At the Bottom of the Sea
(Storytelling after Bloom’s taxonomy)
Energizer: Jellyfish
Introduction
The earth is approximately 70% water. The oceans are faced with intense
pollution which threatens marine life and the entire ecosystem. Heavy metals,
trash, oil, all kinds of chemical and even nuclear wastes, which stream down the
ocean, are toxics that endanger marine life. To provide solution to the problem
man simply needs to understand that it exists and try to do every possible thing to
help the environment.
Before the activity
1. Download the necessary videos.
2. Prepare a poster to introduce the vocabulary, stripped sentences, word search
and the necessary stationery (paper, coloured pencils, felt-tip pens etc.).
Vocabulary: sea creatures, adjectives to describe them
Grammar: Present Simple
In pairs
1. Watch the video and predict the topic of the story. Make the list of the sea
creatures you already know. Exchange your ideas in open class.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3CmyWl8vc0).
2. Watch another video to learn some new words and establish their meaning.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCY1Ffl9Bwk)
3. Find the sea creatures in the word search.
4. Match the words to their definitions.
5. Describe the sea creatures using a poster without naming it and ask the other
group to guess their names.
6. Discuss the sea creatures you like/dislike and why.
In a group/ groups
7. Do the energizer “Jellyfish”.
8. (Before presenting the story give each child a sentence from the set of
stripped sentences). Listen to the story “At the Bottom of the Sea” presented by
the teacher and stand up when you hear your sentence. Watch the other group
mates standing up to arrange the sentences in the correct order after teacher’s
presentation.
9. Mingle around the class, read out your sentence to find the correct place in a
line to restore the story.
10. Listen to the story again to see whether you have occupied the right
position with your sentence.
11. Playing “Web”. Retell the story. Everyone
should speak one after another. Holding the thread is
the evidence that you have spoken.
12. Draw a picture to illustrate your sentence,
describe your picture and explain what you have
drawn and why. Exchange pictures and describe your
group mate’s drawing.
13. Restore the story in pictures and tell it again.
In the whole group
1. Energizer “Baby Shark”.
2. Divide scenes and choose characters.
3. Read the story in parts and prepare to dramatize it.
4. Act out the story using puppets/masks. (Children can make masks out of
paper either using their imagination and creativity or following the instructions.)
Follow-up activities
Create a front cover for the book and explain why it looks as it is.
Roleplay the interview with the king to learn more about the problems of the
sea and provide solutions.
Conclusion
Doing the activities children will practice reading, listening skills for
establishing the sequence of the events as well as develop speaking skills for
describing objects and telling the
stories in interaction with other
group members.
They will also learn more
about sea creatures and marine
life and become aware of the
problems with water pollution
thinking about the steps they can
do to prevent them.
Handouts
1. Energizer: Jellyfish
Lyrics:
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up (everybody repeats ), Wrists together
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in,
Butt out
A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)
Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in,
Butt out, Tongue out
A vavava (repeat 5 times)
2. Find the following sea creatures in the grid.
3. Matching activity.
1. A whale a) is orange with white stripes;
2. An octopus b) has very sharp teeth;
3. A starfish c) is the biggest animal in the world;
4. A clown fish d) is very smart and has eight arms;
5. A shark e) is very nice and has five arms.
4. Describe the sea bottom.
- Who lives in the sea?
- Who swims in the sea?
- What grows in the sea?
- What is every sea creature like?
5. The Bottom of the Sea
It is the year 2050.
King Octopus lives at the bottom of the sea, in an ivory tower among weeds
and coral reefs. The sea is very dirty and King Octopus and all the fish are very
sick and sad.
‘Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What can we do?’ says the clownfish.
‘Don’t worry,’ the king says, ‘The fish can clean the water with their fins”
and “I can clean the coral reefs from plastic bags with my five arms”, the starfish
says.
“I can eat all the trash”, the shark adds. “I can carry away all the old shoes
and old tins”, the seahorse says.
So the clownfish, the sea horses, the sharks, the starfish clean and clean and
clean the sea. The sharks eat all the trash: all the paper, plastic bags, and plastic
bottles.
Finally, after twenty-five days, they finish the work. “Oh, look! The water is
clean and transparent, the seaweed is green, and the coral reefs are pink”, says the
clownfish. “We are not sick now”, says the starfish happily.
King Octopus invites all the fish to a party at 6:30 p.m. in the whale’s
mouth.
A starfish plays the keyboard, the sea horse plays the violins, and the
octopus plays the drums.
They all five happily ever after.
6. Stripped Story
It is the year 2050.
_________________________________________________________
King Octopus lives at the bottom of the sea, in an ivory tower among weeds and
coral reefs.
The sea is very dirty and King Octopus and all the fish are very sick and sad.
_____________________________________________________________
‘Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What can we do?’ says the clownfish.
_____________________________________________________________
‘Don’t worry,’ the king says, ‘The fish can clean the water with their fins” and “I
can clean the coral reefs from plastic bags with my five arms”, the starfish says.
______________________________________________________________
“I can eat all the trash”, the shark adds. “I can carry away all the old shoes and old
tins”, the seahorse says
______________________________________________________________
So the clownfish, the sea horses, the sharks, the starfish clean and clean and clean
the sea. The sharks eat all the trash: all the paper, plastic bags, and plastic bottles.
______________________________________________________________
Finally, after twenty-five days, they finish the work. “Oh, look! The water is clean
and transparent, the seaweed is green, and the coral reefs are pink”, says the
clownfish.
______________________________________________________________
“We are not sick now”, says the starfish happily. They all live happily ever after.
______________________________________________________________
Top Related