Teacher’s GRAD

E
3-6 S

Resource Pack

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Welcome to SEA LIFE’s
Teaching Toolkit
The Amazing Discovery teaching toolkit has been developed with practicing teachers to provide a complete
set of tools for a series of stimulating lessons. Amazing Discovery aims to use the exciting variety of animals
that live in seas, oceans, and rivers to inspire your students and help them understand a wide range of Grades
3-6 curriculum topics. Accompanied by a trip to SEA LIFE Aquarium, where students can see, touch, and
experience true Wow moments, these resources will help you to create Amazing Discoveries for your class.

The toolkit focuses on science, and covers five key topic areas.

These are:
Habitats
Movement
Classification and variation
Food chains
Adaptation

Conservation and education always have been, and always will be, at the heart of SEA LIFE’s work. This resource highlights the importance
of marine welfare, drawing out conservation messages in all the relevant topic areas. A trip to SEA LIFE Aquarium will help to provide a
greater understanding of the conservation issues we face, what SEA LIFE is doing about them, and how every one of us can help.

The resource also supports cross curricular learning, using the sea’s creatures as a focus for activities that support Art, Drama, English and
Maths, amongst others. These cross curricular opportunities are highlighted for each topic.

Each topic is supported by the following elements:

Teacher notes Student worksheets Power Point slides

The notes in this booklet lay out the The Student Worksheets contain all of the The Power Point Slides contain lots of
background information, learning resources which your students need for engaging information and striking pictures
objectives, and cross curricular links for each topic’s activities. Remember to to help your students develop their
each topic. They also contain activities produce enough copies of the Student understanding of each area.
which can be carried out before, during or Worksheets for every member of the
after a visit to SEA LIFE Aquarium. Each class.
section also features exciting Wow facts
to inspire students and teachers alike!

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Habitats Learning objectives
Visits to SEA LIFE Aquarium provide the perfect opportunity to introduce your students to the
Know what a habitat is and that
importance of habitats. The activities and information you’ll find on the slides will introduce them different habitats can have very
to the concept of habitats, and help them to understand that habitats have an effect on the different conditions.
animals that live there. Students will gain an understanding of the many different habitats which
Know that one environment can
exist underwater; from freshwater to saltwater, coral to riverbank. provide a habitat for lots of
animals.
Resources provided Activity 4: Habitat Collage Know that the conditions in a
cer tain habitat dictate which
Student Worksheet 1-2 animals are found there.
Habitats Power Point slides Ask your students to create a collage of Understand the impor tance of
different habitats. They could look through maintaining habitats for
Before & after activities magazines or search on the internet for conservation.
suitable pictures.
Activity 1: Creature Quiz They could then write down one animal Curriculum Subjects
which lives in each of the habitats they have
Using slides 1-13 to introduce students to used in their collage.
the topic of habitats. Life Science
Resources:
Hand out Student Worksheet 1 and use Inquiry Process
Magazines
slides 14-17 to present a quiz to your
students. The internet
For each question present your students with Activity 5: Conservation News
three statements from the relevant slide.
Students have to choose which of the four Drawing from the information which they are
creatures on their quiz sheet the statement presented with on slides 19-25, students
applies to. write a newspaper article describing the
Finally students could work out what links all destruction of the polar ice caps. Wow facts!
of the different creatures. Display slide 18 They could describe the damage that is being
which explains what a tide pool is. done to the environment, and the effect it is
having on the animals which live there. They Clown fish live on coral reefs,
Students could be asked to choose one of which are one of the most
the animals featured in the quiz, and write a could also explain what can be done to help
conserve this habitat. threatened ecosystems on Ear th.
short story about that animal and it’s tide
pool friends. Students could use a computer to write their Coral is a living organism which
article up and design it in the style of a also serves as a habitat.
Able students could write their own creature
quiz for the creatures that interest them most. newspaper. Some fish like to live dangerously!
Students could also create a poster to The clown fish lives in between the
Resources: venomous tentacles of the sea
explain the dangers posed to the polar ice
Slides 1-18 caps. anemone to protect itself from
Student Worksheet 1 Resources: other predators.
The biggest threat to Leatherback
Activity 2: Describe the Habitat Slides 19-26
Tur tles is plastic bags in the ocean.
The tur tles mistake them for
Ask students to look at the image of a coral During your visit jellyfish and eat them!
habitat on Student Worksheet 2. Penguins only live in the Southern
Using the guidelines provided, ask students to Hemisphere.
Ask students to note down some of the
write a brief description of the habitat. Some sea creatures can survive out
different freshwater and saltwater animals
Resources: which they see during their visit. of water for most of the year.
Student Worksheet 2 Ask students to count how many different Amazingly the Black Periwinkle
species of animals live in the tide pool lives high up on the beach and may
Activity 3: The Perfect Habitat habitat. They could write a numbered list or only be touched by seawater once
try to draw as many different species as a year during the highest tides.
Students could write or draw a description possible.
of their perfect habitat.
Tell students to note down differences
It could be their bedroom, a tent or a between two of the habitats provided by
swimming pool. SEA LIFE.
They could outline their perfect temperature, Students could choose one of the different
food and cover as well as any other habitats provided by SEA LIFE and draw a
important conditions. picture of it, including some of the different
Resources: features and the animals which live in it.
None required

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Movement Learning objectives

The information contained in the Power Point slides and the activities here will introduce Know that movement is one of the
students to the different parts of the body used in movement. Students will discover that seven life processes.
sea creatures come in all shapes and sizes; from scuttling and crawling, to swimming and Understand that different animals move
floating, they move in all sorts of ways. A trip to SEA LIFE Arizona will allow students to in different ways.
see the weird and wonderful ways they move in real life! Know the name and function of a fish’s
most important fins.
Resources provided Activity 3: Different Types of Move-
ment
Student Worksheet 3-5 Split students into groups of three and
Curriculum Subjects
Habitats Power Point slides assign one of the animals from slide 10 to
each group. Life Science
Before & after activities Ask each group to develop a role-play to Inquiry Process
show how that animal moves.
Activity 1: Guess How They Move Each group should perform their role-play
to the class.
Students look at the pictures on Student Ask the class to write down some
Worksheet 3 which show two different feedback on each performance. They
animals that live in the sea with key
features highlighted.
should provide two pieces of positive
feedback and one way in which it could be
Wow facts!
As a class brainstorm words which they improved.
think could be used to describe how the Display slides 11-12 which explains the key A Herring never stops swimming
animal moves. differences in the ways fish can move. during its lifetime. Every year it swims
Split the class in two and ask each half to as far as to the moon and back.
Resources:
write a short paragraph explaining how Flying Fish can leap out of the water,
Slide 10-12 flying up to 30 feet to escape their
they think the animal would move and why.
predator. Their tails can move 50
Discuss as a class. Activity 4: How Fast Can a Fish Swim beats per second to get the speed
Show slides 5-6, which explains how those they need to jump.
animals move. Ask students to look at the information on
Student Worksheet 5. The Sailfish is the fastest fish in the
Ask your students to find the two animals ocean and can travel faster than the
during their visit to SEA LIFE and check Tell them to use the information to figure
quickest submarine!
whether or not their description was out how far various fish can swim in
correct. different amounts of time. A shark’s skeleton is not made of
bone - it is cartilage, like the bendy
Resources: Answers
bit in your nose!
Slides 1-6 1 360 miles 2 55 miles 3 3.5 hours
Over 99% of an anemone is water!
4 6 hours 5 45 miles
Student Worksheet 3 Seahorses can swivel each of their
Resources:
eyes independently - so they can look
Activity 2: Anatomy of a Fish Student Worksheet 5 forwards and backwards at the same
time!
Use slides 7-8 which explain how fish During your visit
move. Jellyfish don’t have a brain!
Ask your students to label the diagram of a Students could draw a picture of two Seals can hold their breath for up to
fish on Student Worksheet 4 using the different animals at SEA LIFE . For each 30 minutes and dive to depths of
words in the box next to it. drawing they could note down three bullet over 230 feet!
points to explain how the creature moves. Most fish swim by moving their tail
Display slide 9 which shows the answers.
Students could draw a picture of one of from side to side. Whales and
As a class, talk about the different parts
the animals at SEA LIFE and label the key dolphins, which are mammals, swim
which have been labelled. Ask students to
body parts. They could complete the by moving their tail up and down.
explain the role that each part plays in the
labelling in class with reference materials The Upside-down Catfish found in
way a fish moves.
to hand. the Congo swims upside down.
Resources:
Student Worksheet 4
Slides 7-9

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Classification & Variation Learning objectives

The incredible variety of fish, crustaceans, and invertebrates which SEA LIFE displays at Know the life processes which are
their aquarium will provide a great context to explore the topic of classification. common to all animals.
These resources will introduce students to the seven life processes, learning how to Understand that animals can be
identify different species of animals through a classification quiz and the use of keys. identified and assigned to groups.
There is also scope for students to take part in some imaginative and creative exercises. Know how to make and use keys.

Resources provided Resources:

Slides 4-17 Curriculum Subjects
Student Worksheets 6-9
Classification Power Point slides Activity 4: Name the Animal? Life Science
Display slide 18 to explain how keys are used. Inquiry Process
Before & after activities
Students look at the animals shown on
Student Worksheet 8.
Activity 1: Alive or Not
By working through the key provided they
should find out the name of each animal
Introduce students to the seven life
and note it in the box underneath its
processes using Slides 1-3.
picture. Wow facts!
Students should use the table provided on
Resources:
Student Worksheet 6 to work out whether
the things listed are alive or not. Slide 18 The Horseshoe Crab is more
Resources: Student Worksheet 8 closely related to spiders than
crabs!
Student Worksheet 6
Activity 5: Count the Species Unlike other bird species,
Slides 1-3 penguins have solid bones and
Students look at the image on Student can’t fly!
Activity 2: Guess Who Worksheet 9, and note down how many Tur tles are ancient reptiles -
different types of animals they can see. they’ve been around for 200
Give a copy of Student Worksheet 7 to each million years and can live to be
Resources:
student. 100 years old!
Student Worksheet 9
Split the students into pairs. There are 35 different seal
species worldwide. The rarest is
Ask each student to pick one of the Activity 6: Imagine the Animal Which... the Mediterranean Monk Seal
creatures listed on the Worksheet, but they
with fewer than 500 individuals
must not tell their partner what it is. Ask students to read the description of the remaining.
Students to take turns in asking their animal on Student Worksheet 9.
The Giant Pacific Octopus
partner “yes or no” questions (e.g. “Does it They could draw a picture of how they species is protected due to their
have a shell?”) and discover which creature think that animal could look. declining numbers.
they have picked by a process of After five minutes show them the picture Most species of sharks are
elimination. of the animal on slide 19. considered to be threatened or
Once students have completed the game, endangered.
Resources:
ask them to make a list of any creatures There are over 31,500 species of
which they think are similar. Slide 19 fish, more than any other class of
Student Worksheet 9 ver tebrates.
Resources:
The crocodile family is believed
Student Worksheet 7 During your visit to be over 200 million years old.
Activity 3: Classification Quiz
Ask students to make a list of three
creatures they have seen from the
Use Slides 4-17 to complete a following groups: Crustaceans, Fish, and
classification quiz. invertebrates They could draw a picture of
Students should choose one of the animals one of the animals and label the key
shown on slide 6. As a class you will answer features of that group in class.
a set of questions to discover what sort of Draw a picture of two animals within one
an animal it is. group and point out the features that are
Click on the answer to each question to the same and those that are different.
progress to the next slide.
Students may need guidance on some of
the questions; others will be obvious from
the picture.

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Food Chains Learning objectives

The sea provides an exciting context to help students understand the important topic of Know that every animal needs food
food chains. These materials help students to understand the vital importance of the sun in for growth and activity.
helping micro-organisms to grow, and the part which these micro-organisms play in the Understand the difference between
ocean’s food chains. Students will also learn about the differences between producers and predators and prey.
consumers, predators and prey, before examining food chains and food webs as a way of Know that some animals can be
talking about these relationships. Examination of the tide pool during a visit to SEA LIFE both predators and prey.
Aquarium will provide a tangible example of the balance of a food chain within a habitat. Know that micro-organisms are
impor tant in food chains.
Resources provided Know that nearly all food chains
star t with a green plant.
Student Worksheets 10-12 Ask students to read the information on Student
Worksheet 12 and complete the food web to Know that many animals living in
Food chains Power Point slides one habitat will often rely on each
show how the animals inter-relate.
other for food.
Before & after activities Display the completed web on slide 22.
Resources:
Activity 1: Connecting the Food Chain Student Worksheet 12
Curriculum Subjects
Slides 20-22
Using slides 1-3 remind students of the core life Life Science
processes.
Activity 4: Acting out the Food Chain Inquiry Process
Introduce students to the concept of food chains
using slides 4-13. Split students into small groups and ask them to
Cut out the color coded cards on Student choose one of the food chains they have studied
Worksheet 10. during the lesson.
Give one card to each member of the class. Each student could act out one of the animals in
the food chain.
Tell students that their card is part of a food chain
and that they have to find the other members of Ask them to perform their food chain for the rest Wow facts!
their food chain. All members of their food chain of the class and ask the rest of the class to guess
will have cards the same color. which animals are being acted out.
Resources: The Blue Whale, which is the
Once they have found the other members of their largest animal on Ear th, survives
chain, students should arrange themselves in the None required by eating some of the smallest
correct order. This can be determined from looking creatures on Ear th, plankton.
at what their card consumes and what consumes it. Activity 5: Taking Care of the Food Chain
A Tiger Shark will eat almost
Some chains will be longer than others. anything. This can often include
Display slides 23-24 which contain information on
Show the complete chains using slides 14-18. some of the environmental issues which are human garbage; they have been
Resources: threatening the ocean’s wildlife and how this affects known to eat pieces of tire and
food chains. even license plates!
Student Worksheet 10
Slides 1-18 Ask students to write a letter to their state More humans are likely to die
representative explaining the dangerous effects from an encounter with a toaster
than with a shark. Yet 100 million
Activity 2: Your Food Chain which pollution can cause and asking them to help
sharks are killed by people every
reduce human impact.
Using slide 19, explain that humans are at the top year!
Resources:
of the food chain. Phytoplankton is responsible for
Slides 23-24
Ask students to look at the three meals on Student half of all the energy which is
Worksheet 11 and work out the food chains for conver ted from the Sun’s light
During your visit into nutrition.
the elements specified.
Students could also think of their own meals to Ask students to make a note of the stages in a tide Jellyfish are a threat to other
construct a food chain. pool food chain. They can ask the assistant to help marine wildlife. They can
them. consume large quantities of
Resources: plankton as well as the eggs and
Ask students to look for the following during their
Slide 19
visit: a herbivore (or primary consumer); a small
larvae of impor tant fish species.
Student Worksheet 11 carnivore (a secondary consumer or predator); a
large carnivore (a tertiary consumer or top
Activity 3: What’s in the Web? predator).
Using slides 20-21, explain that most animals will
have more than one predator and more than one
prey.
Explain that this can be shown using food webs.

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Adaptation Learning objectives
Know that animals and plants are
There are a huge variety of different environments and extreme conditions in the underwater
suited to their environment.
world, and animals must adapt to them in order to survive. These activities will help your
students to understand that the way in which all living things have evolved reflects their Understand that certain animals
lifestyle, enabling them to catch prey or to inhabit what can sometimes be a hostile have adapted in very specific ways
environment. They will also examine the ways in which the rapid changes to the oceans, caused in order to live in extreme
environments.
by man, are creating problems for animals which live in these habitats.

Resources provided
Activity 4: Brand New Adaptation
Curriculum Subjects
Student Worksheets 13-16
Life Science
Adaptation Power Point slides Ask students to draw a picture of a brand
Inquiry Process
new creature which has adaptations to help
Before & after activities
it survive in a hostile environment.
Activity 1: Where do I live? Students label their drawing and write a
short paragraph to explain how the
Use slides 1-2 to explain the concept of adaptations are used.
habitats to students
Resources:
Students to examine the pictures of six
None required Wow facts!
animals and habitats on Student Worksheet
13.
Activity 5: Protecting the Sharks If a sea star loses an arm to escape
They should link each animal to its a predator, it just grows another
environment and say why they think it is Display slides 7-9 to introduce students to one!
suited to that environment. the topic of conservation.
Sharks have been around longer
Resources: Students to read the information on the than dinosaurs, over 350 million
Slides 1-2 shark’s adaptation, and the threats which years!
they are under from humans on Student
Student Worksheet 13 Otters keep warm in water as their
Worksheet 16.
fur is so thick their skin never gets
Activity 2: The Humboldt Penguin Conduct a class discussion about what wet!
could be done to protect sharks.
Clown fish live among venomous
Using the slides, explain that some animals Students can create a poster to persuade anemones, but avoid being harmed
have adapted to suit their environments in people to help protect sharks and their by allowing the tentacles to graze
very different ways. environment. their body until they build immunity
Tell your students to examine the image of to the venom
Resources:
a Humboldt penguin on Student Worksheet The clown fish can change from
Slides 7-9
14. female to male, once the male in
Student Worksheet 16 its colony dies.
They should look at the descriptions of its
specializations underneath, and put the During your visit
An octopus has blue blood, three
corresponding letter for each specialization hearts, and can alter the
in the box next to the appropriate label on Ask your students to draw one of the complexion of its skin in the
the diagram. creatures which they see during their visit blink of an eye!
Resources: to SEA LIFE. They should highlight features A seal can have a layer of blubber
Slides 3-6 which have been specially adapted and up to two inches thick to help
write a note to explain why they think that protect them from the cold
Student Worksheet 14 conditions which they live in.
the animal has adapted in that way.
Activity 3: A Day in the Life of Ask students to find one of the following
creatures, and note down how that animal
Students pick one of the three animals finds food to survive and how it protects
listed on Student Worksheet 15. itself from predators. Ask students to
Ask them to write a short story about a compare and contrast with notes taken on
day in that animal’s life, including the other creatures.
information on how that animal makes use ˆ'S[RSWI6E]ˆ7IELSVWIˆ'PS[RJMWL
of its adaptations. ˆ)IPˆ0MSRJMWLˆ7LEVO
Resources:
Student Worksheet 15