Tide Pool Creatures

December 2019

TIDE POOL CREATURES

There’s something about the ocean that is so exciting to children. Maybe it’s our close proximity to the shore, or all of the different creatures that can be found there: especially tide pools creatures! This month PlacenTinkers were able to dive right into a tide pool adventure to learn about the incredible creatures that dwell there! It was a treasure trove of new discoveries and learning!

We started by reading poems out of the book Ocean Soup by Stephen R. Swinburne. We learned that tide pools aren’t for the faint of heart! It’s tough to survive in this habitat! Next we became Marine Biologists who were assigned the task of collaborating with our team to create a prototype of a new Tide Pool creature: one that could survive the Tide Pool’s rugged environment. Our materials were, paper towel holders, craft sticks, modeling clay, pipe cleaners and shiny rocks.

By working together and collaborating, PlacenTinkers discovered that each one of us has valuable ideas. After all teams finished creating a unique tide pool prototype, we shared them with the class by projecting them onto our new Promethean Panel. Students donned lab coats (because of course, Marine Biologists are scientists) and each group presented their prototype and described the features that help them adapt to their Tide Pool Habitat.

PlacenTinkers discovered that starting over is okay, and testing and retesting builds tenacity and expands knowledge. Our students grow, not only in creativity or critical thinking skills, but by collaborating and showing empathy.

Scroll through the images below to see PlacenTinkers in action!