Ocean Ideas

Lately, G-Bear has been telling me (with urgency, of course) that she really needs to study up on the ocean, because she is going to write a chapter book about it when she is an adult.  I find it fascinating that she has a sense for the general structure of writing a report (introductory statement; say what the paper is about; tell the info; reframe what the paper said) Here is what she has come up with so far:

Chapter 1: Seals

            I love seals.  They are cute.  I know some information about seals.  Here it is: Seals eat tiny fish.  I don’t know what they’re called, but my best guess is plankton.  They like to sunbathe by the roaring water.  They like to clap their hands when they are happy or scared.  That’s my information about seals.

Chapter 2: Octopuses

            I think that octopuses are cool.  Here is some information about them.  Octopuses have eight legs and eight ways to protect themselves.  Here are some of the ways: Octopuses are so squishy that they can hide in narrow cracks.  They can also shoot black ink that scares enemies away and gets them very dirty.  Sometimes they are so disguised that no one notices them and they can hide from enemies. That is what I know about octopuses.

Chapter 3: Stone Fish

            Stone fish are funny.  I like them.  This is what I know about them: They eat fish that swim by and they are poisonous.  If they bite you, then they will send a deep poison into your body.  There is a rhyme about stone fish.  Here it is: Swim in the ocean, clear below.  Ouch! That rock just stung my toe!  The reason this rhyme is so funny is because the stone fish looks so much like a rock people can’t tell if it’s a rock or a fish.