Only One Ocean

Marine Science Activities for Grades 5—8

Written by Catherine Halversen and Craig Strang with Kimi Hosoume

As its title suggests, this GEMS guide is designed to help students understand the tremendous environmental importance of the ocean. The unit begins with a revealing hands-on activity, "Apples and Oceans," that focuses on the vast proportion of the Earth that is ocean and the much smaller slices where ocean resources are concentrated. Students dissect real squids, gaining insight into the adaptations of squids to their open-ocean habitat. Students then launch an intensive investigation of species-threatening issues related to key ocean fisheries and the increasing scarcity of ocean resources.

This GEMS guide adapts activities developed by the Marine Activities, Resources & Education (MARE) program of the Lawrence Hall of Science. It connects swimmingly with the marine-oriented GEMS guides Ocean Currents and On Sandy Shores.

NSTA Recommends   Only One Ocean
"Only One Ocean: Marine Science Activities for Grades 5-8
is a great interdisciplinary introduction to the interconnectedness of Earth's greatest resource. These activities give a balanced look at our ocean resources, showing the biologists', environmentalists', consumers', and fishers' points of view. In the teacher-friendly tradition of all the LHS GEMS, the format of each activity is very easy to follow … these activities are interesting, exciting, and very worthwhile for developing students' understanding of the importance of our ocean."
—National Science Teachers Association Recommends

Comment on this GEMS unit.

Only One Ocean cover art

Order online

Ordering information

Literature Connections

What materials are needed to present this unit? See the full list.


ISBN: Grade Level Format Price
0-924886-22-6 5—8 3 Activities,
11 Classroom sessions
190 pages
$26