National Geographic
Save the Plankton, Breathe Freely
Inhale. Exhale. Breathe easy with this richly-designed lesson plan on the source of our oxygen! Children may be surprised to find out that plankton produce the bulk of the vital gas. They participate in an activity where they record the...
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Plankton in the Air
Here is a lab activity adequate for use with any full lesson on environmental factors that shape animal adaptations or marine animal characteristics. Pupils will discuss the role plankton plays in the environment and filter-feeding...
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Marine Fisheries Management
Almost 200 slides make this a vast collection! It is a quirky collection, titled "Marine Fisheries Management," but having little to do with that occupation. What you will find are two-toned blue backgrounds with no pictures, but a few...
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Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first instructional activity, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second...
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Feeding in the Flow
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed a tremendous library of ocean-themed lessons that can be used in a variety of science settings. "Feeding in the Flow" is one of those activities; Its focus is on...
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How Big Is A Humpback Whale?
Students explore humpback whales. In this humpback whale instructional activity, students determine the actual size of humpback whales and use diagrams to identify the major features of the humpback whale.
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Taking Action
Students use the net they make to dip macroinvertebrates at or below the surface. The flat side of the net allows pressure on the substrate so that organisms do not escape under the net. Two students hold onto the handles and submerge...
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Ocean Exploration
Students explore whales. In this animal adaptation and whale lesson, students access prior knowledge about whales from previous lessons, then use background knowledge to predict the eating strategies of a baleen whale and a toothed...
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Design a Plankton
Students explore animal and plant adaptation. In this ecosystems science lesson, students view websites to gain information about plankton and its interdependence within ecosystems. Students identify ways in which plankton has adapted...
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Does Clear Water mean Healthy Water?
Learners test their local aquatic site to determine its water clarity. They collect a water sample and measure its turbidity using a sensor, then they repeat the experiment to obtain a second turbidity reading to find the average value.
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Urban Effects on Inshore Plankton
Students investigate the effects of urban pollution on plankton. In this plankton and pollution lesson plan, students use samples of plankton collected in urban areas to observe the effects of pollution on plankton samples. They...
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Ocean World
In this components of the ocean worksheet, students answer 20 questions about various species in the ocean such as plankton, different types of whales, sharks, and herring. Students also answer questions about the volume of water in the...
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Pollution and Marine Life
In this pollution and marine life worksheet, students use 9 given terms related to types of pollution and ocean food chains to complete sentences. Students number the effects of human sewage and soil runoff that harm ocean organisms in...
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A Survey of Plankton Communities
In this biology worksheet, students identify and define the vocabulary terms listed and make a prediction about the outcomes of the experiment. Then they complete the chart of the observations of the plankton diversity in drops of pond...
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Plankton
Students explore how to collect plankton and use microscopes to observe and identify it. They collect the plankton sample and classify the various components of the plankton. Students identify organisms in the plankton and draw...
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Phyto- v. Zoo- Plankton
Students identify two broad groups of plankton: phytoplankton and zoo plankton. They describe the general body adaptations which characterize each group. They discuss and write about what it would be like to be carried around by the...
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No Escape
Via four student handouts, marine biology learners examine the topography and circulation cell of the Fieberilng guyot. Then they examine the number of individual hydroids counted at each depth. Pupils use the information to relate water...
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Great Blobs of Jelly!
Students explain how zoo-plankton have an impact on the global process. In this ocean zoo-plankton lesson students calculate carbon flux and plankton densities.
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Ocean Drifters
Students define terms, and identify three ways in which plankton are adapted for life in the open ocean. In this ocean drift lesson students design a planktonic organism.
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Drifting Downward
High schoolers study the effects of different salients and temperatures on vertical movement of an organism. In this experimental lesson students design different shapes of foil to simulate drifting planktonic organisms.
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Plankton
Young scholars research phytoplankton and zooplankton. In this food chain lesson, students read This is the Sea That Feeds Us and discuss plankton, food chains, and webs. Young scholars define phytoplankton and compare them to land...
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Plankton
Learners explore the attributes of plankton. In this plankton lesson, students read This is the Sea That Feeds Us and discuss food chains. Learners discover the differences between phytoplankton and zooplankton as they examine the...
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Temporary Zooplankton Mix and Match
In this plankton worksheet, learners draw a line between the larvae and the adult. Students write the name of each adult animal under the 8 drawings.
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Life in the Ocean
In this ocean worksheet, students review the different life forms that can be found in the ocean and how these organisms are connected to each other. This worksheet has 12 short answer questions.