🌊 Weeks 14-17: Marine Science Lab¶

Unit Overview¶


Grade Level	Grades 3-4
Duration	4 sessions (40 min each)
Curriculum	Year B
STREAM Focus	S (Science), E (Engineering), R (Religion)

Weeks 14-17: Marine Science Lab¶

🎯 Learning Objectives¶

STEM Objectives¶

Students will be able to: 1. Identify ocean zones and ecosystems 2. Understand marine food chains 3. Explore ocean conservation challenges 4. Design solutions for ocean health

Faith Integration Objectives¶

Students will be able to: 1. Appreciate oceans as God's creation 2. Understand stewardship of water resources 3. Connect exploration to wonder

Weeks 14-17: Marine Science Lab¶

🙏 Faith-Reason Integration¶

Catholic Teaching Connection¶

Stewardship of Waters — Genesis tells us God created the seas and filled them with life. Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' calls us to care for our oceans as part of caring for our common home.

Scripture Connection¶

"The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." — Psalm 95:5

Saint Connection¶

St. Brendan the Navigator — Irish monk who made legendary sea voyages in the 6^th century. Some believe he reached North America 900 years before Columbus! He saw God's glory in the vastness of the ocean.

📚 Materials Needed¶

Week 14 (Ocean Zones)¶

Ocean zone diagrams
Blue bins/containers for demos
Various density liquids
Marine life images
Science journals

Week 15 (Marine Life)¶

Food chain materials
Marine organism cards
Research materials
Art supplies

Week 16 (Ocean Challenges)¶

Pollution samples (safe)
News articles about ocean issues
Problem-solving worksheets
Video clips

Week 17 (Solutions)¶

Engineering challenge materials
Oil spill cleanup supplies
Presentation materials
Project rubrics

📝 Week 14 Procedure: Ocean Zones (40 minutes)¶

Opening Prayer (2 min)¶

"God of the seas, You created the vast oceans full of wonder! Help us learn about Your underwater world. St. Brendan, pray for us as we explore! Amen."

Ocean Introduction (8 min)¶

The vast ocean:

Covers 71% of Earth!
Average depth: 12,100 feet
Contains 97% of Earth's water
Home to millions of species

St. Brendan's story:

Irish monk who sailed the Atlantic
Saw whales, icebergs, islands
Wrote about marvels he saw
"God's glory revealed in the deep"

Wonder questions:

What lives in the deepest parts?
How do creatures survive without sunlight?
What haven't we discovered yet?

Ocean Zones (15 min)¶

Five major zones:

1. Sunlight Zone (0-200m)

Light reaches here
Most ocean life lives here
Photosynthesis happens
Fish, dolphins, coral, seaweed

2. Twilight Zone (200-1000m)

Dim light only
Animals migrate up and down
Bioluminescence (glowing!)
Jellyfish, squid

3. Midnight Zone (1000-4000m)

No sunlight at all!
Cold and dark
Bizarre creatures
Anglerfish, vampire squid

4. Abyssal Zone (4000-6000m)

Near freezing
Extreme pressure
Sparse life
Sea spiders, tube worms

5. Hadal Zone (6000m+)

Deep ocean trenches
Crushing pressure
Discovered only recently
New species still found!

Demonstration:

Create density column showing zones
Show pressure differences (bottle squeezer)

Zone Creatures (12 min)¶

Match creatures to zones:

Activity:

Provide creature cards
Students sort by zone
Explain adaptation that helps them survive there

Discussion:

"Why don't shallow fish go deep?"
"What adaptations help creatures survive?"
"How is each zone like a different world?"

Closing (3 min)¶

Journal entry:

Draw the ocean zones
Label each with depth and name
Add one creature to each

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for the mysteries of the deep! Help us learn more about Your ocean world. Amen."

📝 Week 15 Procedure: Marine Life (40 minutes)¶

Opening Prayer (2 min)¶

"Creator God, You filled the seas with every kind of creature! Help us understand how ocean life works together. Amen."

Food Chains Review (8 min)¶

How energy flows:

Basic concepts:

Producers — Make own food (plankton, algae)
Consumers — Eat other organisms
Decomposers — Break down dead material

Ocean food chain example: Sun → Phytoplankton → Zooplankton → Small fish → Big fish → Shark

Energy transfer:

Only 10% passes to next level
This limits chain length
Top predators need LOTS of prey

Marine Ecosystem Research (18 min)¶

Group research project:

Assign ecosystems:

Group A: Coral Reef
Group B: Kelp Forest
Group C: Open Ocean
Group D: Deep Sea Vents

Research questions: 1. What producers live there? 2. What are the main consumers? 3. What are top predators? 4. What makes this ecosystem special? 5. What threatens this ecosystem?

Create food web poster:

Draw organisms
Connect with arrows (who eats whom)
Label producers, consumers, decomposers
Add one faith connection

Presentations (10 min)¶

Quick shares (2-3 min each):

Show food web
Explain ecosystem
Share one amazing fact
Mention threat to ecosystem

Closing (2 min)¶

Reflection:

"How do all these creatures depend on each other?"
"What happens if one part is removed?"
"How is an ecosystem like a community?"

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for the amazing web of ocean life! Help us see how all Your creatures are connected and important. Amen."

📝 Week 16 Procedure: Ocean Challenges (40 minutes)¶

Opening Prayer (2 min)¶

"Lord, Your oceans face many challenges from human actions. Help us understand these problems and care for Your creation. Amen."

Ocean Problems (15 min)¶

Major challenges:

1. Plastic Pollution

8 million tons enter ocean yearly
Animals eat or get tangled
Microplastics everywhere
Takes hundreds of years to break down

2. Overfishing

More fish taken than can reproduce
Food chains disrupted
Populations collapsing
Some species near extinction

3. Climate Change

Ocean absorbs heat
Coral bleaching
Sea level rise
Acidification

4. Oil Spills

Ships and drilling accidents
Coats animals and beaches
Kills marine life
Hard to clean up

Show images and short videos

Discussion:

"How do these problems affect what we learned about food chains?"
"Why should Catholics care about ocean health?"

Laudato Si' Connection (8 min)¶

Pope Francis on oceans:

Read excerpts:

"The oceans... form most of our planet" (40)
"Marine life... is very seriously threatened" (40)
"Particularly threatened are marine organisms which we tend to overlook" (40)

Discuss:

Why does the Pope write about oceans?
How is caring for oceans a faith issue?
What is our responsibility as Catholics?

Key concept: "When we harm the ocean, we harm God's creation AND hurt people who depend on the ocean for food and livelihood."

Problem Analysis (12 min)¶

Deep dive into one problem:

Groups choose:

Plastic pollution
Overfishing
Climate effects
Oil spills

Analyze: 1. What causes this problem? 2. Who is affected? 3. What solutions exist? 4. What can we do?

Begin solution brainstorming:

Individual ideas
Group ideas
Engineering possibilities

Closing (3 min)¶

Preview: "Next week we'll design and test solutions to one of these problems!"

Closing Prayer: "Forgive us, Lord, for the harm we've caused Your oceans. Give us wisdom to find solutions and courage to make changes. Help us be good stewards of the waters You created. Amen."

📝 Week 17 Procedure: Solutions & Engineering (40 minutes)¶

Opening Prayer (2 min)¶

"God of solutions, help us use our creativity to help Your oceans! May our work today make a difference. Amen."

Engineering Challenge Introduction (5 min)¶

Choose one challenge:

Option A: Oil Spill Cleanup

Simulate oil spill in water
Design cleanup methods
Compare effectiveness

Option B: Ocean Debris Collector

Design a device to collect floating plastic
Test with simulated debris
Improve design

Option C: Coral Reef Restoration

Research restoration methods
Design artificial reef structure
Plan placement strategy

Design Phase (10 min)¶

Engineering design worksheet: 1. Problem we're solving: 2. Constraints (time, materials): 3. Sketch of solution: 4. Materials needed: 5. How we'll test it: 6. Success criteria:

Team planning:

Discuss ideas
Choose best approach
Assign roles

Build & Test (15 min)¶

Construction and testing:

Oil Spill Cleanup:

Set up trays with water
Add "oil" (vegetable oil with cocoa powder)
Test: cotton balls, dish soap, skimmers, booms
Measure: How much removed? How clean?

Debris Collector:

Build from available materials
Test in water with floating items
Measure: How much collected?

Teacher guidance:

"Why did you choose this design?"
"What's working? What isn't?"
"How can you improve it?"

Results & Reflection (6 min)¶

Share findings:

What worked best?
What surprised you?
What would you change?

Real-world connection:

Real cleanup crews face these challenges
Scale makes it much harder
Prevention is always better than cleanup

Faith reflection:

"How is this work caring for creation?"
"What can you do to prevent ocean problems?"
"How will you share what you learned?"

Closing (2 min)¶

Action commitment: Each student writes one thing they'll do to help oceans:

Reduce plastic use
Educate others
Support conservation
Pray for creation

Closing Prayer: "Thank You, God, for teaching us about Your oceans. Thank You for showing us we can be part of the solution. Help us be faithful stewards of Your waters. May our small actions join with others to make big changes. St. Brendan, pray for us and for the seas! Amen."

📎 Home Connection¶

"We completed a 4-week Marine Science Lab! Ask your child about: 'What are the ocean zones?' 'What ocean problem concerns you most?' 'What solution did you engineer?' 'What will you do to help oceans?' Consider reducing single-use plastics at home as a family commitment."

✅ Assessment¶

Identified ocean zones correctly
Created accurate food web
Analyzed ocean problems
Designed and tested engineering solution

Lesson Version: 1.0 — Year B | **