PBS
Ocean Circulation in the North Atlantic
Swirling and churning, the waters of the North Atlantic play a vital role in Earth's climate! Discover the many factors that produce circulation using a multimedia lesson from PBS's Weather and Climate series for high schoolers. Scholars...
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
NOAA
Mud is Mud...or is it?
We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...
NOAA
Stressed Out!
Are our oceans really suffering due to the choices humans make? The sixth and final installment in the volume of activities challenges research groups to tackle one of six major topics that impact ocean health. After getting to the...
NOAA
Come on Down!
What do we do when a dive is too dangerous for humans to accomplish? Send in the robots! Middle school scientists get acquainted with several different models of submersible robots in the second lesson of six from NOAA. Lab groups then...
NOAA
What's the Big Deal?
Who knew that a possible answer to Earth's energy resource problems was lurking deep beneath the ocean's surface? Part four of a six-part series introduces Earth Science pupils to methane hydrate, a waste product of methanogens. After...
NOAA
Methane Hydrates – What's the Big Deal?
Have you ever tried to light ice on fire? With methane hydrate, you can do exactly that. The ice forms with methane inside so it looks like ice, but is able to burn. The lesson plan uses group research and a hands-on activity to help...
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Ocean Acidification: Whats and Hows
Open this lesson by demonstrating the production of acidic carbon dioxide gas by activated yeast. Emerging ecologists then experiment with seashells to discover the effect of ocean acidification on shelled marine organisms. They measure...
Curated OER
Descending to the Challenge: Developing Documentaries About the Deep Ocean
The video clip that comprises the warm up is not available, but the related article from The New York Times and the movie trailer for Aliens of the Deep are, leaving enough material to make this a fascinating lesson on deep-sea...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan #3 ~ Ocean Currents
Sixth graders experiment to understand the ocean's currents. In this ocean current lesson, 6th graders complete an experiment with two bottles of water and an index card to discover information about the ocean current. ...
Curated OER
Tools of the Trade
Learners construct functional replicas of oceanographic tools and demonstrate and explain their use.
Curated OER
Specialized for the Sea
Students use pictures and make a mural to investigate how ocean animals are adapted to certain parts of their environment.
Curated OER
Sampling the Ocean Floor
Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
Curated OER
Deep Blue Sea
Elementary schoolers identify the ocean floor in a geological sense. They create a presentation that highlights the key features of the ocean floor. This terrific lesson plan has excellent streaming video segments embedded in it, and the...
NOAA
Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on Marine Debris
The lessons in this learning guide are designed to increase youngsters' awareness of the impacts of marine debris and to teach them about pollution prevention techniques. This fabulous, 30-page packet is chock full of important...
Curated OER
Waters of the Earth - Friends or Enemies
High Schoolers observe the paintings and drawings of Robert Harris, and do a study of the ocean that delves into human and physical geography. Learners make prints, listen to music, create a database, and perform research on a specific...
Curated OER
Round and Round
Learners interpret data from a three-dimensional array of current monitors to determine an overall pattern of water circulation. They hypothesize what effect an observed water circulation pattern might have on seamount fauna. A very...
Curated OER
Under the Sea
Students imagine and describe fictitious sea animals that might live in the ocean. After reading an article, they reflect on new discoveries found in the ocean recently. Using the internet, they research the interdependence of animals...
Curated OER
Ocean Careers Exploration
Learners will work together in groups to gather information about careers in oceanography. They discover the need to have a diverse group of people on a team and then share their information with the class. Web links and materials are...
NASA
Inferring Relationships Among Sea Surface Salinity & Other Variables in the North Atlantic
Some say a picture is worth a thousand words—even from a hundred miles away! Learners review satellite data to analyze ocean variables such as temperature, salinity, evaporation, and precipitation. They look for patterns in the data and...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Oceans
Flotsam by David Wiesner and The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen, begin a reading adventure pack focusing on oceans. With story listening and thoughtful discussion, scholars complete several...
Mr. Nussbaum
Lobsters
Lobsters are the topic of an informational text that scholars read then answer a series of questions. A progress report details their work.
American Museum of Natural History
Create a Coral Reef
Scholars create a diorama to showcase a vibrant coral reef. Six steps walk pupils through setting up the diorama box, crafting four different types of marine life, and putting it all together.
American Museum of Natural History
Rubber Blubber Gloves
Using gloves, shortening, tape, and a lot of ice, participants experience the feeling of having blubber. The experiment's eight steps follow an informative page about blubber and animals that have it.