Kimberly Pratt, ARMADA Master Teacher
Penny Johnson, ARMADA Mentee

• Burns, Loree Griffin. 2007. Tracking Trash, Flotsam, Jetsam and the Science of Ocean Motion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 58p.
  With wonderful pictures, this book discusses latitude/longitude and currents giving the background needed to discuss trash spills in the ocean. It highlights the garbage patch, seabird bolus and what can be done to help the oceans. Many disturbing photos of animals caught in trash that will impress students to protect our oceans and hopefully pick up trash.
• Cook, Mary Esther. 2005. Teacher at Sea - Ms. Cook's Voyage on the Ron Brown. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Pg. 34
  This book chronicles Ms. Cook's journey as a Teacher at Sea on-board the Ron Brown. Easily understandable for lower grades and discusses weather, buoys, whales. Does a great job of describing life at sea. It has a wonderful glossary and resource list in the back.
• Crawley, Annie. 2007. Ocean Life from A to Z. New York. Reader's Digest Children's Books. Pg. 32
  This book will provide an overview of ocean creatures to give students a glimpse of the wonders of the deep. Mary Crawley's talent for photography brings to life all the creatures in the ocean for kids. Works very well to have students create their own ABC" books about the ocean.
• Ehrlich, Amy. 2003. Rachel, The Story of Rachel Carson. Orlando: Harcourt. 30p.
  Beautifully illustrated book chronicling the life of Rachel Carson. Each chapter explores the highlights of her life including her days at Wood's Hole, working for the US Bureau of Fisheries, and her many writings including Silent Spring. Very useful for young readers.
• Eyewitness Books. 2004. Whale. New York. DK Publishing, Inc. pg. 72
  This book gives a comprehensive picture of marine mammals. Some of the topics include: evolution, courtship and birth, seal hunting and whale identification. Younger students enjoy all the photos and how easily accessible all the text is.
• Kovacs, Deborah. 2000. Off to Sea, An Inside Look at a Research Cruise. Austin, TX. Steck-Vaughn Company. Pg. 48
  Using the Woods Hole Oceanographic vessel the Atlantis, this book describes what a research cruise is like. There is a great diagram of the ship and talks about all aspects of ship life. Alvin is deployed and also Styrofoam cups are sent down so students can see the affects of pressure. This book gives great background knowledge to students whose teacher is going to sea.
• Niesen, Thomas M. The Marine Biology Coloring Book. Napa, California. Coloring Concepts, Inc.
  Provides color plates for all the organisms in the ocean. Gives great descriptions and wonderful illustrations. Students enjoy either coloring the sheets or tracing the diagrams. Also included are ocean currents, wind patterns and tides for fundamental understanding.
• South, Mary. 2007. The Cure for Anything is Salt Water. New York. Harper Collins. Pg. 211
  Although not appropriate for young readers, it does however, lend it self for discussing mariner careers. The author, a successful woman, gave everything up to buy a boat and become a sailor. She discusses the peace she has found while on the water and it lends to discussion about enjoying being near the ocean or even outside in nature.

• Enchanted Learning. Plankton
  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/
  plankton/Planktonprintout.shtml
  Very kid friendly, overview of plankton. Discusses phytoplankton, zooplankton and their place in the food web. Also has links from the larval stages of zooplankton to the adult stage.
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography
  http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/plankton.html
  This site shows and describes a plankton net tow. Also shows pictures of the ships R/V New Horizon, and R/V Onrust. It also shows satellite image of chlorophyll. There are numerous photos of plankton, each with some description. It is very useful to show on a projector to give students a glimpse of the many types of plankton to be found.

• The Blue Planet. DVD. BBC Video. 2007.
  This is a spectacular video of all dimensions of the ocean. It is a great way to get kids interested in ocean science. It includes the impact of humanity on the ocean and what happens between the tides.