Invite your middle- and upper-grade students to learn more about the weird, wonderful creatures that live deep below the ocean surface. Before you begin, distribute the CyberHunt Reproducible, below. Then send students online to www.scholastic.com/cyberhuntkids, or directly to the interactive hunt.

1. Fish and sea mammals.
2. 1,000 meters. Plants to grow.
3. Chemical. Bioluminescence.
4. Long, sharp teeth. Jaws and stomachs.
5. Photophore. Dorsal spine.
6. Fishing pole. Common black devil.
7. Sperm whales.
8. One of these: umbrellamouth gulper or pelican eel. Lower jaw.
9. 60 feet. Suction cups.

www.seasky.org/monsters/sea7a4.html
 www.promotega.org/ksu00019
Invite students to create a scale model of the ocean layers on your classroom wall or on a bulletin board, using these sites for guidance. Have them create cut-outs of the fish and other marine creatures that make their home in the deep sea, place them in the correct ocean layers, and label each with key characteristics. For fun, add humans in mechanical divers and deep-sea submersibles, inspired by the diagram at http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_how_deep.html.

www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species/default.asp?hOri=0&hab=9
Invite students to visit this gallery of living deep-sea species, sponsored by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Have them print photos or create drawings of some of the creatures, then use them to create deep-sea trading cards. On the back of each card, students can list the ocean zone in which the creature is likely to be found, its eating habits, and distinctive characteristics. Students can also visit www.seasky.org/monsters/sea7a.html for more information on these fascinating species. Encourage students to use the cards to play a deep-sea version of Go Fish. For older students, challenge them to ask each other more detailed questions to trade for cards, such as “Do you have any creatures that use bioluminescence?”

www.mesa.edu.au/seachange/97/deepsea.htm
Journey with students on a virtual voyage to the deep sea! After reading about scientists' adventures exploring our oceans, have students write imaginary journal entries describing what they've seen on their own dives into the abyss. How deep did they go? What strange creatures did they encounter? What did they take with them and why?

Scholastic´s Ocean Links
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/
 
NOVA´s Into the Abyss
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/abyss/life/bestiary.html
 
In Search of the Giant Squid
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squid_opening.html
 
Monterey Bay Aquarium Deep Sea Pages
www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_mbh/dsc_about.asp
 
National Geographic Explorer: Sea Monsters http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0309/articles/mainarticle.html
 
The Bioluminescence Web Page
www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/
 
Oceans FAQ
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/oceans/faq.htm
 
Blue Planet Challenge
www.bbc.co.uk/nature/blueplanet/
 
 
Go to Kids´ page

 
Karyn M. Peterson is the associate editor of Instructor .
 
CyberHunt © 2004 Scholastic Inc.
 
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