Dive Into a Classroom Ocean
Teaching a nonfiction unit? Transform your classroom into an ocean adventure in about 15 minutes of prep—and your students get to help create it!
1. Make the Waves
Grab 4-5 blue tablecloths from the Dollar Tree to create “waves” from your ceiling. Then trace and cut out ocean animals on black bulletin board paper and place them above the waves so it looks like the creatures are floating.
2. Create Seaweed and Sand
Students can help make the seaweed and sand! Show them how to cut squiggly lines out of construction paper and tape them along walls or lockers. They can even get creative—like making sea anemones for clownfish.
3. Explore an Ocean Animal Each Day
Each day, students will:
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Learn about an ocean animal
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Write a nonfiction piece about it
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Make a matching craft
Hang the animals in the sand, seaweed, or from the ceiling with string and paperclips. By the end of two weeks, students will have explored ocean zones, nonfiction text features, and dozens of ocean animals—all while contributing to the classroom display!
Want the full setup? My Ocean Unit includes crafts, writing books, bubble maps, and directed drawings to make it easy to dive in!
Learn more
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