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Jack, The Seal And The Sea

Language: English

Jack spends his days sailing the sea and taking in nets full of half-dead fish, ignoring the polluted condition of the water. He finds an ailing seal and receives a message from the sea itself about its sorry state. The feature book inspires LeVar to learn more about the preservation of our water and oceans. He joins ecologists on a Discovery Voyage in the San Francisco Bay where he learns about the variety of marine life and health of the bay. Viewers will also get a first-hand look at the clean-up effort after a disastrous oil spill in Alaska.

  

Here are activities to do after watching this episode:

Pretty Fancy…but they are FISH!

Materials you will need:

  • two 9” paper plates
  • stapler
  • colored chalk
  • crepe paper (various colors)
  • construction paper scraps
  • blue and green crepe paper streamers
  • glue
  • string
  • scissors

Directions:

  1. Cut one paper plate in a moon shape.
  2. Flip over the cut moon shape and place it on top of another plate, lining up the outside edges. Staple the plates together to form the fish’s body and gill.
  3. Color the body of the fish with different.
  4. Colors of chalk. Use your fingers to blend the colors together.
  5. Cut out two fins and a tail from crepe paper.
  6. Gently stretch the curved edge of each fin piece to make a wavy edge. Glue the edge of one fin to the top of the fish. Glue the other fin to the side of the fish and attach the tail to the back.
  7. Add eyes, a mouth, and other details!
  

Cleanup Specialists

To become a community cleanup specialist, you need:

  • plastic garbage bags
  • work gloves
  • willing helpers


Tape a sign on each bag to designate what kind of trash will go inside: cans, paper, plastic, Styrofoam, and so on. Pair children and give each set of partners a bag and gloves to wear. Go through the neighborhood or a nearby park or beach and pick up the litter that is found. If any is recyclable, take it to your nearest center. If plastic bottles can be returned to a center or local store for a refund, save the money and after collecting for awhile, donate it to an environmental organization.

Water Saver Detective

Are your family members water savers or water wasters? Have your children become detectives to find out! Have them make a list of instances when water is wasted: dripping faucets, leaky hoses, running water while brushing teeth or washing dishes, outdoor sprinklers that are watering the sidewalk and driveways rather than the lawn, emptying a wading pool where water is not needed rather than using it to water gardens. Once all the trouble spots are found, do something to change your water habits and become conservationists!

Check out some of these books on your
next trip to the library:

  • Sterling: The Rescue Of A Baby Harbor Seal, a New England Aquarium Book by Sandra Verrill White and Michael Filisky
  • Water: What It Is, What It Does by Judith S. Seixas
  • A Day In The Life Of A Marine Biologist by David Paige

READING RAINBOW has a resource library that includes teacher guide materials as well as reading programs for use in the public libraries. You can download these resources from GPN at:
www.gpnresources.com

If you would like more information about READING RAINBOW or if you would like to learn more about other educational products please visit the GPN web site.

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