Students explore water properties by conducting a class experiment. In this buoyancy lesson, students utilize freshwater, saltwater, plastic cups, hard boiled eggs and food coloring to experiment with the floating capabilities of salt...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take your class on an underwater adventure. The final installment in a seven-part series involving salt and freshwater bodies takes junior oceanographers below the surface in...

Students use a light microscope to observe the organisms living in a sample of ocean or fresh water. Students create a drawing of the organisms that they observe. Students then discuss the different body plans of the organisms and the...

Young scholars create a poster describing the five characteristics of a salt water organism compared to a fresh water organism.

Young scholars visit a local creek or stream. They collect water samples from the creek and observe and sort the "water critters" they find in the sample, observing smaller organisms under a microscope if necessary. They identify each...

Write-on! Demonstrate a writing model and support learners as they write an informational essay on a water resource issue of your (or their) choosing. The lesson plan provides a well-scaffolded summative writing...

Students explore oceanography by completing science worksheets. In this tide pools lesson plan, students discuss the forces of the tide pools, the animals that live within them, and the impact they have on the rest of the ocean. Students...

Ever heard of a stygofauna or a stygobite? How about an anchialine cave? Set your young biologists on a quest to find information about organisms that live in and have adapted to life in caves located near the water. Class members then...

Hold the sea in the palm of your hand! Amateur oceanographers work together to create models of an ocean ecosystem in the sixth and final installment in a series. Raise awareness of global ocean health issues through guided research,...

Students study the life and biology of the Channel Catfish. In this aquatic biology lesson, students will examine the external and internal features of the catfish along with their breeding habits and environment. This lesson includes...

Pupils explore how human beings affect the world's ecosystem by examining the affects of medication on daphnia, a small freshwater organism very sensitive to pollution. Students use a computer model to repeat the experiment and analyze...

Students investigate the presence of specific organisms in a freshwater habitat to determine the quality of that habitat. They conduct a field study and distinguish and classify organisms found during the field study.

Students investigate the food webs in the Barnegat Bay. In this organisms instructional activity, students use a graphic organizer to illustrate the types of consumers in the bay. Students use reference books to continue to research the...

Young scholars create dioramas that depict a habitat. For this habitat lesson, students use a variety of art items to develop either a marine, freshwater/pond, or forest habitat in a box. They write an expository essay about their...

High schoolers discuss metabolism. In this metabolism lesson, students evaluate evidence form a research report and discuss the basis for hypothetical metabolic adaptations to low-oxygen environments in the anchialine caves.

Fourth graders research an ecosystem and its endangered species. They create a PowerPoint Presentation, oral report, poster or a booklet based on their research. They research on the internet and in biology texts in teams of 4.

Students work as a team to gather organisms from a stream to evaluate if the water quality is excellent, good, or fair to poor.

Students determine that delivering clean, fresh water to citizens around the world involves and affects politics, economics, international relations, and technology. They brainstorm a list of factors that might affect their town's...

Students investigate caffeine as a potential new pollutant in a northwest river system. Effects of caffeine on invertebrates and salmon fry will be explored through field work and lab work.

Students outline a scenario demonstrating ecosystem interdependence. They explain the effects of this change according to the food web. They give a positive example such as increased rain and have the students call out answers to your...

Students explain why dissolved oxygen is important in aquatic ecosystems. They evaluate the optimal dissolved oxygen levels for living organisms.

Learners identify and describe major geographical features of the Middle East and explain how these features and other natural resources influence the economy of the area. Then they research one of the middle-eastern countries listed,...

Sixth graders complete a five-week unit investigating the eight major biomes of South America. They conduct Internet research, collect short-term and long-term climate data, and create a HyperStudio slideshow stack about a selected biome...

Young scholars write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Young scholars research animals indigenous to the area.