Oyster Decline in the Chesapeake Bay Objectives: At the end of this class students will be able to:
- Explain why oysters can filter water.
- Accurately measure using metric measure.
- Identify three significant structures of an oyster.
- Correctly use the terms turbidity, salinity and phytoplankton in a journal entry.
Engage
- Give each cooperative team an oyster shell. Have students try to identify:
- Qualitatively describe the object in your journal.
- Write at least three statements about what you already know about this object.
- Have a class discussion to establish prior knowledge
Explore:
- Oyster Filter activity.
Explain:
- How oyster feed and why salinity and water temperature is important to oyster growth and reproduction.
Elaborate:
- Place an oyster on a paper plate. Allow the students to examine them with a hand lens and record observations in their science journal.
- Have student measure the oyster using metric measurement and record measurement in their science journal.
- Have the students identify the basic structures of the Oyster using the anatomy of an oyster diagram. See resources for books with diagrams of oyster anatomy
Note: You may use the Maryland Sea Grant page: Oyster Anatomy as an extended excercise. The diagram below comes from their web page: http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/oysters/anatlab/lab.htm
Evaluation:
Journal entry:
- In your science journal, explain how the oysters cleared the water in the aquarium. Write about the structure of the oyster, the turbidity of the water, and the food that oysters eat.
Return to Oyster page
