Ocean in a Bottle

• What do we know about the ocean? What do we know about ocean waves?
• Describe waves. What do the waves do in the ocean?
• Look at the water and the oil. How are they alike? How are they different?
• How can we make the water light blue? How can we make the water a darker blue?
• What happens to the oil and water when you shake the bottle?
• The ocean is a habitat. Can you name some animals or plants that live in the ocean?
• How do animals live in the ocean? What do they eat?

• Read the digital storybook, Grover’s Underwater Hugs. Grover is in need of some hugs, so Elmo tells Grover about a good underwater hugger. Grover goes for a ride under the water in his trusty submarine. Grover sees lots of underwater life as he searches for an eight-armed underwater hugger. Go to Reading Adventures, a series of five Sesame Street digital storybooks focused on vocabulary development and choose Grover’s Underwater Hugs.
• Create colored sea salt for an art activity or your art center. 
  • You will need quart-size re-sealable bags (one for each color), sea salt, food coloring, aluminum foil, white card stock, liquid glue, small paper plates, and paintbrushes. 
  • Place approximately one cup of salt in each sealable bag and add a few drops of food coloring. 
  • Shake each bag to evenly distribute the food coloring and dye the salt. 
  • Pour the contents of each bag of salt onto a piece of aluminum foil to dry.
  • When the salt is dry, the children can use the paintbrushes to spread the glue onto the card stock and sprinkle the colored salt onto the paper to create pictures. 
• Transform your water and/or sand table into an ocean. Include ocean animals and have the children name the animals. Make tides in the water table.

• Was each child able to create an “ocean” in their bottle and recognize that it represents the movement of the waves in the ocean?
• Can children explain what happens with the water in waves?

Oceans are the home of the largest variety of life on Earth. Oceans are constantly in motion to support the delicate balance of ocean life. Ocean tides are the up and down movement of the water and cause the change in the height of the surface of oceans. Tide changes happen about every twelve hours. Tides are caused by the pull of the Moon and Sun.  There are two different habitats in the ocean, the ocean floor and the water itself. These two habitats support different communities of ocean life.

Water covers almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface and contains roughly 97% of the Earth's water supply. There are five oceans in the world: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Arctic. The Earth’s oceans are all connected to one another. An estimated 50% to 80% of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface, and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. Humans have explored less than 10% of the ocean space.

• ocean – a part of the large body of salt water that covers most of the Earth's surface.
• water – the clear liquid that is in rain; people and plants need it to live and grow.
• salt  – a white material that is found in sea water; it is used in food.
• wave – water that rises from water and laps on the shore.
• tide – how far the water comes up to the shore; tides go in and out every 12 hours.
• habitat – the natural environment or home of an animal.

• The oil is very messy and difficult to clean up. You may want to do this part of the activity over the sink. Oil is thick, so pour slowly.
• Oceans are not all the same color. If you have time, let the children decide how dark or light they want the blue to be. Let them experiment with the food coloring and decide how many drops they need.

• Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes
• Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
• Ocean Life from A to Z by Cynthia Stierle
• In the Ocean by Salina Yoon