Links
Have fun exploring!
Links with an apple have an activity or lesson plan for educators.
Here you'll find:
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Some Favorite Video and Audio Clips
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Seals and Other Marine Mammals
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Puffins and Other Ocean Birds
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The Ocean and Life in the Sea
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Tides and Currents
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Ocean Health
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"The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry"
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Myth and Folklore
Some Favorite Video and Audio Clips
See how harbor seals move on land and in water in this video from Wildscreen Arkive.
A kelp forest. This awesome video from NOAA's Ocean Today even has a seal.
A seal researcher at work in Puget Sound. This is what Aran's world looks like.
My favorite recording of "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry," the song Nellie sings.
Explore marine life in these great videos from NOAA's Ocean Today--with transcripts, too!
Seals and Other Marine Mammals
Common seal. Videos and lots of information. A wonderful place to explore! Wildscreen Arkive, arkive.org
Lunchbox Lessons: Seal Anatomy and Lunchbox Lessons: Seals 101. Fun, short informational videos. Ocean Today, NOAA.
Marine Mammal Education Web. Education links on marine mammals and related science and careers. Marine Mammal Laboratory, NOAA.
About Harbor Seals, Seal Sitters. On the Seal Sitters website you'll find information on marine mammals, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, resources, books for kids, dangerous waters, and much more.
Introduction to Marine Mammals and Pacific Harbor Seal. The Marine Mammal Center.
Harbour Seal (Phoca Vitulina). Seal Conservation Society.
Videos:
Common seal locomotion. Wildscreen Arkive. See seals move on land and in water.
Harbor Seal Monitoring in Puget Sound, NOAA Fisheries. See a seal researcher at work; watch seals move on land and in a kelp forest. This is what Aran's world looks like.
WildWatchcams, Seals, Prerecorded Videos. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. These videos include a mother seal protecting her pup from an eagle, and seal mom and pup interactions.
Wave Hunting: Orcas Prey on Seal. Orcas hunting a seal by creating waves. Lindblad Expeditions--National Geographic.
Killer whales hunting seals on ice--behind the scenes in Antarctica--BBC Earth."
"Recovering the Southern Resident Killer Whale with Research and Conservation." NOAA Fisheries.
Tufted Puffin. Listen to a puffin grunting, watch a short video, and see
wonderful photos. All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Atlantic Puffin. I saw Atlantic puffins in the Skellig Islands; they inspired the puffin in the book. All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Aran sees many birds besides puffins. Here's a checklist of birds of the San Juan Islands. Look them up at birdweb.org and allaboutbirds.org! "Birds, San Juan Island National Historic Park." Pamphlet, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
Puffins and Other Ocean Birds
The Ocean and Life in the Sea
Ocean Today from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is a fantastic resource. Here are a few places to get started:
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Marine Life. These short informational videos and transcripts are a great introduction to a topic. Here are some you'll recognize from The Turning: Kelp Forests, Bioluminescent Ocean, and Killer Whales.
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NOAA Photo Library: The Ocean, Life in the Sea. Click on a photo to learn what you're looking at. Here's the Pacific Ocean, U.S. West Coast: Aran's world.
Lesson Plan Library. National Ocean Service Education, NOAA, in partnership with the National Science Teachers Association. "These comprehensive lesson plans present NOAA science through activities using online data from NOAA and other trusted web sites. The lessons are correlated to National Science Education Standards and the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts. The lessons are designed to supplement existing curricula at the middle and high school levels."
The Bridge: An Ocean of teacher approved marine education resources. National Marine Educators Association. Click on lesson plans, and then by grade.
Education. Monterey Bay Aquarium. A wealth of games and activities. Here are a few:
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Sea Searchers Handbook. "...a treasure of activities, from art to science and from math to language arts. Explore rocky shores, wetlands, sandy shores, kelp forests, the open sea and the deep sea and enjoy over 90 hands-on activities."
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Kelp Forest Free App for grades 3-5. "Our free e-book teaches kids about the kelp forest habitat, the organisms that live there and kelp in our world. Interactive games help kids learn about food webs and the components and interactions of ecosystems...connects well with the Common Core State Standards on reading informational text and supports Next Generation Science Standards Disciplinary Core Life Science Idea 2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy and Dynamics."
Tides and Currents
From the National Ocean Service:
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Tides and Water Levels. This tutorial on tides includes causes, variations, and measuring.
Lesson: Gravity and Tides. Nature Bridge. Lesson plan for grades 3-8.
Tides. Teacher Planet. Resources, lesson plans, and activities.
"Activities for the Children: A Teaching Unit for Years 8-12." SEREAD. Activities on tides and using tide charts. "SEREAD teaches basic scientific fundamentals in a hands-on approach using examples that build on Pacific students' everyday observations and experiences."
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Year of the Seal: Marine Debris Resource for Educators. This fantastic resource includes links on marine debris, posters, activities, coloring sheets and lesson plans.
NOAA:
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Activities and Curricula. NOAA Marine Debris Program, Office of Response and Restoration. "Download an assortment of puzzles, brain-teasers, coloring activities, and formal curricula for grades 1-12."
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Educator's Guide to Marine Debris. Download this guide with activities and worksheets.
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Trash Talk. Watch short videos on marine debris and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
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Trash Talk Webinar for educators. Ocean Today. A ten-minute webinar with demonstrations of hands-on activities.
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NOAA Planet Stewards Education Project. Take action!
Marine Mammal Center:
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Stop Trashing Our Oceans. Take an Ocean Trash Trivia Quiz. See how ocean trash hurts marine mammals. From here you can link to information on what you can do to make a difference.
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Click on "Programs" to find information on trash, ocean acidification, sustainable fisheries, and more.
Ocean Trash Plaguing Our Sea. Ocean Portal, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
SciLinks. Here you'll find links to lots more information, vetted websites, and lesson plans. Just a few of the links for "Ocean," grades 5-8:
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What is the Future of Earth's Climate? National Geographic Society, Education, Lesson for Grades 6-8.
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Integrated Arts Marine Debris Curriculum. Washedashore.org.
Ocean Health
"The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry"
This is the ballad that Nellie sings. I took lines from a few versions and made some tweaks of my own.
This is my favorite version on video. It's long but absolutely beautiful.
Port / The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry/ De Domhnaigh 21.30 / 16/4.
Here are the lyrics from Child Ballad 113, on Internet Sacred Text Archive.
Scroll down this page to see some different versions of the lyrics. Mainly Norfolk: English and Scottish Folk and Other Good Music.
Myth and Folklore
Myth and folklore are rich with tales of the moon, the sea, and beings who can shift shape between animal and human. I hope to add more soon on tales from around the world. If you have great links, please send them to me!
The sea in Orkney folklore. Orkney lore of selkies, vanishing islands, mermaids, monsters, and more. Orkneyjar: The Heritage of the Orkney Islands.
Variations on the Selkie Tale: "The Mermaid Wife and other migratory legends of Christiansen type 4080." D.L. Ashliman's folk texts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales and mythology.
Celtic Folktales. World of Tales: Stories for Children from Around the World.
Celtic Folklore. Internet Sacred Texts Archive. "Some of these books and texts are translations of Celtic legends and sagas; others are retellings of the material, folklore, or literary works based on Celtic themes." Many of these are from the 19th and early 20th century.
Irish Literature, Mythology, Folklore and Drama. Luminarium.org. Links to many online sources.
While Aran's story came home with me from Ireland, the book takes place in the Pacific Northwest, a world rich in story. Here's just a taste from Native Languages of the Americas: