Virginia Department of Education
A Salt Marsh Ecosystem
What a web we weave. Pupils use yarn as the primary resource to create a web depicting the intricacies of a salt marsh ecosystem. They participate in a question and answer session, which leads to an in-depth facilitated discussion about...
Curated OER
Salt Marshes And Their Inhabitants
Students investigate the ecosystem of the salt marshes. This is done in order to develop an appreciation for this type of environment. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Students are given samples of different organisms...
Curated OER
Who Eats Whom in the Salt Marsh?
Seventh graders complete a virtual online salt marsh tour. In groups, they observe and identify the various types of animals found in the marsh. After categorizing the animals, they create a food web based on the animals role in the...
Georgian Court University
Introduction to Marsh Ecology
Compare and contrast the characteristics of fresh and salt water marshes. After exploring the typical plants and animals found in each marsh type, participants use a set of flash cards to sort into fresh and salt water marsh life. Their...
Curated OER
Changing With the Tide
Students describe three different aspects or life forms of the salt marsh. They compare and contrast the low and high marsh. Students explain what happens in different areas of the marsh at low and high tide; and explain the roles...
Curated OER
Changing With the Tide
Learners research and they role-play the behavior of plants and animals in a salt marsh habitat as the tides change.
Curated OER
Drama in the Salt Marsh
Middle schoolers are introduced to the various organisms that live in a salt marsh. They recognize adaptations of organisms that live in the salt marsh. Pupils review concepts of the ecosystem and niche. Students explain the different...
Curated OER
The Marsh Land as a Changing Environment
Sixth graders continue their examination of the state of Connecticut. After taking a field trip, they identify the types of birds, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates who make their home in the salt marshes. In groups, they identify...
Curated OER
Oysters Are Habit Forming!
Students examine the relationships within a salt marsh habitat. In this habitat instructional activity, students examine the various kinds of symbiotic relationships in a salt marsh habitat.
Curated OER
Brine Shrimp Survival
Students develop an understanding of how growth and survival of an organism depends on physical conditions. They design an artificial environment in which brine shrimp can thrive. Students determine the optimum salinity for hatching of...
Curated OER
Wetlands and Saltmarshes
Students identify the different functions of a wetland system and why the system is important to the St. Mary's River ecosystem and the environment. They play a migration game and write a journal about the salt marsh periwinkle and how...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Modeling Trophic Cascades
In the ecological game of who eats who, one small change can have a big impact! Individuals create food chains in an array of ecosystems, then determine what happens to organisms in the chain when one organism changes its feeding...
Curated OER
My Biotic Creation
Eighth graders explore different ecosystems. In this ecosystem survival instructional activity conditions instructional activity students create their own fictional creature.
Curated OER
Invent an Invertebrate
Design a new organism with recyclable art materials! After learning about the coastal biome, learners brainstorm challenges that a plant or animal may face. They use their ideas to create a creature, complete with environmental...
Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Terrestrial Forests vs. Kelp Forests
Middle schoolers discuss concept and specificity of habitats, both marine and terrestrial, list similarities and differences in the habitats of a kelp forest and a terrestrial forest, compare types of organisms that occupy corresponding...
Prince William Network
Migration Math Madness
A great way to incorporate math into life science, this instructional activity has learners measure migratory routes on a map and calculate the actual distance that shorebirds on the routes would cover. Learners compute the distance...
Curated OER
Ecosystems Beneath the Surface
Sixth graders create a KWL chart about microorganisms. In this biology lesson, 6th graders create and label a diagram on a microbial mat. They investigate the processes involved in the carbon, oxygen and sulfur cycles.
Curated OER
Extremophiles- Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension
In this extremophiles non-fiction reading worksheet, students read a two page selection that describes the organisms known as extremophiles. They answer 10 questions based on the selection which include true or false, short answer, and...
Curated OER
Go Fish!
Students are introduced to the culture of the Kumeyaay. Using their text, they discover how they used their native flora and fauna in San Diego. They participate in a matching game and examine the types of organisms who make their home...
Curated OER
Phragmites australis: Invasive Plant Species
Young scholars research and investigate invasive species, with specific focus on the exotic plant Phargmites australis and its impact on Piermont Marsh near the community of Piermont, New York.
Curated OER
Collecting Field Trip
Students identify and describe each marine habitat. They name organisms that can be found in each habitat and discover ways in which to protect them. They participate in an activity to complete the lesson.
Biology Junction
Energy Flow in an Ecosystem
Every living thing requires a food source, thus the interconnections in ecosystems become complex. Scholars learn about these interconnections in a presentation on energy flow. It starts with the sun and moves through many different...
Curated OER
Ecosystem Tumble
Students create visual representations of ecosystems. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the interdependence of plants and animals in various ecosystems. Students cut pictures from magazines and glue them on sturdy blocks. Using...
Curated OER
An Introduction to the Marine Environment and Geology of City Point: A Model for Experiential Teaching
Students begin the lesson by researching the history of City Point, Connecticut. Using a map, they color areas they were asked to find and discuss why the areas are important to the community. As a class, they are shown recent slides...