Web of Water. Teacher s Guide Webisode 5 Coastal Zone

Transcription

1 Web of Water Teacher s Guide Webisode 5 Coastal Zone

2 Table of Contents About Coastal Zone South Carolina Science Standards.. 4 Discussion Questions.. 9 Knowitall Resources Credits

3 About the Landform The Coastal Zone The Coastal Zone, sometimes referred to as the tidewater area, extends from the coast inland about ten miles and covers approximately 1.2 million acres. Elevations range from sea level to 25 feet and local topographic relief is usually less than five feet. The water height and salinity of streams in the area are influenced by the daily cycles of the tides and most stream valleys widen into estuaries before they reach the ocean. Coastal beaches are fairly wide and slope gently. Parallel ridges of sand adjoin the coast. Beaches are interrupted by many inlets, bays, and islands along with wide expanses of marshlands, particularly south of the Santee Delta. The South Carolina Coastal Zone is usually divided into three distinct geographic regions based on different landforms produced by different geological processes. Each distinctive area can be easily identified on maps or on aerial photographs. The first area is a long, crescent shaped beach referred to as the Carolina Grand Strand or Myrtle Beach Grand Strand. The second area is primarily the Santee Delta, the largest cuspate delta on the east coast. The third geographic area is composed of the Sea Islands and extends from the Santee Delta to the Georgia border. Some of these islands are referred to as barrier islands because they serve to protect the mainland from waves, tides, and hurricanes coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. Beaches of any kind protect inland areas by absorbing wave energy even though they may become eroded in the process. Formed through time by the steady transport of sand by water and wind, sand dunes serve as reservoirs of sand to replenish beaches during erosive events caused by storms. South Carolina is fortunate to have an extensive 200-mile coastal area as one of its state boundaries. Including all of the bays, sounds, inlets, beaches, deltas, and marshes, the coastline is more than 3,000 miles long. Furthermore, the coast is within easy driving distance from all parts of the state. In comparing South Carolina with other states, only a few have the advantages of a coastal area, and none have one that is as diverse, intriguing, and delightful to explore as our Carolina coast. 3

4 South Carolina Science Standards GRADE 2 Animals Standard 2-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the needs and characteristics of animals as they interact in their own distinct environments. (Life Science) Summarize the interdependence between animals and plants as sources of food and shelter. GRADE 3 Habitats and Adaptations Standard 3-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the structures, characteristics, and adaptations of organisms that allow them to function and survive within their habitats. (Life Science) Illustrate the life cycles of seed plants and various animals and summarize how they grow and are adapted to conditions within their habitats Explain how physical and behavioral adaptations allow organisms to survive (including hibernation, defense, locomotion, movement, food obtainment, and camouflage for animals and seed dispersal, color, and response to light for plants). 4

5 GRADE 3 Earth s Materials and Changes Standard 3-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of Earth s composition and the changes that occur to the features of Earth s surface. (Earth Science) Illustrate Earth s saltwater and freshwater features (including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, and glaciers) Illustrate Earth s land features (including volcanoes, mountains, valleys, canyons, caverns, and islands) by using models, pictures, diagrams, and maps. GRADE 4 Organisms and Their Environments Standard 4-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics and patterns of behavior that allow organisms to survive in their own distinct environments. (Life Science) Explain how humans and other animals use their senses and sensory organs to detect signals from the environment and how their behaviors are influenced by these signals Explain how organisms cause changes in their environment. 5

6 GRADE 5 Ecosystems: Terrestrial and Aquatic Standard 5-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of relationships among biotic and abiotic factors within terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. (Life Science) Compare the characteristics of different ecosystems (including estuaries/salt marshes, oceans, lakes and ponds, forests, and grasslands). GRADE 5 Landforms and Oceans Standard 5-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of features, processes, and changes in Earth s land and oceans. (Earth Science) Explain how human activity (including conservation efforts and pollution) has affected the land and the oceans of Earth. 6

7 GRADE 6 Structures, Processes, and Responses of Plants Standard 6-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of plants that allow them to survive and reproduce. (Life Science) Compare the characteristic structures of various groups of plants (including vascular or nonvascular, seed or spore-producing, flowering or cone-bearing, and monocot or dicot). GRADE 6 Structures, Processes, and Responses of Animals Standard 6-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of structures, processes, and responses of animals that allow them to survive and reproduce. (Life Science) Compare the response that a warm-blooded (endothermic) animal makes to a fluctuation in environmental temperature with the response that a cold-blooded (ectothermic) animal makes to such a fluctuation. 7

8 GRADE 7 Ecology: The Biotic and Abiotic Environment Standard 7-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of how organisms interact with and respond to the biotic and abiotic components of their environment. (Earth Science, Life Science) Summarize how the location and movement of water on Earth s surface through groundwater zones and surface-water drainage basins, called watersheds, are important to ecosystems and to human activities. GRADES 9-12 EARTH SCIENCE Earth s Hydrosphere Standard ES-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of Earth s freshwater and ocean systems. ES-5.1 ES-5.2 Summarize the location, movement, and energy transfers involved in the movement of water on Earth s surface (including lakes, surface-water drainage basins [watersheds], freshwater wetlands, and groundwater zones). Illustrate the characteristics of the succession of river systems. 8

9 Discussion Questions QUESTIONS: 1. What types of technology did African-Americans bring to the colony of South Carolina that helped our agricultural development? Why were they important in our history? 2. What fort sits at the convergence of the Cooper and Ashley rivers? Why is it important in American history? 3. The waters around Magnolia Gardens are dark brown in color? What causes this darker coloration? 4. What Caribbean island was influential in the early development of the colony of Charleston and what are some of the connections between Charleston and the islands? 5. What is an estuary? What types of animals live there? ANSWERS: 1. African slaves were largely responsible for teaching South Carolinians how to cultivate rice. They showed colonists how to build the dikes, mortar and pestle systems, and how to use sweet grass baskets as rice fanners to separate the husks. From the 1600 s through the 1800 s, the African rice cultivation methods were used and became the cornerstone of the state s economy. African slaves who labored on rice and cotton plantations made South Carolinian plantation owners very wealthy until after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Although slavery was ended in 1865, the plantation system continued in the form of sharecropping, trapping former slaves and their descendents in economic servitude in some cases, through the 1950 s. It is because of slaves and their agricultural knowledge and labor that South Carolina was ever able to prosper. In addition to impacting our economic and political history, slavery 9

10 has shaped and influenced our cultural history through its legacy of African-American language and tradition. Learn more about West African cultural heritage through Knowitall.org at Gullah Net, or find lesson plans about slavery at Knowitall.org through the Teaching American History in South Carolina Web site. In the Estuary Module of RiverVenture, look for an object relating to the City of Charleston to learn more about rice cultivation in the lowcountry. Read more about rice grown in South Carolina in the History of South Carolina Slide Collection at Knowitall.org. 2. Several Forts sit on the convergence... Castle Pickney: XYZ affair, War of 1812, Civil War Fort Sumter: Civil War Fort Moultrie: Revolution and every war up to WWII Fort Johnson: Revolution, Civil War Look for the connection between the Cabbage Palmetto and Revolutionary War forts in the Estuary module of RiverVenture.org. 3. Tannic acid that is drawn from decaying trees and leaves help to create a nutrientrich tea. 4. English colonists from Barbados were responsible for the first European settlement of South Carolina at Charleston in For the first 50 years in the existence of Charles Towne (Charleston), Barbadians had a great influence on the laws, culture, architecture, trade, and people of the new colony. Most notably, the colonists implemented the Barbadian plantation system in South Carolina. 5. The estuary is where fresh water from rivers meets salt water flowing into the ocean. In estuarine environments, you are likely to find sea turtles, oysters, shrimp, crabs, dolphins, shore birds, and many others, including millions of different kinds of plankton that help sustain the ocean and the planet. Find more examples of animals of the estuary at Knowitall.org in the Estuary module of RiverVenture! 10

11 Knowitall Resources Use RiverVenture.org to learn about how rivers are connected, and how we are all connected to them: In the Estuary Module of RiverVenture, look for an object relating to the city of Charleston to learn more about rice cultivation in the lowcountry. Look for the connection between the Cabbage Palmetto and Revolutionary War forts in the Estuary module of RiverVenture.org. Find more examples of animals of the estuary at Knowitall.org in the Estuary Module of RiverVenture! Learn more about West African cultural heritage through Knowitall.org at Gullah Net. Go to The Salt Marsh module of SC Life to find out more about the plants and animals of the estuary. 11

12 Credits Ian Sanchez s trip was sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Funding for Knowitall.org was provided by the S. C. General Assembly through the K-12 Technology Initiative. Visit scetv.org/education for more educational resources. 12