Activities for Into the Sea
Before reading the book, predict some of the survival problems for the sea turtle, an endangered species. After reading, list problems
found in the book.
Sea turtles are available as a food source for the ghost crab only a few weeks of the year. Look up ghost crabs. What else do they eat?
Who might eat them?
Find a map of the currents in the Atlantic Ocean. Where could these currents carry a young turtle drifting with the sargassum weeds?
Find the sea turtle hiding the coral reef. What is coral? Visit an aquarium or get a book that will help identify some of the creatures
that live there. Sometimes coral turns white or black and dies? What does coral need to survive?
Sea turtles need to breathe air and will drown if held too long underwater in a net. What other creatures also need to breathe air and
might drown in a net?
The green sea turtle lays over 100 eggs. Crumple up ten pieces of paper to the size of ping pong balls. Calculate how big the nest
chamber must be to hold over 100 eggs. Could a sea turtle dig out this space if her back flippers had been damaged by a shark or boat
propeller?
Write a poem or story about a favorite creature or place in the sea. Illustrate it. The illustrations for this book were done mostly
with layers of colored pencil.
Track satellite-tagged sea turtles online at http://www.cccturtle.org.
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