ShipMates' subject matter fits with
ecology-based content for high school science. Students use the "Ship
Mates" background material to understand how sunlight is converted
to usable energy at the base of the marine food web. Supporting classroom
material gives students an opportunity to better understand specific phytoplankton
by investigating their structure. The materials below were developed by
Polly Wilson, Deering High School (Portland, ME).
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These Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
files will guide you through working with ShipMates within an ecology
unit:
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How do seasonal variations in the availability of sunlight, nutrients and other abiotic factors influence the distribution and abundance of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine? Click here |
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Rubrics for "Distributions of Organisms" and "Scientific Inquiry." Click here |
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Content standards for "Matter Energy and Organization in Living Systems" and "Science as Inquiry." And further applications for "The Cell," "Interdependence of Organisms," and "Behavior of Organisms." Click here |
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Activity involves constructing scale models of phytoplankton to accommodate visual learners. Click here |
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Students learn the dependence that microscopic marine organisms have on environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity and stratification by "creating a thermocline." Click here |
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For kinetic learners, the class simulates the interaction between phytoplankton populations and the abiotic factors that influence growth. Click here |
