Description
What our Immortal Jellyfish lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Careers: Biologist is a high-interest reading comprehension lesson plan. As such, students will practice various close reading and comprehension skills. In addition, they will learn about about careers in biology. This lesson is for students in 4th grade, 5th grade, and 6th grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the yellow box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. Some of the supplies you’ll need for the activity include paper plates, brads, and construction paper.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page provides an extra paragraph of information to help guide the lesson. It explains that you can teach this lesson in a whole-class setting or as an independent, small-group activity. You can use the blank lines to write down any other ideas or thoughts you have about the topic as you prepare.
IMMORTAL JELLYFISH LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
What Are Turritopsis Dohrnii?
The Immortal Jellyfish lesson plan contains three pages of content. It starts out with an information box that provides a few basic details about this interesting creature. These strange animals are scyphozoa that mainly live in the Mediterranean Sea. They have a carnivorous diet, and their life span is quite possibly forever!
Don’t let the scientific name of this amazing species of jellyfish frighten you! Turritopsis dohrnii (tur·ruh·top·sis door·knee·eye), commonly called the immortal jellyfish, are small, nearly transparent creatures. Their bell-shaped bodies are about 4.5 millimeters wide, making them smaller than the nail on your pinky finger. It has a smooth, dome-like top and tentacles that hang down, which it uses to move through the water and catch food. These jellyfish live in warm, temperate oceans worldwide but are most commonly found in the Mediterranean Sea.
Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish usually live alone and don’t form large groups like other jellyfish species. When they come together, it’s generally by chance when currents bring them to the same area. Despite their tiny size, they play an essential role in the ocean ecosystem by feeding on plankton and other small sea creatures.
Unlike many animals, an immortal jellyfish doesn’t care for its young after birth. When it’s time to reproduce, these jellyfish release tiny larvae called planulae (plan·you·lee) into the water. The planulae float away and eventually settle on the ocean floor, growing into polyps. Over time, these polyps develop into new jellyfish.
The Diet of an Immortal Jellyfish
Immortal jellyfish have a simple diet, mostly tiny sea creatures like plankton, fish eggs, and small crustaceans. Plankton are microscopic organisms that drift in the ocean, and crustaceans are animals with hard shells, like shrimp. These jellyfish use their tentacles to capture food, which helps them get the nutrients they need to survive.
To catch their prey, Turritopsis dohrnii use their long, thin tentacles, which are covered in special cells called cnidocytes (ny·doe·sites). The cells contain tiny stingers that release toxins when they touch something. When the jellyfish swims through the water and brushes against a small creature, the tentacles sting and paralyze it. The jellyfish then pulls the prey into its mouth underneath its bell-shaped body and begins to digest it. This way, the jellyfish can eat even though it doesn’t have a brain or heart!
Interesting Facts
One of the most amazing things about a Turritopsis dohrnii has to do with why it’s called an immortal jellyfish. Unlike most animals that grow old and eventually die, this jellyfish can reverse its aging process. If injured, sick, or even at the end of its life cycle, it can transform into its earlier polyp stage. This process, called transdifferentiation, allows the jellyfish to start its life over again, which means it could possibly live forever. It can turn back time faster than a time machine!
Even though Turritopsis dohrnii are tiny, they a very successful species. Because of its ability to start its life cycle over again, an immortal jellyfish can survive in different ocean environments and escape dangers that other jellyfish can’t. This adaptability makes it one of the most resilient creatures in the ocean. Scientists are fascinated by this creature and study it to understand more about aging and how cells can transform. Their studies could have important implications for human medicine.
Another interesting fact about the Turritopsis dohrnii is that even though it has this incredible ability, it’s very hard to find in the wild. Because it’s so tiny and lives in the open ocean, it’s not easy for scientists to study it in its natural habitat. Most of what we know about this jellyfish comes from studying it in laboratories. Despite its tiny size, the immortal jellyfish has significantly impacted the world of science, showing us that even the smallest creatures can have extraordinary abilities!
Why Are They Important?
Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish may be tiny, but they play an essential role in the ocean ecosystem. By feeding on plankton and other small sea creatures, they help keep the population of these organisms in balance. This is important because plankton are a major food source for many larger animals in the ocean. The jellyfish also serves as food for some predators, like certain fish species.
Immortal jellyfish are not considered endangered. Because they can revert to an earlier life stage and start their life cycle over, they have a unique ability to survive in different ocean environments and avoid many dangers that threaten other species. However, like all marine creatures, they could be affected by changes in the ocean, such as pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction. While they’re not in immediate danger, protecting the oceans where they live is vital so that all marine life can continue to thrive.
IMMORTAL JELLYFISH LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Immortal Jellyfish lesson plan includes two worksheets: an activity worksheet and a practice worksheet. Each one will help students solidify their grasp of the material they learned throughout the lesson. You can refer to the classroom procedure guidelines to know when to hand out each worksheet.
IMMORTAL JELLYFISH LIFE CYCLE ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
For the activity, students will use the supplies you provide to create models of the life cycle of an immortal jellyfish. The reference image on the worksheet provides the general life cycle for most jellyfish. To better represent immortal jellyfish, students will need to reference pictures in the content pages to match the likeness of a Turritopsis dohrnii.
REVIEW PRACTICE WORKSHEET
The practice worksheet requires students to answer a series of 10 questions. These questions all relate to the content pages, so students will need to refer to them often for the answers. In addition, each question provides which reading tool the question corresponds to, such as text feature, vocabulary, or comprehension.
Worksheet Answer Keys
At the end of the lesson plan document is an answer key for the practice worksheet. The correct answers are all in red to make it easier for you to compare them with students’ responses. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
