At the Bottom of the Sea

(Storytelling after Bloom’s taxonomy)

Energizer: Jellyfish

Introduction

The earth is approximately 70% water. The oceans are faced with intense

pollution which threatens marine life and the entire ecosystem. Heavy metals,

trash, oil, all kinds of chemical and even nuclear wastes, which stream down the

ocean, are toxics that endanger marine life. To provide solution to the problem

man simply needs to understand that it exists and try to do every possible thing to

help the environment.

Before the activity

1. Download the necessary videos.

2. Prepare a poster to introduce the vocabulary, stripped sentences, word search

and the necessary stationery (paper, coloured pencils, felt-tip pens etc.).

Vocabulary: sea creatures, adjectives to describe them

Grammar: Present Simple

In pairs

1. Watch the video and predict the topic of the story. Make the list of the sea

creatures you already know. Exchange your ideas in open class.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3CmyWl8vc0).

2. Watch another video to learn some new words and establish their meaning.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCY1Ffl9Bwk)

3. Find the sea creatures in the word search.

4. Match the words to their definitions.

5. Describe the sea creatures using a poster without naming it and ask the other

group to guess their names.

6. Discuss the sea creatures you like/dislike and why.

In a group/ groups

7. Do the energizer “Jellyfish”.

8. (Before presenting the story give each child a sentence from the set of

stripped sentences). Listen to the story “At the Bottom of the Sea” presented by

the teacher and stand up when you hear your sentence. Watch the other group

mates standing up to arrange the sentences in the correct order after teacher’s

presentation.

9. Mingle around the class, read out your sentence to find the correct place in a

line to restore the story.

10. Listen to the story again to see whether you have occupied the right

position with your sentence.

11. Playing “Web”. Retell the story. Everyone

should speak one after another. Holding the thread is

the evidence that you have spoken.

12. Draw a picture to illustrate your sentence,

describe your picture and explain what you have

drawn and why. Exchange pictures and describe your

group mate’s drawing.

13. Restore the story in pictures and tell it again.

In the whole group

1. Energizer “Baby Shark”.

2. Divide scenes and choose characters.

3. Read the story in parts and prepare to dramatize it.

4. Act out the story using puppets/masks. (Children can make masks out of

paper either using their imagination and creativity or following the instructions.)

Follow-up activities

Create a front cover for the book and explain why it looks as it is.

Roleplay the interview with the king to learn more about the problems of the

sea and provide solutions.

Conclusion

Doing the activities children will practice reading, listening skills for

establishing the sequence of the events as well as develop speaking skills for

describing objects and telling the

stories in interaction with other

group members.

They will also learn more

about sea creatures and marine

life and become aware of the

problems with water pollution

thinking about the steps they can

do to prevent them.

Handouts

1. Energizer: Jellyfish

Lyrics:

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up (everybody repeats ), Wrists together

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in,

Butt out

A jelly fish (repeat 5 times)

Hands up, Wrists together, Elbows together, Knees together, Toes in,

Butt out, Tongue out

A vavava (repeat 5 times)

2. Find the following sea creatures in the grid.

3. Matching activity.

1. A whale a) is orange with white stripes;

2. An octopus b) has very sharp teeth;

3. A starfish c) is the biggest animal in the world;

4. A clown fish d) is very smart and has eight arms;

5. A shark e) is very nice and has five arms.

4. Describe the sea bottom.

- Who lives in the sea?

- Who swims in the sea?

- What grows in the sea?

- What is every sea creature like?

5. The Bottom of the Sea

It is the year 2050.

King Octopus lives at the bottom of the sea, in an ivory tower among weeds

and coral reefs. The sea is very dirty and King Octopus and all the fish are very

sick and sad.

‘Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What can we do?’ says the clownfish.

‘Don’t worry,’ the king says, ‘The fish can clean the water with their fins”

and “I can clean the coral reefs from plastic bags with my five arms”, the starfish

says.

“I can eat all the trash”, the shark adds. “I can carry away all the old shoes

and old tins”, the seahorse says.

So the clownfish, the sea horses, the sharks, the starfish clean and clean and

clean the sea. The sharks eat all the trash: all the paper, plastic bags, and plastic

bottles.

Finally, after twenty-five days, they finish the work. “Oh, look! The water is

clean and transparent, the seaweed is green, and the coral reefs are pink”, says the

clownfish. “We are not sick now”, says the starfish happily.

King Octopus invites all the fish to a party at 6:30 p.m. in the whale’s

mouth.

A starfish plays the keyboard, the sea horse plays the violins, and the

octopus plays the drums.

They all five happily ever after.

6. Stripped Story

It is the year 2050.

_________________________________________________________

King Octopus lives at the bottom of the sea, in an ivory tower among weeds and

coral reefs.

The sea is very dirty and King Octopus and all the fish are very sick and sad.

_____________________________________________________________

‘Oh, dear. Oh, dear. What can we do?’ says the clownfish.

_____________________________________________________________

‘Don’t worry,’ the king says, ‘The fish can clean the water with their fins” and “I

can clean the coral reefs from plastic bags with my five arms”, the starfish says.

______________________________________________________________

“I can eat all the trash”, the shark adds. “I can carry away all the old shoes and old

tins”, the seahorse says

______________________________________________________________

So the clownfish, the sea horses, the sharks, the starfish clean and clean and clean

the sea. The sharks eat all the trash: all the paper, plastic bags, and plastic bottles.

______________________________________________________________

Finally, after twenty-five days, they finish the work. “Oh, look! The water is clean

and transparent, the seaweed is green, and the coral reefs are pink”, says the

clownfish.

______________________________________________________________

“We are not sick now”, says the starfish happily. They all live happily ever after.

______________________________________________________________