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8 Armed Bandits; A Closer Look at Cephalopods

An Educator’s Guide to the Program

Grades K-5

Program Description: This program explores the class of mollusk known as

cephalopods. Cephalopods are the most intelligent group of mollusk and most of

them lack a shell. The name cephalopod means “head-foot” and contains:

octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus. The goal of 8-armed bandits is to teach

students the characteristics, defense mechanisms, and extreme intelligence of

cephalopods.

*Before your class visits the Oklahoma Aquarium*

This guide contains information and activities for you to use both before and after

your visit to the Oklahoma Aquarium. You may want to read stories about

cephalopods and their abilities to the students, present information in class, or

utilize some of the activities from this booklet.

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Table of Contents

8 armed bandits abstract 3

Educator Information 4

Vocabulary 5

Internet resources and books 6

PASS/OK Science standards 7-8

Accompanying Activities

Build Your Own squid (K-5) 9

How do Squid Defend Themselves? (K-5) 10

Octopus Arms (K-3) 11

Octopus Math (pre-K-K) 12

Camouflage (K-3) 13

Octopus Puppet (K-3) 14

Hidden animals (K-1) 15

Cephalopod color pages (3) (K-5) 16

Cephalopod Magic (4-5) 19

Nautilus (4-5) 20

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8 Armed Bandits; A Closer Look at Cephalopods: Abstract

Cephalopods are a class of mollusk that are highly intelligent and unlike most

other mollusk, they generally lack a shell. There are 85,000 different species of

mollusk; however cephalopods only contain octopi, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus.

Cephalopods only live in marine environments. Cephalopods are invertebrates,

meaning they lack a backbone. The largest invertebrate in the world is the colossal

squid. Cephalopods have copper in their blood causing it to be blue-green instead

of the iron containing red color of human blood. Most people do not know that

cephalopods have a beak that they use to crush food, the beak is very similar to a

parrot’s beak. The eyesight of most cephalopods is superior however they are

unable to see in color. Even though cephalopods are color blind they are able to

detect the polarization of light, which enables them to change color in an instant

to match their surroundings. The pupil in cephalopods is w-shaped and when the

eye is almost closed they essentially have two pupils. Even though cephalopods

don’t have taste buds in their mouths they are able to taste sweet, sour and bitter

flavors with their suckers. Suckers on octopus lack teeth while the suckers on squid

have teeth rings. There are giants in the cephalopod world. The giant Pacific

octopus is the largest species of octopus which has an arm span of 14ft. The giant

Pacific octopus is also the longest living cephalopod attaining an age of

approximately four years. The colossal squid is truly a giant reaching a length of

over 33ft and weighing over 1000 pounds. The eye of the colossal squid is the

largest in nature reaching 18” in diameter. The beak of the colossal squid is small

for the overall size of the squid; however it is strong enough to bite through steel

cable. Giant Australian cuttlefish are the smallest of the giants only reaching 3 feet.

Cuttlefish are the only cephalopods that contain a hollow bone. Cuttlebones can

commonly be bought in pet stores, and are used as a source of calcium for birds.

The nautilus is the only living species of cephalopod that have a shell. The shell is

counter shaded providing camouflage for the animal as it travels to shallower

water to hunt. The nautilus is the most primitive cephalopod and its eye sight is

poor. The nautilus has up to 90 tentacles. Ammonites are an extinct species of

cephalopod that were ancient relatives of the nautilus, the body plan of the

nautilus is very similar to the ammonite body plan. Ammonites are a common

fossil. There are over 300 different species of squid and they range in size from

very small to colossal. Some squid like the firefly squid possess the ability to

bioluminescence (glow). A squid’s suckers are different from octopus in the fact

that they contain teeth and are lifted off the arm on a stalk. Squid have 8 arms

and 2 feeding tentacles. There are many unusual cephalopods and one of the

most well known is the dumbo octopus that was named after the Disney Dumbo

movie. Unlike other octopus the dumbo octopus has fins that resemble the

enlarged ears of the Dumbo character. All cephalopods have a very short life span,

which forces them to be highly prolific (having many young). Even though

cephalopods most valuable defense mechanism is camouflage, they use several

other modes to protect themselves like inking, and venom.

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8 Armed Bandits; a Closer Look at Cephalopods:

Educator information

Cephalopods are the most intelligent mollusk and have been shown to

recognize the person that feeds them.

Cephalopods have 3 hearts, 2 provide oxygen to the gills while the

remaining heart provides oxygen to the rest of the body.

Cephalopods eyesight is superior, allowing them to change color and

texture to match their surroundings.

Sweet, sour, and bitter flavors can be detected with the suckers that run

along the arm.

Giant cephalopods exist however they are rarely seen; the eye of the squid

is the largest in nature.

The Giant Pacific octopus is a species that is housed at the Oklahoma

Aquarium from time to time.

Scars from the colossal squid sucker teeth have been found on whale skin.

Cuttlefish can produce intricate moving patterns on their skin due to their

ability to change color instantly.

The cuttlebone has been used for various things ranging from a polishing

powder to jewelry molds.

The inner shell of the nautilus contains many chambers that allow it to

travel up and down in the water column.

There is a squid dish called calamari, calamari is the Italian word for squid.

The vampire squid live in deep dark water so instead of dark ink it

excretes glowing spheres of mucus to divert predators.

All cephalopods die soon after reproduction.

Cephalopods start out very small and grow very fast.

Cephalopods have chromataphores (colored cells) that are not only

different colors but also iridescent.

Cephalopod ink is made of melanin and is usually brown or black.

As long as a squid beak can fit into a space then so can its entire body.

The siphon of a cephalopod can move in any direction allowing it to jet

away from predators.

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VOCABULARY:

Adaptation - an alteration or adjustment in structure or habits, often hereditary,

by which a species or individual improves its condition in relationship to

environment

Anti-venom- a product used to counteract the affects of a venomous sting or bite

Bioluminescence- A chemical reaction which produces light which is emitted

from a living animal

Camouflage- a method of concealment used in nature that allow animals to

avoid predation

Cephalopod- a class of mollusks known as “head-feet” which includes octopi,

squid, cuttlefish and nautilus

Chromatophores- a colored cell present in cephalopod skin that allow them to

blend in with their surroundings

Invertebrate- an organism that does not have a backbone

Melanin- a pigment found in most animals that is dark brown to black in color

Mollusk- a phylum of animals that lack a spine and usually possess a shell

Phragmacone- the chambered portion of a cephalopod shell

Polarization of light- the ability to detect the length of light produced by

different colors

Psuedomorph- mucus filled with ink that is released from some cephalopods as a

form of escape

Siphuncle- a strand of tissue similar to a straw that runs through the nautilus shell

which allows the animal to ascend and descend within the water column

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RESOURCES:

Internet Resources:

www.tonmo.com

www.thecephalopodpage.org

www.daisyhillcuttlefarm.com

www.cephbase.com

www.tepapa.gov.nz/build-a-squid

www.scholastic.com

www.teachervision.com

www.nationalgeographic.com

BOOKS and References:

Nye, Bill and Saunders, Ian G. (1999) Big Blue Ocean Hyperion Books for

Children

Mather Jennifer A., Anderson Roland C. and Wood James B. (2010)

Octopus The Ocean’s Intelligent Invertebrate A Natural History Timber

Press

Stoffer Ruth (1995) Coral Reef Coloring Book. Dover Publications, Inc.

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PASS STANDARDS MET:

All education programs and their accompanying materials at the Oklahoma

Aquarium will meet several Oklahoma PASS objectives in various disciplines. The

following list is not all inclusive.

SCIENCE

Science Processes and Inquiry

(grade K) Process Standard 1-Science Processes and Inquiry

(grade 1-5) Process Standard 1-Observe and Measure

(grade 1-5) Process Standard 2-Classify

(grade 1-5) Process Standard 3-Experiment and Inquiry

(grade 1-5) Process Standard 4- Interpret and communicate

(grade 4-5) Process Standard 5- Inquiry

Physical Science

(grade K) Standard 1-Physical Science

(grade 1-4) Standard 1- Position of Motion and objects

(grade 5) Standard 1- Properties of Matter and Energy

Life Science

(grade K) Standard 2- Life Science

(grade 1) Standard 2- Characteristics and Basic Needs of Organisms

(grade 2) Standard 2- Life Cycles and Organisms

(grade 3) Standard 2- Characteristics and Basic Needs of Organisms

and environments

(grade 4) Standard 3- Characteristics of Organisms

(grade 5) Standard 2- Organisms and Environments

Earth Science

(grade K) Standard 3- Earth Science

(grade 1) Standard 3- changes of Earth and Sky

(grade 2) Standard 3- Properties and Changes of Earth and Sky

(grade 4) Standard 4- Properties of Earth and the Moon

(grade 5) Standard 3- Structure of Earth and the Solar System

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OKLAHOMA ACADEMIC SCIENCE STANDARDS MET:

K-6

K-LS1-1

K-ESS3-1

1-LS1-1

1-LS1-2

1-LS3-1

3-LS1-1

3-LS3-1

3-LS3-2

4-LS1-1

4-LS1-2

MS-LS1-3 (6TH

)

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Octopus Arms

Assemble this octopus using a brass fastener. Cut four pairs of arms from heavy paper.

© Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 101 Monthly Idea Book: June

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6 Kindergarten: Learning Numbers © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Octopus Paper

Bag Puppet

© Teacher's Friend, a Scholastic Company 102 Monthly Idea Book: June

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