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Create a poster to help save our

natural world and protect our

oceans.

Poster competition: The winner of the best

poster will receive a £10 voucher!

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We need to take care of our oceans to make sure these amazing creatures

do not become extinct!

One day a man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boyhurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?”

The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf isup and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

The man laughed to himself and said, “Don’t you realise there aremiles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t makeany difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up anotherstarfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…

“I made a difference to that one.”

Original Story by Loren Eisley

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Words within a

word

This word game requires you to create your own

words. Choose one really long word with at least 8-10

letters. The longer the better.

The aim of this word game is for you and your

family/carer to try to make a list of small words out of

the letters of the long word. So for example the word

COMPUTER includes: put, cot, term, core, mop, top,

pet. etc.

This is a really fun word game that you could play

virtually with your friends!3

1 11 21

2 12 22

3 13 23

4 14 24

5 15 25

6 16 26

7 17 27

8 18 28

8 19 29

10 20 30

Making wordsUsing the letters below and make as many new words as you can.

P L A N E T

E A R T H

Earth day was on the 22nd of April but we should think about our planet all year round!

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COMMON NAME: Starfish (Sea Stars)SCIENTIFIC NAME: AsteroideaTYPE: InvertebratesDIET: CarnivoreAVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: Up to 35 yearsSIZE: 4.7 to 9.4 inchesWEIGHT: Up to 11 pounds!

Starfish are echinoderms (spiny skinned sea urchins). They are also known as sea stars and are not really fish despite the name been given to them. Starfish cannot swim, and they do not use gills to breathe. For more information on these interesting sea urchins, see the fact sheets:

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Grab your snorkels and join us as we discover the secrets of one of the ocean’s most peculiar creatures! Ready? Then check out our fascinating starfish facts…

First things first – despite their common (and very misleading!) name, starfish (or sea stars) are not actually fish. Since theydon’t have a backbone, they belong to a group of species called invertebrates, which also includes urchins and sponges. There are around 1,600 different species of starfish living in the world’s oceans, where they occupy every type of habitat including tidal pools, rocky shores, sea grass, and coral reefs. Some kinds of starfish are even found on sandy seabeds 9,000 metres deep! Most starfish sport spiny skin and five arms surrounding a central disk-shape body – although some can grow as many as 50 arms. Their arms are covered with pincer-like organs and suckers that allow the animal to slowly creep along the ocean floor. They also have eyespots on the tips of the arms, which allow the starfish to sense light and dark, and help it find food. Favourites on the starfish’s menu include molluscs like clams, oysters and snails and it has a pretty impressive way of eating! After attaching its body to the chosen prey, the starfish extends its stomach out through its mouth. Substances (called enzymes) from the stomach then begin to digest the food. This allows the nutritious meal to pass inside the stomach, which in turn retracts back into the body where digestion is completed. Cool, eh?

Starfish predators include certain fish species, sharks, manta rays and even other starfish! To help protect themselves, these incredible invertebrates have evolved several effective defence mechanisms. As well as their tough, prickly, armour-like skin, some have striking colours that camouflage them amongst plants and coral, or scare off potential attackers. And check this out, too – these cool creatures are able to regrow lost or damaged limbs! If under attack, some starfish will even shed an arm to escape the predator. Cunning stuff!

Starfish aren’t social creatures – instead they are solitary and spend most of their life alone. They will, however, sometimes congregate in large groups during certain times of the year to feed. 6

• There are over 2,000 species of starfish. • Starfish are found in the deep blue sea of the ocean and shallow water as well. They are found in every ocean of the world.• They are never found in fresh water.• Most starfish have a spiky shell which offers them protection. Depending on the species, a sea star’s skin may feel

leathery, or slightly prickly. • A sea star’s spines are used for protection from predators, which include fish, sea otters and birds. Starfish come in a

variety of colours and have many different types of patterns.• While the five-armed varieties of sea star are the most well known, not all sea stars have 5 arms. Some have many more.

Take the sun star for instance, which has up to 40 arms.• Amazingly, sea stars can regenerate lost arms. This is useful if the sea star is threatened by a predator. The starfish can

drop an arm to get away. Sea stars house most of their vital organs in their arms, so some can even regenerate an entirely new sea star from just one arm and a portion of the star’s central disc. It takes almost a year for this to happen.

• Starfish have hundreds of tiny projections known as tube feet on the underside of their body. The tube feet allow the starfish to move along the ocean bottom and open the shells of scallops and clams they hunt for food.

• They eat inside out-When they capture prey, they have tiny suction cups to grab hold of their food. Then their stomach exits their mouth to digest the food, and re-enters the body when they’ve finished eating.

• They prey on mussels and clams, as well as small fish, snails, and barnacles.• The starfish have microscopic eyes at the end of each arm; this enables the starfish to view movement and differentiate

between light and dark. They don’t, however, see much detail.

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Comprehension questions:

1- What makes starfish different from fish?2-How many arms does a starfish have?3-What is the name of the substance that starfish have in their stomachs which help them digest their food?4-What do starfish like to eat?5-How do starfish defend themselves against predators?6-How many different types of starfish are there?7-What amazing thing can a starfish do if it loses one of its arms?8- Are starfish blind?

Read through the fact sheets and answer the following questions to become a starfish expert.Don’t forget to tell your family and carers what you have learnt about these amazing little creatures!

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A B C A MO U F L A G E H A LI Q Z MG P C O F N D L F C I

C O R A L Q A L Y R R J E C D C V L C T Q R R H O G V C Z B N K V Q U M N C Y G K L M J K O X P AWQ I MO L L U S C HE J B V H S VWG K S H X N G

S X P M F T OMO Y S T E R K O U K C Y R R R N P Y W I X M

C N P B T Q E F Z J D Z ZW J

E R E G E N E R A T E T Y R NA J I N V E R T E B R A T E R

N S E A U R C H I N E V H E TK FC M T M N MW F U C P F J

H C MM A R I N E G T U M P F

camouflage carnivore

coralinvertebrate

marinemolluscoceanoyster reef

regeneratesea urchin

Starfish Stories

Give it a titleHow does this picture make you feel?

Next….

What might happen in the next 5 minutes?

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Similes (we have given you an example)

1. The little yellow fish shines like the sun.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Vocabulary

ocean colourful coral

jellyfish sand surprised

3 things to think about

1. Who does the treasure chest belong to?

2. Who lives on the island?

3. Are all these sea creatures friends?

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You can print off the next slide and colour it to make it as vibrant as the starfish in our oceans. Research shows

this mindfulness activity can really chill us out!

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Create a poster to help save our natural world and protect our oceans and the amazing creatures that live in them.

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Threats to starfish: The biggest threats to starfish are a reduction of coral reef habitat, pollution, and marked changes in water temperature. They are also taken from their habitat

and sold to tourists as souvenirs, or for display in aquariums.

The winner of the poster competition will receive a £10 voucher

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Design your poster When you have finished-take a picture to send to school.Your school will decide which pupils’ poster is the best and will then send the picture to the Starfish team. They will decide the best picture from the nine schools participating for an overall winner.

Be inspired: have a look at some of these amazing

posters on environmental issues children have created

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Use online tutorials to help your draw different types of starfish

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