Ocean Animal Migrations

CONCEPTUAL

Science›Ocean Life|Ages 9—11|ID: mt_Te-ulgYMUd

Know that many ocean animals undertake remarkable migrations — humpback whales travel thousands of miles between feeding and breeding grounds, sea turtles return to the same beach where they hatched to lay eggs — and understand these journeys are linked to seasonal food supplies and reproduction

Mastery Evidence

Describe at least one example of marine animal migration in detail
Explain that migrations are driven by seasonal food availability and breeding needs
Estimate the scale of these journeys (thousands of miles)

Assessment Prompt

“If [child] heard that a humpback whale swims from Antarctica to the tropics every year, could they explain why — that it's following food in summer and heading to warmer waters to have its baby?”

Prerequisites4

The Five Oceans
hardAges 7—9
Ocean Animal Adaptations
hardAges 7—9
Animal Migration
softAges 7—9
Ocean Food Webs
softAges 7—9

Show full prerequisite tree

The Five Oceans hard
Migration across oceans requires knowing the geography of oceans
- Where water is found on Earth soft
  Five oceans builds on curriculum concept of where water is found on Earth
  - Shapes of land and water hard
    Must know land and water features before learning where water is found on Earth
    - Seasonal changes soft
      Seasonal observation supports understanding land and water features
      - Days, Weeks, Months & Years soft
        Observing and describing seasonal changes requires basic date and time vocabulary (months, seasons, year)
        
        Ordering Events in Time hard
        Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically
  - Heating & Cooling Changes soft
    Understanding state changes supports knowing water as solid (ice) and liquid
    - States of Matter Vocabulary hard
      Describing and measuring changes of state requires solid/liquid/gas vocabulary and the term 'change of state'
    - Drawing Particle Diagrams hard
      Observing and describing change of state requires reading particle diagrams showing how arrangement changes on heating or cooling
- What Is the Ocean? hard
  Naming five oceans requires knowing what oceans are
Ocean Animal Adaptations hard
Migration is a major adaptation; requires understanding adaptations
- What Ocean Animals Need hard
  Adaptations explain how animals meet their needs in their environment
  - What Is the Ocean? soft
    Ocean animal needs are contextualised by knowing what the ocean is
- Ocean Animal Variety hard
  Adaptations concept requires knowing the variety of ocean animals
Animal Migration soft
Ocean Life marine migration builds on the general migration concept from Animals of the World
- Polar Animals soft
  Polar animals knowledge enriches the migration topic in Animals of the World (Polar 5-7 -> Animals 7-9)
  - Arctic vs Antarctic hard
    Must know Arctic vs Antarctic before learning which animals live where
    - Where Are the Poles? hard
      Must know where the poles are before comparing Arctic vs Antarctic
  - Penguins soft
    Penguins and polar bears are the anchor species; other animals build on these
    - Arctic vs Antarctic hard
      Must know penguins live in Antarctic (not Arctic) from the comparison topic
      - Where Are the Poles? hard
        Must know where the poles are before comparing Arctic vs Antarctic
  - Polar Bears soft
    Polar bears are the anchor species; other animals build on these
    - Arctic vs Antarctic hard
      Must know polar bears live in Arctic (not Antarctic) from the comparison topic
      - Where Are the Poles? hard
        Must know where the poles are before comparing Arctic vs Antarctic
- Animals Everywhere hard
  Migration needs understanding that animals live in different places
- Savanna & Grassland Animals soft
  Wildebeest migration is a key savanna example
  - Wild, Farm & Pet Animals soft
    Savanna animals contrasts with farm/pet animals from earlier
    - Animals Everywhere hard
      Wild/farm/pet distinction builds on knowing animals exist everywhere
    - Naming Common Animals soft
      Wild/farm/pet distinction enriched by curriculum animal group identification
  - Animals Everywhere hard
    Savanna animals builds on knowing animals live in diverse environments
Ocean Food Webs soft
Migration patterns connect to food web dynamics and seasonal food availability
- Classifying Ocean Animals soft
  Food webs benefit from knowing animal classification groups
  - Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals hard
    Classifying marine mammals vs fish builds on whale/dolphin are mammals concept
    - Ocean Animal Variety soft
      Mammals vs fish distinction benefits from knowing ocean animal variety
  - Ocean Animal Variety hard
    Classifying ocean animals builds on knowing the variety exists
- Ocean Food Chains hard
  Food webs extend simple food chains to interconnected networks
  - What Ocean Animals Need soft
    Food chains explain how animals meet their need for food
    - What Is the Ocean? soft
      Ocean animal needs are contextualised by knowing what the ocean is
  - Ocean Animal Variety soft
    Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other

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