Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Invertebrates - What are Sponges?

Sponges are the most primitive of all the animal groups. They live in water and do not move from place to place. For a long time people did not know that they were animals. People thought that sponges were plants. They do filter tiny organisms out of the water for food. Water currents carry the food and oxygen to them.





Sponges are found mostly in saltwater oceans, but some are even found in freshwater rivers and lakes. They attach themseves to underwater objects.


Science Activity
Compare a natural sponge and a synthetic (man-made) sponge.

Materials
  • natural sponge
  • synthetic/kitchen (man-made) sponge
  • hand lens
  • microscope if available
  • notebook
  • pencil



Directions
  • Observe a natural sponge.
  • Use a hand lens to observe a natural sponge.
  • If available use a microscope to examine a natural sponge.
  • Sketch a picture of the sponge.
  • Repeat the above steps with a synthetic sponge.
  • Compare and contrast the 2 sponges. How are they alike? How are they different?



Baby Bath Natural Sea Sponge    Natural Sea Silk Sponges - Pack of 12  Sea Wool Sponge Large

These sponges are also available at craft stores like Michael's. Don't forget to bring a discount coupon.


Here are some resources for the students to learn more about sponges.


You Tube Video

Biology4Kids.com


Enchanted Learning


Some students may bring up the fact that Sponge Bob is an invertebrate. (My students did!) :)

(FYI - Sponge Bob has a pet snail (also an invertebrate). Ask students that watch the show or read the books to name other characters in the show/books and identify their classifications. The Sponge Bob Show was created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hullenburg.)


Books and Posters


Sponges, Jellyfish, & Other Simple Animals (Animal Kingdom Classification)




Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas

New Mcdonald Publishing Poster Set Animals Invertebrates Grade 4-9 Arthropods Worms Sponges
    

New Mcdonald Publishing Vertebrates Invertebrates Colossal Poster Examining Natural Sponge

3 comments:

  1. Hi saw you on link party, now google following you, please pop by, Karima x www.karimascrafts.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Karima,
    Thanks for visiting. I followed you back! Love craft sites ...the pink background is cute too. Looking forward to more of your posts.
    Marcia :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good idea to use the natural sponge and kitchen sponge for comparison. I'll have to remember that when we get to that point in our ocean studies.

    ReplyDelete

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