Thursday, May 12, 2016

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{FREE} Ocean Animals & Plants Cards

Summer is here, and everyone is talking about the ocean!  I thought you would love these {FREE} Ocean Animals & Plants cards to go with any ocean fun and learning you're doing!



You can use them for memory and matching games, put them in a Montesorri bin, or even quiz each other with the fun facts on them!  For example, did you know that yellow tangs will sometimes eat algae right off a sea turtle's back?!


What else can you learn?  Find out...

What the largest marine plant is!
The only fish in the world to have blue scales!
What sea creature has three hearts!
What sea creature likes to eat sting rays!
What fish can walk on its fins!
And so much more!!

Of course, there are thousands and thousands of sea creatures that I could not include in this set...there are probably still more mysteries in the ocean than there are in the rainforest!

But, I did include critters and plants from at least five different phyla and at least one representative from each zone in the ocean!

If you have older children I am including this short list for your reference.  Here are the ocean zones and at least one animal included in the card set that you can find in each.  It's important to note a couple things about this list.  Many animals move between the mesopelagic zone and the epipelagic zone depending on food availability.  For example, the hammerhead shark can be found anywhere from the surface of the ocean down to 300 meters (which is at the top of the mesopelagic zone).  And different species of an animal like the octopus live at different depths. For example, the blanket octopus lives in the epipelagic zone near coral reefs while the umbrella (or Dumbo) octopus ranges from 3,000 meters (bathypelagic) to 7,000 meters (abyss) deep.

Epipelagic / Sunlight Zone:  Sea Star
Mesopelagic / Twilight Zone:  Hammerhead Shark
Bathypelagic / Midnight Zone: Vampire Squid 
Abyssopelagic Zone / The Abyss:  Octopus
Trenches:  Sea Toad



So what can you do with your ocean animals & plants cards?  

The possibilities are endless!  And I love that they can be used by all different ages!  Here are a few ideas:

* Memory & Matching Games
* Montessori Bins
* Build food chains with them
* Match them with different zones in the ocean
* Sort them with similarities and differences
* Put them in Venn Diagrams
* Represent producers and consumers (and different levels of consumers!)
* Anything else you want!

They would go perfectly with ocean, coral reef, beach, or summer themes, but are also loads of fun just to play with by themselves!  We made them to go with our Marine Biology week--more details below!!

This packet includes animals AND plants that you would find in an ocean biome! 

Please note that all pages are copyrigh© 2016 Preschool Powol Packets.  Please share them by linking to this blog post and not the actual file.  Please encourage other teachers and parents to download their own set.  Please do NOT host the file on any other website or in file sharing groups on Facebook or other sites.  You're always welcome to share a link to this post!  This allows me to continue creating FREE resources.  Thank you!!


Are you learning about biomes?  Did you see my Tropical Rainforest Animals & Plants cards?  Check them out!!  And yes, more biomes are coming!!

Do you love ocean activities?  Why not check out my {FREE} Ocean Count & Clip Cards, {FREE} Ocean Animals Count to 10 Hidden Picture, or {FREE} Sharks Count to 10 Hidden Picture?  And keep checking back...more are coming!


AND...we are joining the Early Elementary Blogging Team today to bring you loads of Marine Biology learning activities and resources!  You will love these ideas!!  Be sure to visit...




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