Week 1: Under the Sea (Overview)

Phase 1:
Phase 2:
Phase 3:
Phase 4:

Introduction
Explore!
How Submarines Work
Wrap Up

Materials Needed: 1 tub of water, 1 rock, 1 hollow ball, 1 balloon, string to tie the balloon to the
rock, 1 container of compressed air, 1 container of salt, 1 egg, a packet of swedish fish for each
kid, some paper and crayons for drawing pictures, sea-themed stickers for fun and
encouragement, some books checked out from the library, and copies of the handouts for the
explore phase.
Phase 1: Introduction
Introduce yourself as a submarine captain. Tell everyone that we're going in a submarine today.
To set the mood, tell a story (I told a modified version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.)
Phase 2: Explore!
Kids will have a chance to move freely between the following activities:
- Solve sea-math handouts (see attached).
- Draw fish and other sea creatures that they might see out the window.
- Read books about the ocean. I choose to check the following out from the library to
have:
-

Into the A, B, Sea by Deborah Lee Rose

Over in the Ocean by Marianne Berkes
How to Hide an Octopus by Ruth Heller
Smiley Shark and Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway

Phase 3: How Submarines Work

See the "How Submarines Sink" worksheet
Phase 4: Wrap Up
(50 minutes in)
- Kids clean up the activities they were working at.
- Everyone sits in a circle. We each go around and say something we learned today. Everyone
gets a tiny packet of candy fish, to be opened when their parents say it's okay.
- Time to bring up the submarine! Everyone gets a balloon to blow up. Once they blow up, they
float to the top of the water, and we can go home!