Explore the layers of the ocean with this easy but fun activity and learn more about the ocean and its animals!
I thoroughly enjoyed doing the illustrations for this project while the boys helped with most of the research for the ocean animal cards. (Also see our Rainforest Life Study Unit)
Before you start with the activity cover the key concepts:
*Ocean Waters are divided into five layers: Sunlit Zone, Twilight Zone, Dark Zone, Abyss and Trenches.
*The deeper we go down into the ocean, the less light there is and the colder the water will be.
*Marine animals live in all zones.
Also, watch You-Tube videos about the different zones. David Attenborough’s Blue Planet is amazing!
You will need:
- Coloured paper in 5 different shades of blue
- Black paper
- Brown or orange paper
- Large sturdy cardboard or correx board (available from signwriters) for the backing
- Glue
- Resources provided
What to do:
Cut a rectangle out of your correx or cardboard to a size of 40cm x 60cm. (You can go smaller or larger but I have designed the pictures and labels to fit on this size).
Layer your A4 sheets over each other, starting with black at the bottom and then from darkest to lightest blue to create the different zones. You can use a normal glue stick like Pritt to glue the layers. Use brown or orange to create the sand or ocean floor. You can add some details with crayons if you like.
Print and cut the labels, pictures, names and cards. You can use the line drawings and let the kids colour it or you can use the colour copies.
How to use the fact cards:
I laminated my cards, labels and pictures as we are going to use it in related activities.
Use the information on the cards and let the kids place the sea creatures in their relevant zones. You can let them glue it but Prestik/Blutak works well if you have laminated your pictures and want to re-use the pictures.
You can do further activities such as a simple food chain, organize the cards according to their categories, or ask questions such as “Which animal lives the longest, which animal grows the largest? Or print two copies of the cards and play Ocean Snap.
Such a fun ocean-themed activity, packed with loads of opportunities for learning and being creative too!
Also see these add-on printable resources to make this a fun study unit on Ocean Life!
Get your free printables on our Freebies page under the category Ocean:
Check out this Rainforest Craft and get the Rainforest Life Study Unit to learn all about the Rainforest.
GREAT!
Hi,
Really love this project and I’m really keen on teaching my class of 18 preschoolers this topic. However, I am unable to find your free printables and would really love to share this awesome resource with my preschoolers. Would you please email me ([email protected]) the printables and resources for this project? Thank you so much!
I have added you to the email list which will send you a password for the freebies page where you will find the printables
Hi,
I love your layers of the ocean printable creatures. Where can I find locate them?
Sign up to the email list so you can access the Freebies page and find the printables there.
I did sign up and I can not find anywhere to download the Layers of the Ocean.
It is there, under the Ocean category.I changed the image so that it is easier to find.
I sent you my email, I received the code. I returned to your page, went through the Freebies, found the Layers of the Ocean and still there is no Download link. I would really like this download, but it should never be this hard.
Did you click on the Layers of the Ocean image? It should open the download for you, I just checked, it works
Looking for an email with the opportunity to create a password. Thank you for your help.
Look in your junk mail box, it sometimes lands there.
I signed up, got password, clicked link and it gave me an ETERNAL SERVER Error.
Apologies, it must have been the time the server was down. Please try again.
I submitted my email/info to get access to your Freebies section to get the Ocean printables. I still haven’t received an email with a code, not even on my Junk folder. How long does it usually take to be sent? Thanks!
Did it come though ok now?
I looked under freebies and didnt see a category for ocean. I tried printables as well but could not find it there either. Are these still available for free printables?
Yep, def still there. Not the Unit pack, but the cards etc.
Help! i subscribed got the pasword for freebies went to the link and every time i enter the pasword nothing happens the page reloads like i didn’t do anything, how do i access this? thanks!
There is a glitch, I’m working to resolve it. Apologies!
I, too, signed up twice over 1/2 hour ago, and haven’t gotten anything in the junk mail or my inbox. It looks super awesome. Can you please just send the link? It seems this is very difficult to get to download, since so many people have had problems. Thank you!
If you’ve signed up via the freebies form, you get an email immediately with instructions. If you’ve signed up via the pop-up, you will receive emails(with the freebies link) fortnightly.