Introduction

Most of us have visited an ocean beach with lots of strange things to see, but few of us have been to a tidal pool. It is a strange world of seaweeds, crabs, and other sea creatures. So, before we actually lower ourselves into a tidal pool on our field trip, let's do some exploring here at home.

Keep this question in mind as you work:

How will your photo album really show that a tidal pool is the 'picture window into the sea'?

Instructions

1. Explore the Internet sites linked below. You're looking for facts, quotes, examples, images, sound clips, videos, and animations that you think are important aspects of the topic.

2. When you find something you like, check its Web page for a copyright notice. Often, students are encouraged to copy things that will only be used in the classroom. Sometimes people don't want their work copied at all. A good practice is looking for an e-mail link on the page and then using it to ask permission.

3. Copy any text you want by dragging across the words, then using the Edit - Copy command on the menubar. Paste what you highlighted into a basic text editor, word processor, desktop publishing program or multimedia program.

4. Save images you like by downloading them. Paste the images you've downloaded into a multimedia, paint or desktop publishing program (like HyperStudio, Clarisworks, or PageMaker) or use one of the graphics viewers listed as Tools on this page to display your collection of images.

5. Be prepared to cut anything that copyright owners tell you they don't want you to have.

6. Once you have collected your information, go over it carefully so that you can give clear and thoughtful reasons why you found the things you collected especially important.
   

The Internet Resources

• Ask a Scientist - Ask a marine scientist questions on oceanography;

• Tidal Pool Manners - An excellent tidal pool page with tips on safety, rules and regulations, and safe handling of the specimens;

• Question and Answer Site on Tidal Pools - Good site on a variety of Tidal Pool questions

• Easy Reading on Tidal Pools - This is easy reading on the structure of a tidal pool

• Tidal Pool Camera - Monterey Bay Aquarium's tidal pool camera

• Ocean wave construction - A site that diagrams the parts of a wave;

• Phytoplankton and Zooplankton - A site for kids with articles and photos on phytoplankton and zooplankton;

• Glossary of terms on the ocean - A brief glossary of oceanic terms;

• Predator/ Prey Food Chain - A lesson plan on how to construct a predator/prey food chain for the ocean;

• An Introduction into the Oceans for Kids - A superb web site on all aspects of the oceans; great for kids;

• Web Camera on the Giant Tank in the New England Aquarium - great views, even includes feeding times in the tank

Introduction

• A Tour of the New England Aquarium

Animals in a Pool

• Monterey Bay Aquarium's Shores and Deep Ocean Life - Excellent articles on the plants and animals of the shores and of the deep ocean;

• Monterey Bay Aquarium Kids' Games - Great games on seaweed search and coastal lifeforms

• Life in a Tidal Pool - Good information on sealife found within a Tidal Pool; has good diagrams;

• Crustaceans and Arthropods - An article on crustaceans and the arthropods;

• Life cycle of a sea star - Good photos and info. on the stages of a sea star's development;

• Sea urchins - A short article about the sea urchin;

• Seaworld List of Ocean Animals - Links are included with this list of animals;

• Octopus - facts about the octopus fromm Marine Lab in Sarasota, FL

• King Crabs - facts about King Crabs

• Stages of Sea Star development - Good photos of the various stages of a sea stars development;

• Lobsters - Informations on the development and ecological significance of the lobster;

• Mollusca - The role of the mollusk in the oceans

• Mollusks - Sea and Sky's Mollusk pages with photos and short readings;

• Crustaceans - Sea and Sky's Crustaceans pages with photos and short readings;

• Echinoderms - Sea and Sky's sea stars, urchins pages with photos and short readings;

• Corals and Anemones - Sea and Sky's pages with photos and short readings;

• Sea Sponges - Sea and Sky's pages on Sponges with photos and short readings;

• Tidal Creatures and Plants of British Columbia - Great photos of animals and plants, though many are not found in New England waters;

Plants in a Pool

• Monterey Bay Aquarium's Life Camera of a Kelp Bed - Good view of the kelp bed and fish at the Aquarium;

• Field Guide to Seaweed in New England - Very good photographs, but does become technical as it goes along;

• Seaweed and Algae Photos - Great photographs of seaweed and algae, though it is too technical to understand

Tools

References

Hypertext Webster Dictionary

Get definitions to many words quickly.

Roget's Internet Thesaurus

Find words that have similar meanings to words you run across.

Grabbing Web Images

Follow a friendly step-by-step tutorial on how to grab images from the Web.

Software

download JPEGView (Macintosh)

Software for showing images

download Lview Pro (Windows)

Software for showing images

HTML Tutorial

Create your own Web page to show what you've learned.