Life in the Ocean:  The Story of Oceanographer

Sylvia Earle

By: Claire A. Nivola

                   Did you know that there is more known about the planets in the solar system than the depths of our own oceans here on earth?  Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola is a biography of Sylvia Earle and how she became an oceanographer.  It is a story of determination and passion.  It gives readers a newfound appreciation of ocean life and its importance to us.

            Sylvia Earle grew up on a farm in inland New Jersey.  Since she was very young; Sylvia was an explorer.  She was very curious about the outdoors and wildlife since she was a young girl.  She began “investigating” a pong near her home; she kept a notebook to write down her observations as well as collected tadpoles and salamanders in jars.  Her interest in the ocean exploded when her family moved to Florida when she was twelve.  She began exploring the ocean and was fascinated by its creatures.  William Beebe became an inspiration to her; she read books about his dives deep into the ocean.  She wanted to explore the depths of the ocean herself.  As she grew up, Sylvia dove deeper and deeper as she explored many different waters.  She spent two weeks underwater to capture what it was like to live in the sea.  She found many similarities to the way humans live to the way creatures deep in the ocean live.  She dove deeper than anyone had before when she dove 1,250 feet to the ocean floor of Hawaii.  She wants to spread her knowledge with others and believes that we must know about the ocean in order to care about it.  Only 5 percent of the ocean has been explored; Sylvia works towards increasing this number in order to get people to take care of our oceans.

            This story is an example of a biography.  Illustrations support the text as the life of Slyvia and her adventures as an oceanographer are told.  However, I think real photographs would have done a better job in supporting the text.  Since the illustrations are not real; this might confuse readers.  Real pictures and snapshots of Sylvia would help the readers engaged and connect with this biography.  Pictures would make the text more accessible.  This is an informational text; information about whales, other ocean life, and facts about the ocean are given.   Lessons about following your dreams and doing something you love is something readers can take from this story.  Also, a lesson about the importance of keeping our oceans clean and respecting mother nature is another discussion that a teacher could have with students.  I think the language used helps grab the reader’s attention; the text is accessible and isn't overflowed with difficult terms.  The vocabulary is age appropriate for the most part.  The book is organized and goes in a chronological order from when Sylvia was a little girl to how she became an oceanographer.  Some information is a little confusing to the reader; it gives many examples of her accomplishments but doesn't give much detail on how she got to these different opportunities.

            Students should be explicitly told what a biography is and students should understand that the information is true and real.  It would be beneficial to go over any tough vocabulary before reading.  Words like “oceanographer, botanist, and biologist,” could be reviewed.  Teachers could have a discussion about investigations and encourage student connections with the story.  Perhaps students have already conducted experiments in class.  A discussion how Slyvia studied the ocean through observations and notes and how this relates to experiments students have done in class would be a way for students to connect to the text. This story would be a great way to introduce a unit on ocean life.  It would be an appropriate book to use during science.  This book would be appropriate for grades 3-6.  Teachers can work with students on making inferences.  Teachers can ask students about how they think Sylvia felt when she dove deeper and deeper into the ocean.  Teachers can ask students why they think it is important to keep our oceans clean.  This book can be used across subjects.  This book could be used during writing; students can improve on their writing by writing their own “ocean narrative.”  They could use their senses to add details and description to their writing.  I think this is a book that teachers can ask students questions but also I think it will naturally generate questions from students.  They may be interested in learning more about Sylvia or more about ocean life!  Maybe for older grades this could launch a research project.

            This book links to the ELA MA curriculum frameworks:

1.3: Describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.

3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.