Photo of people in a submersible viewing the ocean
Universal Images/SuperStock

Exploring Our Oceans

You are going to read an article about a mysterious sea creature. Here are five facts to know first.

From the December 2022/January 2023 Issue
Lexiles: 430L
Guided Reading Level: K
DRA Level: 16-18
Vocabulary: exploring, mysterious, investigate, submersibles
Featured Skill: Compare Two Texts, Key Details,
Topic: Science,
Common Core Standards
  • RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.7 Use visuals
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (3) Geography. The student understands the concept of location. The student is expected to: (C) identify and use geographic tools that aid in determining location, including maps and globes. (4) Geography. The student understands physical and human characteristics of a place to better understand self, home, family, classroom, and the world around them. The student is expected to: (A) identify the physical characteristics of place such as landforms, bodies of water, Earth’s resources, and weather (12) Science, technology, and society. The student understands ways technology is used in the home and school and how technology affects people’s lives. The student is expected to: (B) describe how technology helps accomplish specific tasks and meet people’s needs
  • Science
    (9) Organisms and environments. The student knows that living organisms have basic needs that must be met for them to survive within their environment. The student is expected to: (B) identify factors in the environment, including temperature and precipitation, that affect growth and behavior such as migration, hibernation, and dormancy of living things (10) Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to: (A) observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals help them meet their basic needs

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1. The ocean is huge!

Jim McMahon/Mapman ®

The world has five oceans.

Most of Earth is not covered in land. It’s covered in ocean! The ocean is wide and very deep. 

2. For many years, people could not explore the deep seas.

Shutterstock.com 

People need to come up for air when they swim.

People can’t breathe in water. We need to breathe air! We can only swim down so far. 

For a long time, we did not have a way to go down safely into the deep sea. 

3. Sometimes people saw strange animals in the ocean.

  Science Source/Photo Researchers History/Getty Images

Sailors would be out on ships. They would see strange animals. What were these animals? Were they monsters? People could not go deep down to investigate. 

4. Over time, people invented ways to explore the deep sea. 

Universal Images/SuperStock

Submersible

People invented submarines and mini submarines called submersibles. They also invented robots that go down and film what is on the bottom of the ocean. 

5. People began to discover new animals in the deep sea. 

Solvin Zankl/NPL/Minden Pictures

Deep Water Pelagic Octopus

They discovered giant jellyfish. See-through octopuses. Fish with no eyes. Sharks that glow in the dark. What new animal will they discover next?

Slideshows (1)
Activities (4)
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (4) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Quizzes (2)
Quizzes (2)

More About the Article

Science Focus:

Earth and ocean science

Vocabulary

exploring, mysterious, investigate, submersibles

In-Person Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Building Background Knowledge

This article gives kids background knowledge that will help them better understand this issue’s Big Read, “Monster of the Deep,” on pages 6-11.

1. BEFORE READING

Watch the Video, “Ocean Exploration” (2 minutes)

  • In this fascinating video, students will gain background knowledge about how humans have explored the ocean throughout history.

Preview Vocabulary (2 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This article’s featured words are exploring, mysterious, investigate, and submersibles.

Text Preview Bookmarks (5-10 minutes)

  • Students can use these evergreen bookmarks to help them preview the text. Our skills page has both fiction and nonfiction options for kids to cut out. They can use the nonfiction bookmark for this story.

2. READ THE ARTICLE (10 MINUTES)

  • Tell students they will read an article about the ocean. This article works well with whole-class instruction. Call on different students to read each numbered section aloud. The numbers make the text easy to navigate.
  • As you read, stop to analyze the photos.

3. AFTER READING Focus on ELA Skills

Pick and choose from a variety of activities:

ELA Focus: Quiz (10 minutes)

  • Pass out the quiz for a quick comprehension check.
  • We offer both multiple-choice and written- answer formats for the quiz.

ELA Focus: Write Key Details to Nosey at [email protected] (20 minutes)

  • It’s time to help Nosey fill out her Fact File! Print out Nosey’s Fact File from the Resources section of our website. Kids can find facts from the article. They can work in small groups or individually.
  • Each fact box is scaffolded to help kids know what to write.
  • You can also do this as a whole-class activity and email Fact Files to Nosey at [email protected]!

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (15 minutes)

  • Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.
  • Two Different Texts Use this printable to help your students compare and contrast the Big Read, “Monster of the Deep” (pages 6-11), with the Background Builder feature, “Exploring Our Oceans.”

Scavenger Hunt Slide Deck (20 minutes)

  • We created a Scavenger Hunt Slide Deck for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including this piece. The scavenger hunt can be done by students independently at home or during class time.
  • This is a self-contained group of slides that guide your students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It’s not only fun, it also helps them make text-to-text connections.

 

Text-to-Speech