The Tide Pools activity set includes so much material that I have broken it into two separate study units. The first unit, Tide Pools, includes the educational content, in the form of an anchor activity and two supporting books, all three linked to a menu grid.
The second unit, Tide Pools Writing And Review, includes the tests and writing activities, again linked to a menu grid. While exploring, students might have both the anchor activity and a journal open simultaneously, writing as they go.
Exploring Tide Pools
The anchor activity Exploring Tide Pools should be approached in multiple sessions. I’ve tried to come as close as possible to the real life experience by setting up a structure that students can wander through in any order, finding exciting discoveries along the way.
The activity first takes students down cliffs to the beach and into a marine preserve. Then they go out onto rocks exposed at low tide.
From this main branch point they can choose to explore an area with many small tide pools or go further out toward a large rookery covered with sea birds. Both these points have five destinations with various tide pool animals, plants, and birds to study.
Look Closer
On some pages there are buttons to let students look closer at an animal, or get additional information. Movies and sound effects add a layer of reality to the experience.
Tide Pools Glossary
A glossary can be opened from any page to hear the definition of unfamiliar words. A copy of this glossary with the same words is used to insert words in the writing activities.
Supporting Books
Two supporting books focus on the major types of tide pool life the students encounter. No Bones About It! looks at the invertebrates in detail, with close up photos of animals such as the sea hare, sea anemones, crabs, sea stars, and sea urchins.
Shore Birds points out the different feeding strategies of many types of sea birds including willets, curlews, godwits, pelicans and cormorants.
Tests and Writing Activities
There are multiple choice comprehension tests for all three books. A directed writing activity, Tide Pools Review, uses photos from Exploring Tide Pools and a question about each photo to help students describe their experiences in their own words.
Tide Pools Journal is a free-form writing experience. Students can insert photos from Exploring Tide Pools in the order that they choose, and record their observations to produce a unique account of their exploration. The glossary is available to insert words into both these writing activities.
For students who need more assistance in writing, Write About Tide Pools offers a chance to construct sentences by inserting entire words related to the tide pools. Students insert the pictures and names of the various tide pools plants and animals, and can pick from lists of action words and location words to build sentences.
Puzzles!
You can download puzzles made from three of the photos used in Tide Pools, and there are also online versions of these puzzles. Downloaded puzzles come in Classroom Suite and HyperStudio 5 formats, plus a set of printable puzzles in PDF format. The PDF puzzles are meant to be printed, mounted on a backing, and cut apart for off-computer use.
There are Preview buttons in the descriptions of the online puzzles that display the puzzle pictures. Also use these buttons to preview puzzles in downloadable formats. The online puzzles are hosted on JigsawPlanet.com, but there are buttons below the puzzle to return to this page or the online puzzles Help page.
The HyperStudio puzzles have draggable pieces to assemble on screen. The Classroom Suite puzzles are cause and effect, and let students choose the nine pieces in any order to remove them and reveal parts of the puzzle. They have custom IntelliKeys overlays attached, and a Dynavox version of this overlay is included in the Dynavox zip file you can download from this page. Look for links to each puzzle type with the other downloads for Printable Activities (PDF), Classroom Suite, HyperStudio 5, and in the Online Links-Activities section.
Off Computer And Bonus
In addition to these computer activities, there is a set of vocabulary cards to print, a flow chart showing all the possible exploration points in the tide pools, and a large photo collection including all the photos from the books and many more.
Detailed overviews for each application format direct teachers in using the activity sets. There are also test answer keys and a summary of all the plants and animals in the activities.
Also look in the Online links-Activities section below for a link to the Orange County Parks web site’s Education Tools. There are two free downloads, a Fun Facts slide show and Classroom Activities download (Tidepools Curriculum), both in PDF format. The third link, to What Will You See?, was broken last time I checked. However, if you click Multimedia in the top menu, you can watch four videos about tidepools. You must have the latest version of Flash Player installed, and give permission to run Flash, to watch these. I don’t think you can run them on iPad, but they are worth finding a computer to share them with a class!
I have also added also a link to an interactive page on Tidepool Ecology provided by Laguna Ocean Foundation. In a simple graphical style, this page explains what creatures you might find in each intertidal zone, as you wade out from the beach. Hovering over each animal’s picture brings up text to tell more about it. I think this may be the intended destination of the broken What Will You See? link on the Orange County site.
Specific Application Notes
The above description applies to the full activity set as it appears in Classroom Suite®, Clicker 5,® and HyperStudio 5®. These include movies and sound effects.
The Classroom Suite versions have custom IntelliKeys® overlays attached. See the Special Needs Access section on the System Reqs page for information on controlling the Classroom Suite version from PRC devices. Refer to the HyperStudio is Back! page for information about downloading players to run the HyperStudio versions of these activities.
There is a link on this page to an online version of all three books, complete with movies and sounds. You’ll need to have QuickTime® installed to see movies in the online version. For details, check out the Annie’s Books Online page.
There is a straight-line version of Exploring Tide Pools and the two supporting books (No Bones About It! and Shore Birds) in My Own Bookshelf®, with coordinating tests in Test Me Score Me®.
The PowerPoint® versions hopefully will retain the movies and sound effects. I’m experimenting with a new way to export into this format, and would appreciate feedback as to whether you were able to see the movies.
There are also PDF versions of the books to print or use onscreen, which can be paired with tests and writing activities in Word® format. Those using the PowerPoint, Annie’s Books Online, or My Own Bookshelf versions could also use these tests and writing activities.
Applications needed: Classroom Suite, Clicker 5, HyperStudio 5, My Own Bookshelf, Test Me Score Me, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Acrobat Reader
Subject areas: Science, Reading, Writing.
Level: Grades 1-5.
Online Links-Activities
Tide Pools Books Online link: CLICK HERE. Description: Menu with links to all three Tide Pools books to read online. Movies require QuickTime. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.
Desktop version of Tide Pools link: tidePoolsDesktop Three TidePools books to read from the desktop using a web browser. Movies require QuickTime. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.
Orange County Marine Protected Areas site link: Click Here. Description: Orange County Parks site about tide pools with nice videos and two FREE education downloads at the foot of the page.
Tidepools Ecology page link: Click Here. Description: One paragraph of text defining Intertidal Zonation Patterns, followed by four groups of large pictures of sea life found in each of four zones. Hovering the cursor on an animal brings up more information about it.
Online Puzzles
Curlew Puzzle link: Click Here . Online jigsaw puzzle made from photo of a curlew from Shore Birds.
Sea Star Puzzle link: Click Here . Online jigsaw puzzle made from photo of sea star from No Bones About It! .
The Tide Turns Puzzle link: Click Here . Online jigsaw puzzle made from photo of beach at turn of tide from Exploring Tide Pools.
For details on using Annie’s Puzzles Online, click here.
Downloads-Activities
Printable Activities
TidePoolsPDF.zip (20.9 MB) Zip file includes three books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It! and Shore Birds) to print or use onscreen. No movies. Acrobat Reader.
TidePoolsUnitPrintPuzzles.zip (3.8 MB) Zip file includes three puzzles to print and complete for off-computer use. Puzzle images include a curlew, a sea star, and a view of the beach with the tide coming in, all from the tide Pools books. Instructions included. Acrobat Reader.
WritingReviewWordDOC.zip (54.3 MB) Zip file includes three comprehension tests plus the Tide Pools Journal and Tide Pools Review writing activities to print. MicroSoft Word 2003 (.doc).
WritingReviewWordDOCX.zip (54.3 MB) Zip file includes three comprehension tests plus the Tide Pools Journal and Tide Pools Review writing activities to print. MicroSoft Word 2007 (.docx).
Clicker 5
TidePoolsClickMac.zip (60.4 MB) Three interactive books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) plus a menu grid in Clicker 5 MAC. Has QuickTime movies.
TidePoolsWritingClickMac.zip (30.0 MB) Three comprehension tests and three writing activities (Write About Tide Pools, Tide Pools Review, Tide Pools Journal) plus a menu grid in Clicker 5 MAC.
TidePoolsClickWin.zip (60.4 MB) Three interactive books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) plus a menu grid in Clicker WIN. Has AVI (Indeo compression) movies.
TidePoolsWritingClickWin.zip (30.0 MB) Three comprehension tests and three writing activities (Write About Tide Pools, Tide Pools Review, Tide Pools Journal) plus a menu grid in Clicker WIN.
Classroom Suite
TidePoolsBooksSuite.zip (91.4 MB) Three interactive books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) in Classroom Suite v.3 or later. Custom IntelliKeys overlays are attached.
TidePoolsReviewSuite.zip (FILE 48 MB) Three comprehension tests and three writing activities (Write About Tide Pools, Tide Pools Review, Tide Pools Journal) for Classroom Suite v.3 or later. Custom IntelliKeys overlays are attached.
TidePoolsPuzzlesSuite.zip 8.9 MB) Three puzzles using images from the Tide Pools books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) in Classroom Suite v.3 or later. Custom IntelliKeys overlays are attached.
TidePoolsDynavox.zip (8.1 MB) IntelliKeys overlays for three Tide Pools books, three tests, three puzzles, and three writing activities saved as Dynavox package files.
HyperStudio 5
TidePoolsStacks.zip (83.8 MB) Three interactive books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) linked to a launcher stack in HyperStudio 5
TidePoolsWriting-ReviewHS.zip (26.0 MB) Three comprehension tests and two writing activities (Tide Pools Review and Tide Pools Journal) for HyperStudio 5.
TidePoolsPuzzlesHS.zip (3.4 MB) Three puzzles with draggable pieces for HyperStudio 5. Images of curlew, sea star, and turn of the tide from the tide Pools books.
SoftTouch
MBSExploringTidePools.zip (35.9 MB) folders with Exploring Tide Pools book and movies to import into My Own Bookshelf.
MBSNoBonesAboutIt.zip (8.6 MB) folders with No Bones About It! book to import into My Own Bookshelf.
MBSShoreBirds.zip (16.9 MB) folders with Shore Birds book and movies to import into My Own Bookshelf.
TMSMExploreTidePoolsComp.zip (21.8 MB) Test on Exploring Tide Pools book using photos and 3 text answers. Requires Test Me Score Me.
TMSMNoBonesComp.zip (15.1 MB) Test on No Bones About It! book using photos and 3 text answers. Requires Test Me Score Me.
TMSMShoreBirdsComp.zip (15.4 MB) Test on Shore Birds book using photos and 3 text answers. Requires Test Me Score Me.
PowerPoint
TidePoolsBooksPPT.zip (72.7 MB) Three interactive books (Exploring Tide Pools, No Bones About It!, Shore Birds) saved as both .ppt and as .pptx files. Movies in the same folders; install as a unit. PowerPoint 2003 or later.
Downloads-Resources
TidePoolsVocabCards.pdf (1 MB) Vocabulary cards, three to a page, with photos paired with words from Tide Pools. Printable. Acrobat Reader.
TidePoolPhotoCollection.zip (19.6 MB) JPEG files of all the photos used in the Tide Pools activities and the vocabulary cards, plus many bonus photos. To preview the collection, click here.
TidePoolsDocuments.zip (1.2 MB) Overviews and lesson plans by application, test keys, flow chart, vocabulary list, and list of life forms encountered in the tide pools.
Ann – I’m a HS user from Way Back…10 years ago….and I was wondering if you have had good luck running HS 4.5 stacks with the new HS 5.0 Player? Do HyperLogo scripts run OK? Both PC and Mac? In the ‘old” days…updates usually meant re-working some stacks!
Thanks
Chris Cramer
November 30, 2009 @ 11:50 amChris, I haven’t tried out the players, since I have HS5.
There are actually two sets of players, or two and a half for Mac. For both Windows and Mac, there is a new HS 5 player. Its description says it plays both the new HS 5 stacks, and those made from old versions 3.3 to 4.5.
There are also legacy players for both platforms. The Windows legacy player (HyperStudio 4.5 Player) says it will play stacks created on Windows 95 or later from HS versions 3.3 to 4.5. For Mac, there are separate legacy players for stacks made on OSX or Mac Classic.
So from the description, yes, either the legacy players or HS 5 players ought to play your 4.5 stacks on your current system, be it Mac or Windows.
HyperLogo? I don’t know. It’s not in HS 5, at least as yet, though there is a grayed out “scripting language” option under Button Actions. So it’s possible the new HS 5 player won’t run HyperLogo. I would hope that the legacy players, at least, would be able to handle HyperLogo actions.
The best way to find out is to download players and try them. The players are free, and I’ve put links onto my page reviewing HS 5 (HyperStudio Is Back!) to go directly to the players download page for each platform. Give them a try, and then let us know how they worked for you, especially HyperLogo scripts.
December 1, 2009 @ 3:48 pmChris & Ann,
HyperStudio 5 will play most old HyperStudio stacks, but not the HyperLogo scripts. The HyperStudio Legacy Player will run HyperLogo stacks, but is play-only; you can’t do further editing.
Roger
May 23, 2010 @ 5:06 amThank you for sharing all of your hard work. This is truly amazing! I was looking for something to supplement our reading and lesson on tidal pools. We live in Dallas, TX – there are not many tidal pools here. You have given us a first had look and my class of students with special needs will feel as if we have been to the beach! Thank you!
September 2, 2015 @ 10:47 pm