Over in the Ocean

"Over In The Ocean" Book Cover

When I could still see a few years ago, I thought the pictures in Over in the Ocean by Jack Hartmann were simply gorgeous.  It's very much like the book Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats.  I think it's a wonderful book because it can be used it to teach habitats, one-to-one correspondence up to ten, new vocabulary, sequencing, and numeral recognition.  Another nice thing about this book is that it changes which family member is talking to the sea creatures each time.  On one page it might be a mommy, on another page a daddy, on other pages an auntie, stepmom, etc.  It covers 10 different family relationships in all.  Jack Hartmann has also written a beautiful song called "Over in the Ocean" that matches the book perfectly and encourages your students to perform different motions such as paddle, dive, slither, hunt, and more.  I believe that this really helps them to stay focused on the book.

Here is a guided reading book (approximately DRA level 1) that you could use with your kiddos:
What Lives in the Ocean

If you're not aware that National Geographic has a great link for kids, please check this out:

Animals on National Geographic for Kids

From this site you can show your children great videos, play real animal sounds, view maps that show where each animal lives in the world, and print out fact cards for animals from any habitats that you're studying.  I even used this site with pre-k, and my children were so excited by the videos, especially the one showing baby scorpions climbing all over their mother!  I was sort of glad I couldn't see it - it was creeping me out just hearing about it!

This is a unique graphic organizer your kids can use to place things below and above the water.  The first page is a model that they can color in, and the following pages provide opportunities to cut and paste.
Ocean Above and Below

Coloring by numbers was one of my favorite activities when I was five years old.  It just seemed so magical to me - I don't know why.  Here are two color-by-number papers that are ocean-related:
Color by Number Fish

Finally, if you're looking for a great way to save money, I made a few free table nameplates that are on TPT, including dolphins and happy faces:

Dolphin and Happy Face Nameplates

If you prefer a free butterfly nameplate that also has numbers 1 to 20 and the alphabet, pick it up from Teacher's Notebook here:

Butterfly Nameplates

As always, I LOVE hearing from all of you.  Please feel free to leave a comment, critique, or question below.