We’re learning about sea geography and what exactly is a sea. Also, look at my Oceans Unit Study and Lapbook page and Hands-On Simple And Best Homeschool Geography Ideas & Tips.
Is the sea different from the ocean?
Oftentimes the words ‘sea ‘and ‘ocean’ are used interchangeably when describing large salty bodies of water, but they are two distinct bodies of water.
But beyond learning about the difference between seas and oceans we of course have a fun activity that I think you and your kids will enjoy.
We are making a craft based on Paddle to the Sea which gives us a lovely fun geography lesson.
Do you remember as a kid creating your own carbon paper?
I distinctly remember an elementary school scribbling on the back of a paper flipping it and writing on the other side in order to make the carbon transfer to another sheet of paper.
This is a technique that I want to share with you or remind you of today to show your kids how to make their own map.
Before we do that let’s find out some more facts about sea geography and what a sea is and isn’t.
First, look at a few books about the ocean.
16 Ocean Books for Kids Who Love to Read and Be Read To
Choose a few of these ocean themed books to go along with your study of the Oceans. Whether you're looking for a spine for a unit study or literature, you'll love this roundup.
Join Danny Meadow Mouse, Jimmy Skunk, and Reddy Fox as they explore the seashore and take a closer look at the habits and habitats of the creatures they find. Discover the Seahorse, Shrimp, Crab, Anemone, Gull, and so many more.
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children is a wonderful way to introduce young ones to the fascinating world beneath us and is a perfect compliment to earlier books in this series, the Bird, Animal, and Flower books.
This edition is complete and unabridged with all of the beautiful illustrations by W.H. Southwick and George Sutton
Seaside Naturalist is an illustrated guide to marine plants and animals includes the characteristics of protozoa, arthropods, sponges, mollusks, reptiles, birds, fish, and mammals.
The book opens by explaining how different types of animals are able to breathe and survive underwater, and the different families to which they belong. Subsequent pages are dedicated to specific creatures, including sea turtles, whales, sharks, stingrays, and seahorses, and show varied life in specific habitats, such as a coral reef or deep sea bed. The Big Book of the Blue also explores the underwater world thematically, looking at animals in danger, learning how to spot creatures at the beach, and discovering how to do our part to save sea life. Beautiful and filled with fascinating facts, young, curious readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away from the page.
Island of the Blue Dolphins begins with a young girl named Karana who is living on the Island of the Blue Dolphins (fancy name, right?) with her younger brother, Ramo, and sister, Ulape. One day, a group of Russian hunters (Aleutians) land on the island to hunt for otter. This is when the trouble really begins.
Once upon a time in France, a baby was born under the summer sun. His parents named him Jacques. As he grew, Jacques fell in love with the sea. He dreamed of breathing beneath the waves and swimming as gracefully as a fish. In fact, he longed to become a manfish. Jacques Cousteau grew up to become a champion of the seas and one of the best-known oceanographers in the world. In this lovely biography, now in paperback, poetic text and gorgeous paintings come together to create a portrait of Cousteau that is as magical as it is inspiring.
A beautiful edition with 110 images from the 1875 English edition. Use Amazon's Look inside feature to compare this edition with others. You'll be impressed by the differences. Don't be fooled by other versions that have no illustrations or contain very small print. Reading our edition will make you feel that you are traveling the seas with Captain Nemo himself.
More than 100 original illustrations by Louis Rhead. You want to read this book with illustrations.
An introduction by W. D. Howells.
Nicely formatted text in an easy-to-read font.
A beautiful cover from the 1891 edition.
Embark on a captivating tour of the waters that cover 70 percent of our planet! See our oceans come to life in mind-blowing detail. This is the ultimate children’s visual encyclopedia about the awe-inspiring blue planet!
How did a nineteenth-century dressmaker revolutionize science? Jeanne Power was creative: she wanted to learn about the creatures that swim beneath the ocean waves, so she built glass tanks and changed the way we study underwater life forever. Jeanne Power was groundbreaking: she solved mysteries of sea animals and published her findings at a time when few of women’s contributions to science were acknowledged. Jeanne Power was persistent: when records of her research were lost, she set to work repeating her studies. And when men tried to take credit for her achievements, she stood firm and insisted on the recognition due to her.
Follow Rothman’s inquisitive mind and perceptive eye along shorelines, across the open ocean, and below the waves for an artistic exploration of the watery universe. Through her drawings, discover how the world’s oceans formed, why the sea is salty, and the forces behind oceanic phenomena such as rogue waves. Colorful anatomical profiles of sea creatures from crustacean to cetacean, surveys of seafaring vessels and lighthouses, and the impact of plastic and warming water temperatures are just part of this compendium of curiosities that will entertain and educate readers of all ages.
Do you know a kid who’s captivated by what goes on beneath the ocean’s surface? This amazing entry into ocean books for kids is packed with hundreds of incredible facts for hours of underwater exploration. Pages of full-color pictures feature life in and around the sea including fish, dolphins, and shipwrecks!
Dive into the mesmerizing world of bioluminescence with "All About Bioluminescence." In this captivating book, readers embark on a journey through the depths of the ocean to discover the extraordinary glow-in-the-dark creatures that inhabit its mysterious realm. From the enchanting sea angel to the infamous anglerfish, each page is filled with stunning illustrations and fascinating facts about these luminous beings.With a focus on deep-sea dwellers, readers will uncover the secrets behind bioluminescence and learn how these creatures use light to communicate, camouflage, and lure prey. But the adventure doesn't stop there! "All About Bioluminescence" also includes hands-on activities like a glow stick experiment, allowing readers to experience the magic of bioluminescence firsthand.
One of the most enduringly popular adventure tales, Treasure Island began in 1881 as a serialized adventure entitled "The Sea-Cook"in the periodical Young Folks. Completed during a stay at Davos, Switzerland, where Stevenson had gone for his health, it was published in 1883 in the form we know today.Set in the eighteenth century, Treasure Island spins a heady tale of piracy, a mysterious treasure map, and a host of sinister characters charged with diabolical intentions. Seen through the eyes of Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy of the Hispaniola, the action-packed adventure tells of a perilous sea journey across the Spanish Main, a mutiny led by the infamous Long John Silver, and a lethal scramble for buried treasure on an exotic isle.
In Oceans and Seas! With 25 Science Projects for Kids readers ages 7 though 10 dive into the underwater world of some of the most amazing landscapes on Earth. On this amazing underwater adventure, kids experience the ocean’s tropical reefs and spot crabs, sea sponges, and thousands of kinds of fish darting in its crags and folds. They’ll meet a giant squid with eyes the size of dinner plates and an mbrella-like bioluminescent jellyfish.
From both a historical and scientific point of view, above and below the surface, this engaging guide brings the world’s oceans to life through fun facts, illustrations, and in-depth information. Interactive activities appear throughout, ranging from making solar stills and simple fishing spears to experimenting with a homemade diving bell and figuring out how much water it really takes to survive. With the oceans being the least explored environment on Earth, this reference illuminates some of the most incredible and surprising plants and animals as well as how to survive and navigate these vast expanses.
An intricate study of tide pool life is presented in text and pictures through the story of Pagoo, a her-mit crab.
A Sea Versus an Ocean
A sea is defined as a portion of the ocean that is partly surrounded by land. Using this definition there are about 50 seas around the world.
This includes bodies of water that are not often thought of as seas.
For example, the Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Hudson Bay which is the largest northern inland sea.
An ocean is defined as one of the large bodies of water into which the ocean is divided.
What is a Sea
- Smaller than oceans
- Partially enclosed by land
- Most often not as salty as oceans
Examples-Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, North Sea, Hudson Bay.
What is an Ocean
- Much larger than seas
- Deeper than seas
- Not enclosed by land
- More salty than seas
Examples-Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean
There is one exception to this and that is the Sargasso Sea.
It is located entirely within the Atlantic Ocean and is the only sea without a land boundary
Paddle to The Sea and the Great Lakes
So, what do the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay have to do with oceans or seas? Also, grab the book Paddle to the Sea.
Where does this water from the Great Lakes go? Where does it come from?
The Great Lakes were originally fed by meltwater from glaciers but now gets its new water from rivers, precipitation, and groundwater springs.
The Long Lac and Ogoki diversions of the Hudson Bay, located in northern Ontario, divert water from a portion of the Hudson Bay watershed into the Lake Superior basin.
The Great Lakes system flows to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence River.
As it flows from its westernmost point in Duluth, Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean, the waterway drops in elevation approximately 600 feet.
The Hudson Strait makes a connection between the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast, while the Foxe Channel connects the Hudson Bay with the Arctic Ocean in the north. It is largely considered to be part of the Atlantic Ocean.
Grab a map like a scrunch map, and trace the path of Paddle To The Sea using a small object, how perfect was this little canoe?
This gives your child a better understanding of how our entire water system works together from tiny streams to large oceans and seas.
Paddle to The Sea Geography Ideas
- Learn How to Make An Edible Geography Model of Tidal Zones to take a close up hands on look at the different geography of the ocean.
- Another fantastic book by Holling C. Holling is Seabird and I found a Seabird Unit Study to go along with it if you are enjoying this stream of study.
- Making Ocean Layers Soap
- Create a Dead Sea Lapbook and learn more about this sea that borders Jordan to the east, and Israel to the west.
- How To Make Your Own Edible Beach Sand And Shells: A Creative And Delicious Recipe
Paddle To The Sea Craft
You will need:
- Watercolor Paper
- Paddle to the Sea Book
- Watercolor paints
- Paintbrushes
- Copy paper
- Pencil
- Black fine line pen
- Printed map
First you want to print a map of whatever geographical area that you’re wanting to study and print it out.
I just happened to find the perfect map to go along with Paddle To The Sea here at the National Museum of Great Lakes book club.
Flip the map over and scribble all over the back with a freshly sharpened pencil, be sure to cover all the areas behind where you will be tracing your map.
Place your map, scribble side down on a piece of watercolor paper and secure it into place with a piece of masking tape or painters tape to keep it from sliding around.
Trace around your map outline with pencil and flip it up occasionally to be sure that you haven’t missed any key spots.
Remove the paper map and tape.
Now to add some fun color.
Since this is a sea geography project start by water coloring all the
bodies of water like the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Let your water dry and then start painting in the land.
Have your child color Canada one color and the United States a different color to help them differentiate where one ends and the other begins to grasp the geography of the area.
Once the entire painting is dry, they can label the bodies of land and water as well as use the fine line pen to outline the land and water to create definition.
