Goals:

1. Students will gain knowledge about a variety of different animal and plant species.

3. Students will gain a better understanding of how whales and other water creatures live.

Resources:

1. Shedd Aquarium Home Page at: http://www.sheddnet.org/ed_school.html

Materials:

1. Permission Sheets signed by parents.

2. The auditorium visit by Shedd Aquarium costs $250.

3. The visit to the Aquarium costs $5 per student. If we charge ten dollars for this trip we can get students lunch when we are at the Aquarium.

Teacher Background:

Shedd Aquarium is the world's largest indoor Aquarium. The facility holds nearly 8000 aquatic animals and represents 650 species of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals that are associated with water around the world. The Aquarium is located just of the shores of Lake Michigan and the facility attracts nearly 2 million people a year. The Aquariums main goal is to promote understanding and appreciation of the aquatic world. If not in the Illinois area, see the internet address above to find out where there are other Aquarium locations throughout The United States and Canada.

Time: This exercise will probably run at the very end of the students unit on whales. It will be a three hour bus ride both ways and we plan to spend two or three hours at the Aquarium.

Procedures:

Step 1- First of all, the teacher should take advantage of The Shedd Aquarium program called Auditorium Presentations at your school. The world of whales could be viewed from the school's auditorium. This would give the students some excitement about being able to go to Shedd Aquarium.

Step 2- The teacher will have the students comment on this presentation in their journals.

Step 3- The teacher would then make a reservation at The Shedd Aquarium @ 312-986-2300

Step 4- The bus would leave Green Bay at 7:00 a.m..

Step 5- One parent chaperon to every ten students is required.

Step 6- Arrive at Shedd Aquarium at 10:00 a.m.. Start the first tour of the Aquarium at 10:15. During this portion of the tour the students will go through the Aquarium and see some of the animals and plants that are on display.

Step 7- Meet at the restaurant at 12:00 p.m. so we can eat.

Step 8- Take advantage of The Aquarium and its programs until 2:00. Watch some of the shows that are at the Aquarium so the students can have fun while they are learning.

Step 9- Load the bus to return to Green Bay at 2:15.

Step 10- Bus arrives at Green Bay at 5:30.

Assessment:

This trip will be organized as a bonus for the students. It will be at the end of their unit on whales and it will be available for any student in the class. The trip is being used as a reward for the students completing the unit.

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

1. Social Sciences- By seeing all of the things at the Aquarium the students will learn a lot about the social sciences.

2. Communication Arts- By being on a bus with all of their classmates, their communication skills will be used.

Possible Extensions:

1. Have the students write a story about one of the animals that they saw at Shedd Aquarium.

2. Have the students make an itinerary of what they did at Shedd Aquarium.

3. Get the students to write a summary of how they feel about the animals being in captivity. Have the students write their feelings in their journals.

Back to Table of Contents

Back to Main Page