Then, they gathered near-real time data from
buoys/platforms in NANOOS and SECOORA.
 This data was then graphed and analyzed to
demonstrate water temperature differences
(currents) caused by uneven heating of the Earth.
Ocean Acidification-Lesson #3
 An introductory presentation provided
background information about Ocean
Acidification.
 Students conducted a webquest to learn more
about ocean acidification from various websites
and resources.
 To demonstrate their understanding, with a call to
action about this issue, students finished a poster
project as a formative assessment.
Poster Project
Emily, Anne, and Solvej
Caelan, Jake, and Alex
Microbes-Lesson #4
 With a presentation from C-DEBI, I introduced
microbes.
http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/resources/toolbox.html
 Using some Internet resources, students
researched a microbe and made a card with a
picture and facts about microbes.
 Students were fascinated and very interested in
microbes.
Final Assessment
 After studying four basic parts to oceanography
through EARTH lessons, I created a final
Oceanography visual quiz.
 Students used their notebooks to demonstrate
understanding of the four concepts by explaining
in words and diagrams. They finished with a
paragraph summary.
Final Assessment
Paragraph Summary Example
 “In this unit, I now understand a lot more about our
oceans. By doing a webquest on the websites
NANOOS/SECOORA, I learned a lot about temperature,
salinity, El Nino, and La Nina, and also about dissolved
oxygen. By doing real-time data from Mrs. Alegado, it
helped me understand more about the topic. For example,
when Mrs. Alegado gave us real-rime data for El Nino and
La Nina, it helped me understand more about why it
happened. By doing that I also learned about the
upwelling it brought. I also learned a lot about microbes,
which I think is cool. It’s really weird to think that there
are more microbes on your hand then there are people in
the world! Learning about out Earth’s oceans is better and
more fun than I thought.” -Lexie, 8th Grade Student, TFMS
Paragraph Summary Example
 “The ocean is a very unexplored area in science. Programs
such as NANOOS/SECOORA go out and study the oceans.
They collect data such as temperature, salinity levels,
carbonate levels, dissolved oxygen, etc. They put this data
on their websites so that we can look at real-time data. It is
interesting to see what kinds of things are happening to
the oceans and how this affects us. Scientists also study the
oceans for problems they hope to solve. An example of a
huge problem is ocean acidification. This is where carbon
dioxide levels from the air gets absorbed by the ocean, this
creates acid and less carbonate. Even with all of the data
scientists have collected there is still so much ocean and
creatures yet to be discovered.” -Kyle, 8th Grade Student,
TFMS
Inspiration!
 Not only did my students enjoy learning about
Oceanography, but many of my students took it
even further.
 For the second year in a row, one of my students
was accepted into the Summer Marine Lab
Experience for High School Students at the USC
Wrigley Marine Science Center in Catalina Island,
CA! Congratulations Journey!
Resources
 If you would like any lesson resources from my
presentation today, just let me know!
 Thank you!!!