LESSON PLAN

Grade: 5- 6 Erasmus
Title: Ocean in continuous
Team
action
Designer(s): Kandila
Subject: Geography , Science ,
Christine and the
Technical Education
Aquarium of Iraklion
Topic: Ocean currents, brief review of Mediterranean
School: Primary School
and Baltic Sea and the Gulf Stream phenomenon.
of Kokkini Chani

Desired Results
Established Goals:
● What relevant goals will this design address?
a) Knowledge - recognize the characteristic image of the earth’s oceans
Students will
- understand the distribution of continents and oceans

- name the oceans and seas (Baltic-Mediterranean)

- learn about marine currents, how these are generated and

been influenced, their importance for the marine environment,
how they affect life at sea and our planet
- understand the relationship between wind- heat-salinity and
ocean surface currents, and the properties of water.

- understand the phenomenon of the Gulf Stream in shaping

the climate of Ireland and Portugal, and the movements of the
currents around the equator.

- understand the importance of the Mediterranean Sea and

the Mediterranean of the North Europe – Baltic Sea in
shaping the climate and life of the Mediterranean countries and
the closer countries.

b) Attitudes
Students will act as: explorers, scientists, historians, geographers, researchers

c) Skills: - develop questioning and predicting skills as well as the

Students will be able to: following:
-observation
 -hypothesizing
-investing and experimenting
-estimating and measuring
-analyzing
-drawing

-define ocean currents

-explain types of ocean currents
-describe characteristics of ocean currents
-explain the density of Water

STAGE 1: Activities planning (BEFORE OUTDOOR ACTIVITY)

Introduction Points to remember:

These are questions that the pupils Materials:

should first identify (problems) Illustration of global
1. What would Earth be like if ocean
wind patterns
water did not move?
2. Why is Ireland relatively mild and Illustration of Ocean
rainy in winter for its latitude? Why is currents
central Canada, at the same latitude
and during the same season,
Information
relatively dry and frigid?
3. Why the salinity differs between the Worksheet: Facts of
locations. (i.e. water of Greece and Oceans
Poland)
4. What was the cause that led Worksheet 1 :Name the
Columbus to follow this route for his Oceans
traveling destination?
Worksheet 2: Ocean
Activities / Introduce the lesson through a whole class
Experiences discussion. currents and wind
Students using research materials on the patterns
Internet are able to find out more about
ocean currents and how these phenomena Worksheet 3: Ocean
are affecting our weather and life on the currents
Earth.
Searching information about climate of the
Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea region and
countries.
In addition, by collecting information for the
route of Gulf Stream and Columbus travel, Key vocabulary:
they will able to think about how important is Fresh water, salt water,
for earth the sea properties and the physical
phenomena.
 density, surface currents,
deep water currents,
Students after Watching videos will fill in,
their own maps the names of the seas and climate change,
oceans by locating their position.
thermohaline circulation
Drawing the sea currents on their worksheet,
Golf Stream route and also the sea winds on Global , Conveyor Belt
their worksheet; observe them

Key questions:
What are Ocean currents?
What Types of Currents
are there?
Why are currents
important?
Does the density of water
depend upon its
Conclusion /
temperature and salinity?
Plenary
How does temperature
Students have to present their notes and
make the water more
support their conclusions.
dense?
Do the density currents
form near the North and
South Poles?
What about salinity of
water?
Does the evaporation also
make water saltier?
Where does the denser
water go?
How do you think the
currents affect our
weather and climate on
land?
Which are the similarities
and the differences
between Mediterranean
and Baltic Sea?

Differentiation:
Have your students
explore a historical or
recent event that
somehow involves ocean
currents.
Student reflection: After succeful completion of the worksheets students will able to
demonstrate a preliminary knowledge and understanding of the importance of earth’s
oceans.
Teacher reflection:
Students need help to find appropriate explanations.

Evaluation:
Interesting activity. Students learn by searching and by observing around them and be
able to understand that everything has its own explanation

STAGE 2: Activities planning (DURING VISIT)

Introduction Points to
Through discussion and experiments involving remember:
energy and forces, students can learn about water
density and what causes ocean currents. Materials:
Students will become familiar with the features and Water
movement of currents due to heat and other forces Black pepper
as well as understand the effects of currents on Large jars,
the planet (e.g. how the ocean affects our washing up liquid
Climate and weather). (green or blue
Observe and document how wind driven currents are good colors)
move water and interact with heat and cold water Worksheet for
experiments

Key
vocabulary:

Activities / Designing Controlled Experiments Key questions:

Experiences
Can you explain
1. These experiments can be conducted over a what causes
course of study. Formulate a hypothesis on convection
how to model ocean currents using various currents to move
materials of their choosing air, causing wind-
2. Record observations in writing and in temperature-
drawing on a lab report form that explains salinity?
their understanding of the concepts.
3. Draw conclusions from their fact-finding and Are your
simulations on how ocean currents influence sketches different
local weather. from other
teams? If so, how
Provide students with the activity sheets and are they
materials they will need different?
Check for students’ understanding by asking key What happens as
questions during they are experimenting with their the water moves
model. away from the
Provide students with instructions for creating their blowing source
model. They should work in groups of of wind?
four or five. They will make four observations:

Experiment 1:
Shaping the Surface Currents
Differentiation:
If some students
Carefully fill your bowl completely. Let the water
struggle to draw
settle. what they are
Sprinkle some pepper at one end of the bow land seeing in the
gently blow across in a single direction. Observe, bowls , assist
describe, and sketch what you see happening at them by drawing
the surface of the water a picture on the
board for the first
Experiment 2: experiment.
Simple Density Experiment-Salinity

This experiment can be completed as a

demonstration
-Fill one jar with fresh water and one with salt
water. Add a drop of green food coloring to the
salt water.
-Mix both jars using a new bowl in the following
order:
-Place the salt water on top of the fresh water jar.
-Observe the results. (The salt water and fresh
water should not mix)
-Observe and record the results.
-Discuss how this relates to the water
temperatures in the ocean.

Εxperiment 3:
Οcean on upwelling heat and cold water-
water density

This experiment can be completed as a

demonstration
See the following experiment to observe how
temperature variations influence ocean currents.
You need two bawls
-Fill the bowl 2/3 full with ice water.
-Fill the bowl 2/3 full with hot water.
-Place several drops of red food coloring into the
hot water. and place several drops of blue food
coloring into the ice water.
 After that you pour some ice water and hot water
in a third bawl full of water.
-Observe how the hot water stays on the surface.
(Depending on the heat of the water, it may not be
fully noticeable). Remind students when the top
layer of water stays warmer, the cold water is
denser and stays at the bottom.
-Discuss what keeps the water warm in the ocean.
-Observe what happens as the hot water cools. (It
should begin to sink, mixing with the colder
water).
-Discuss with the students how the mixing of
colder and warmer ocean waters has a major
effect on the currents. Water near the Antarctic
and the Arctic Ocean is very cold, while water near
the equator is much warmer. At any location,
surface water is warmer than deeper water.

Experiment 4:
Ocean on Thermohaline circulation- Global
Conveyor Belt

This experiment can be completed as a

demonstration
Introduce the following experiment explaining how
using liquids with different density naturally form
layers.
-Observe and discuss the different types of liquids
(i.e. density).
-Layer the liquids in your jar by pouring in the hot
water first, then the ice water. Add the salt water
last and observe what happens.
-Record the experiment explaining the density of
liquids and the effects of density.
-Ask students if they have ever swum in fresh
water and then ask if they have ever swam in salt
water (i.e. establish if it is easier to swim or float in
salt water rather than in fresh water such as a
swimming pool).

Conclusion / After working with their model, allow students to

Plenary generalize their observations by explaining
the relationship between wind ,heat, temperature
and ocean surface currents using the activity
worksheets provided.
 To close the lesson, have students share their
findings in a whole class discussion.
Explain that ocean currents affect the distribution
of ocean plants and animals as well as the routes
that ships take.

Student reflection: Students were interested and were most impressed by these
experiments. They were able to explain the importance of oceans in our life and to
support their predictions.

Teacher reflection:
Students involved in these experiments on the lab with interest.
Evaluation: The correct and full completion of the worksheet.

STAGE 3: Activities planning (AFTER OUTDOOR ACTIVITY)

Introduction Pupils Using the knowledge gained during previous Points to
activities have to prepare a travel using map remember:
according to the provided instructions.
Materials:
Activities / Pictures of the
Two activities will take place :
Experiences chosen maps,
Activity one: draw their travel plan route on the designs of ships,
geographical map . cardboard box
Activity two: prepare an animation movie
presenting their traveling route on the earth map Key
using any available digital tool,web2,movie maker vocabulary:
e.t.c.
As small explorers Key questions:
-they create a trip using their knowledge about
the Ocean –or Sea currents and will travel through Differentiation:
the Mediterranean Sea- Gibraltar -Atlantic Ocean-
North Atlantic - Baltic Sea)
-they name the most important ports and areas
-they prepare- necessary equipment - (compass -
suitable ship-caravel
-they find the location of the points of the trip to
carry out

Conclusion / Students present their travel on map during the

Plenary Cool Goal festival

Student reflection: The goal of science is to investigate and understand the natural
world, to explain events in the natural world, and to use those explanations to make
useful predictions
 Teacher reflection:
The contribution of the information technology teacher was very important for the
creation of the final product

Evaluation:
It was quite an interesting activity that allow students to began familiar with physical
phenomenon related to earth ocean

Appendix
Item Reference Index number