Author: Danielle Fisher Barschdorf North Yarmouth Academy, ME

Unit Topic: Changes in Ocean Salinity Seasons and Depth Title of Lesson: Changes in Coastal Ocean Salinity at Different Depths Grade Level: Seventh Grade Estimated Time to Complete: 45 minutes Focus Question(s): Does salinity change in coastal oceans at different depths? Why or why not? Goals: Students will be able to: Understand that salinity changes in coastal oceans at different depths. Understand why the salinity changes at different depths. Generate and analyze a graph. Discuss ideas with classmates. Objectives: Students will: Predict salinity changes at 1m, 20m, and 50m at a particular GoMOOS buoy. Utilize the GoMOOS website and will generate a graph with buoy data relating to salinity changes in terms of depth. Analyze salinity data from a buoy graph to assess whether salinity changes at different depths. Compare the salinity graph with their predictions of salinity. Present their ideas to classmates on why there is salinity changes in various depths. Links to Curriculum Standards: Maine Standards Science and Technology: E. Structure of Matter Middle Grades 5-8 1. Predict and test whether objects will float or sink based on a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the concepts of density and buoyancy. Materials: (class of 16 students) 16 blank salinity graphs 16 computers 16 Copies of Map of Gulf of Maine Fixed Monitoring Stations & Buoys (p. 59 of Ocean Observing Workshop Binder) 8 Sets of 3 Colored Pencils/Markers in Red, Green, and Blue (students can share with person next to them) 4 sheets of large paper GoMOOS website http://www.gomoos.org Changes in Salinity According to Depth sheet

Author: Danielle Fisher Barschdorf North Yarmouth Academy, ME

Previous Knowledge/Background Information: Students will have already learned the previous three lessons about salinity, salinity changes throughout seasons, density, and how density relates to salinity. You can find some more background information on density and salinity on p.28 of the Ocean Observing Workshop binder. Water with higher salinity will be more dense and will sink. Water with lower salinity will be less dense and will float. Learning Methods: 1. (10 minutes) Students will be given a blank salinity graph (white out the real data seen at end of lesson on the salinity graph at different depths). Students should get out their copy of the Map of Gulf of Maine Fixed Monitoring Stations & Buoys and locate buoy B. Later in the lesson, students will generate a graph of the salinity of buoy B at three depths: 1 m, 20 m, and 50 m. On their blank map, students should work on their own to draw their prediction of the salinity at buoy B at the three different depths. The 1 m depth should be drawn in red, 20 m depth should be drawn in green, and 50 m depth should be drawn in blue. The teacher can remind the students that they have seen examples of what the salinity looks like throughout the year at 1 m so they can try to think about how the salinity might change as readings are taken at a deeper point. Before students attempt to draw their predictions, the teacher should ask the class what the x and y axis represent. The teacher should also ask the class what happened to the 1 m buoy data in terms of salinity changes throughout the year. Buoy B is very close to the coast and near rivers. 2. (10 minutes) Students should share their predictions with the person next to them and explain why they chose to draw the lines like they did. Those partners can then share with the next partner group. Groups should discuss the predictions and decide on a group prediction to draw on the large butcher paper. Each group should choose a spokesperson to report out the prediction to the rest of the class. 3. (10 minutes) Students will go to the computer lab with their original predictions and 4 large group predictions. Student will go to the GoMOOS Buoy Conditions Graphing and Download feature to generate a salinity graph for buoy B at 1 m, 20 m, and 50 m. Students should follow the same directions and parameters as lesson 1, except they should choose Western Maine Shelf (B01) and all three depths 1 m, 20 m, 50 m for the location. 4. (15 minutes) Once students have generated the actual graph for salinity changes at three different depths at buoy B, students should complete the Changes in Salinity According to Depth sheet on their own. Leave five minutes to discuss as a class. Evaluation: The teacher assesses the students working knowledge about how density relates to salinity from the students prediction graphs. The teacher will walk around to the different groups to further assess the students working knowledge of the relation between density and salinity. In addition, the discussions will help the teacher address any misconceptions regarding the topic. Finally, the students will be assessed on their understanding of the focus question through the worksheet Changes in Salinity According to Depth. The teacher will use the worksheet as an informal check-in to see if the students have grasped the concepts of the lesson. It will not be graded. See next page for student generated graph on salinity and depth.

Author: Danielle Fisher Barschdorf North Yarmouth Academy, ME

For the blank graph given to students, white out colored lines and dotted lines so they have a blank graph to predict where the lines will be.