Activity ideas and free content to teach World Oceans Day on the 8th of June.
Are you looking for World Oceans Day activities for EYFS, KS1 or KS2? As a busy teacher, keeping up with all of the themed days throughout a term can be a challenge, but that doesn’t mean your class has to miss out. In this post, we’ll take you through some World Oceans Day ideas for teachers - 4 easy yet impactful ocean-themed classroom activities that explore the water cycle, plastic pollution, ocean habitats and more. That’s not even the best part - you can also find a World Oceans Day lesson on the Developing Experts platform for free. Find out how to access it at the bottom of this post.
World Oceans Day, celebrated annually on the 8th of June, is a global celebration of the ocean. For teachers, it’s a great opportunity to explore the ocean’s importance, from habitats and food chains to human impact and pollution. Here are our top picks of 4 simple activities that you can complete in the classroom, suitable for classes from EYFS to KS2.
For this activity, you’ll need a clear plastic bottle, water, blue food colouring, oil and biodegradable glitter or sequins. Fill the bottle halfway with water, add a few drops of blue food colouring, sprinkle in glitter and top up the bottle with oil, leaving a little space at the top. Seal the lid and then tilt and shake the bottle to create waves.
The two liquids - oil and water - don’t mix because they have different densities. When the bottle is moved, the two layers swirl together, forming wave-like motions. In the real ocean, waves form when energy (from wind) moves through water. This sensory activity is a great way for younger pupils to understand how the ocean looks and moves.
This is a great option for a plastic pollution classroom activity. Fill a tray with water, oil (the ‘pollution’) and plastic (you could use single-use plastic rubbish collected that day or small plastic toys from the classroom). Using tweezers, pipettes or other small utensils, the pupils can ‘clean up’ the ocean. This hands-on activity is a fantastic introduction to environmental sustainability.
This activity is an ideal last-minute option for a World Oceans Day activity in KS2, as it requires no additional resources to get started. Split pupils into groups and assign each group a role: sun, ocean, water vapour, cloud, rain, river and plants. As you narrate the process of the water cycle, the pupils can act out their part. This activity is memorable and engaging and helps to embed key terms through movement and collaboration.
If you or your pupils need a reminder of teaching the water cycle, you can explore our lesson on the topic in our Year 4 States of Matter Unit here.
If you’re a subscriber to Developing Experts’ geography curriculum, you’re in luck - our Year 5 ‘Our Blue Planet’ unit contains several lessons all about the world’s oceans. Lesson 1 explores the importance of oceans, lesson 2 covers the water cycle and lesson 5 scrutinises the challenges faced by oceans. You can find the unit in our KS2 geography curriculum here.
If what you need is a full lesson, including a presentation and handout, you can find that now by heading to the Developing Experts platform. In our ‘Topical Lessons’ section, we have an entire lesson dedicated to World Oceans Day, which can be adapted for both KS1 and KS2. Explore it now by clicking here.
We hope that this list has given you some ideas for activities you can complete to celebrate these amazing and important water bodies. Happy World Oceans Day!
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