Australian Teacher Notes – LIFESIZE OCEAN -

Synopsis

LIFESIZE OCEAN is a captivatingly beautiful book about some of the weird and wonderful creatures that live in our oceans. From the very first spread, the book takes the reader on an underwater journey, starting from the smallest ocean creatures, like copepods and pygmy seahorses, to the largest, like the giant octopus and the blue whale. Each spread features one amazing animal, illustrated by a dramatic photo-real artwork. A paragraph of essential information accompanies each illustrated animal. More animal facts are given in two spreads at the end of the book. Animals that are ‘under threat’are highlighted in this section. The last page alerts the reader to the need to protect these largely unseen creatures from the dangers of pollution, global warming and other environmental threats. There is a list of the organizations involved in working to save threatened ocean animals.

Writing Style

The book is written in a clear, direct, non-fiction style. Each piece of photo-real artwork is accompanied by a paragraph of interesting information about the behaviour of the animal illustrated. Further factual information is set out in the concluding spreads.

Author Background

Anita Ganeri is an award-winning author of many children’s information books, including the well-known ‘Horrible Geography’ series. The title Planet in Peril

won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Book With Facts 2009.

Illustrator

The illustrator, Stuart Jackson-Carter, specializes in photo-real artworks for nature and wildlife books.These artwork illustrations show scenes and perspectives of ocean creatures that couldn’t be captured by real photography.

Editorial Comment

LIFESIZE OCEAN has been thoroughly researched by the author and editor. It has also been checked for factual accuracy by the author, as well as by the expert consultant. Careful research has ensured that the illustrations clearly promote understanding of the topics covered.

Teacher Activities/Notes

  • How many pygmy seahorses can you find on pages 6 and 7? Less than 5? More than 5? Less than 10? More than 10?
  • What is the name of the fish on page 9 that doesn’t mind being cleaned by red skunk cleaner shrimps? Would you like to clean this fish? Look at the Animal Facts at the end of this book and find out what other foods red skunk cleaner fish like to eat.
  • Look at the information on the Animal Facts pages at the end of the book. Find out how big blue-ringed octopuses are. What happens to the octopus just before it bites? Draw your own diagram of a blue-ringed octopus and label all the important parts of its body.
  • Why do you think the areas around the black devil anglerfish on pages 12 and 13 are very black? How is this fish able to attract its food in such a dark place?
  • Which of the sea animals in this book would you most like to see? Draw a picture of it and write a caption explaining why you think this animal is so interesting.
  • What was the most interesting thing you found out about a sea animal in this book?
  • Think of 3 interesting adjectives to describe each of the animals in this book.
  • Make up quiz questions about the animals in this book that you can ask your friends. For example - Which animal has arms as long as a human being? What is the name of the animal that can blow itself up to double its normal size? Which of the creatures in this book lays its eggs on land?
  • Imagine you are a deep-sea diver, like the one pictured at the end of this book. Write an underwater adventure story about a dive that you do and how you meet, and get away from, some of the creatures in this book!
  • Which sea animals in this book can change colour? Why do you think they do this?
  • Can you imagine having eight tentacles instead of two arms? Draw a picture of yourself showing how useful tentacles might be.
  • Which are the most dangerous animals in this book? Make a list of your top five most dangerous sea animals.
  • Make a list of all the animals in this book that are under threat. What does ‘under threat’ mean?