They will have to make decisions about its adaptations and life style. They can then make a picture of it and describe how it survives. This activity is based on Create Your Own Plankton by Bette Low 4. Have students make a list of organisms that live in the Gulf of Maine. Put the phytoplankton at the bottom and the carnivores, such as sharks and seals, at the top.
Many zooplankton are larval stages of familiar animals.
Yet they look little like their adult stages. Try to see how these youngsters evolve into adults by doing the Plankton Match-Up. To download the above images as single pages, click on these links, and print. Illustrations of Phytoplankton , Zooplankton , Young Plankton , and How to Create Your Own Plankton worksheet. Updated April 3, 1998.