Jack, The Seal and the Sea

Product Description

The Reading Rainbow programs are designed to encourage children to read by transporting them to exciting, real-life settings. The series introduces kids to interesting new people and places, explores social and cultural issues, and offers a close-up look at the world around them. Its dynamic, fast-paced, colorful animation and hip music entertain and reinforce these experiences, and help children embrace positive reading habits, skills and attitudes.

Theme: It’s up to each of us to keep the ocean clean and free from pollution.

Jack spends his days sailing the sea and taking in nets full of half-dead fish, ignoring the polluted condition of the water. He finds an ailing seal and receives a message from the sea itself about its sorry state.

The feature book inspires LeVar to learn more about the preservation of our water and oceans. He joins ecologists on a Discovery Voyage in the San Francisco Bay where he finds out about a variety of marine life and the health of the bay. Viewers will also get a first-hand look at the clean up effort after a disastrous oil spill in Alaska.

Author: Gerald Aschenbrenner
Publisher: Silver Burdett

Field Trip Segments:

• Is the Ocean Healthy? – LeVar introduces us to Marine Ecologist Mary Nishimoto as they test the ocean for water pollution and check the marine life
• Oil Spill! – LeVar shows the Exxon Valdez oil spill and clean up and explains the process and effects of the oil spill on wildlife and marine life
• Who Lives in the Mud? – Back on the boat LeVar and Mary bring up a load of mud from the bottom of the bay and explore it. They find all kinds of interesting creatures
• Caring for the Environment – Children on the show give suggestions to help save the environment

Review Books – Sterling: The Rescue of a Baby Harbor Seal by Sandra Verrill White and Michael Filisky; Water, What It Is, What It Does by Judith S. Seixas; A Day in the Life of a Marine Biologist by David Paige.

Use this episode to further enhance your science curriculum. Science Concepts: water conservation, pollution, condensation, evaporation, humidity.