Life. Thriving, struggling, competing, adapting, and evolving. An exploration of marine life in the Long Island Sound will reveal the intricate, complex interdependent relationships between marine creatures and their environment. Promoting observation, nurturing wonder, and cultivating curiosity, this study will enable students to construct a reservoir of knowledge from which questions will evolve. Thirsty for answers, reflection upon research and new insights will inspire and develop further inquiry. As one dives deeper into the subject, connections between marine lives within ecosystems will be revealed. The creation of a classroom wall mural will be continuous through this unit providing a visual display of collective learning as well as a vehicle for reflection, discussion, and new questions. This unit will prove to be an exciting voyage, as students learn to pave their own path of learning by developing their own questions, which will propel them deeper into the subject to discover the intriguing intimate relationships of the sea life.
Imagine a world that believed the Earth was flat, functioning from that point of view, and willing to die to defend that belief, unable to see beyond accepted understandings. How did they not see what is now obvious? Where were the questions? Who were the brave ones that dared to think beyond the established framework of principles? What sparked their pursuit to question? Why did they notice what others missed? Were their observations keener or were they more curious and persistent in their quest to understand? How does one synthesize what is known to make a new sense of what commonly lays before us as did Isaac Newton when pondering the action of an apple falling off a tree to the ground. What do those who have made these profound, life-changing discoveries have in common? Is there a common thread that they share? If so, as educators, how can we harness this to propel our students forward as thinkers? Do we need to add "Thinking" to our curriculum, teaching it as explicitly as math, science, or reading? Is this the key to instruction? The ability to wonder and think differently about what lies before us is worth exploring.
