Oceans absorb half of the carbon dioxide and 80 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Scholars learn how and why the oceans store heat more effectively than land and how they help mitigate global warming. Pupils...

Are the earth's oceans really just giant batteries, waiting for their energy to be harnessed? Middle school mechanical engineers will be shocked by the amazing amount of energy that forms around them after diving into part four of a...

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...

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...

Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are...

One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...

Who doesn't enjoy an engaging scavenger hunt? Here, scholars listen to, and discuss, the informative text, Where is my Continent? by Robin Nelson. They then explore the seven continents and four major oceans using...

Earth is a complex structure. Learners explore their home, the earth, using a fun hands-on activity. They create tactile models of the earth using ordinary household materials that represent some common features: land, polar caps,...

Apply scientific principles to designing an experiment to study organisms living on the coral reef in our oceans. Through reading, individuals learn about the coral reef ecosystem and important factors that affect its function....

How does carbon dioxide affect the world's oceans? The final installment in a series of six lessons has pupils research ocean acidification, then conduct an experiment to witness the delicate balance that exists in our seas. Materials...

Using different types of water, earth science explorers set out to prove the ocean's ability to absorb greenhouse gases. They heat, shake, and freeze the water samples to examine the gas content. This lesson is useful in a unit on...

Young scientists demonstrate how Earth's temperature has varied gradually over time. They attempt to answer four questions that all pertain to how the Pacific Ocean's temperature has evolved. This lesson includes internet research and a...

Here is a great hands-on activity that should lead to a greater understanding of salt water, why the ocean is salty, and how ocean waves are formed. This terrific, old-school lesson has clearly described activities, and all of the...

How much plastic do people use? Class members identify how plastic is involved in their daily lives by looking at food packaging either at a grocery store or at home. Learners view statistics for the amount of plastics found on a beach...

In groups of four, pupils brainstorm about seafood. They view the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website to examine the problems caused by the seafood industry. Learners are then brought back together to discuss what they...

Density comes to life as investigators place soda cans into containers of various liquids to find if they sink or float. They layer different density liquids, compare densities of different gases, and more. A total of six different...

In a comprehensive role playing activity, teens play the parts of different stakeholders in the realm of acidic oceans. They research, debate, and create a presentation from the perspective of either ocean organisms, the fishing...

Young scientists transform themselves into rivers, oceans, clouds, and drops of water in order to explore the water cycle. After assigning and explaining to students their different roles in the activity, the teacher reads aloud a...

Can your breath change the acidity in a liquid? A instructional activity begins with a demonstration that proves it can. Then scholars perform an experiment to determine if other gases can change the pH of liquids. Finally, they research...

Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the first...

Historians have proven that as early as 1497 skilled navigators were using a kamal to sail across oceans. Scholars learn about navigation tools and astronomy before building their own kamals. They then learn how to use it to determine...

When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...

Provide your learners with a comprehensive introduction to Europe with this great set of worksheets. Map activities include matching European countries to their capitals and places on a political map, as well as...

How do we count the fish in the ocean? An engaging lesson models how to estimate fish populations with observational surveys. Class members begin by studying the behavior of fish on the coral reef in the oceans. They...