Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Coral Reef Habitat Match

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Different animals live in different habitats, and each animal has specifically adaptive traits that make them tailor-made for their environments. This is true on land and in the ocean. Little ones examine how various marine animals have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Monterey Bay

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students read background information about Monterey Bay, California, and conduct related experiments. In this ocean in motion lesson, students read information about the location, wildlife, and characteristics of Monterey Bay. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's Dinner?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upcoming marine biologists consider a list of organisms residing near the Lost City hydrothermal vents and construct a food web. They compare the food web to that of a cold seep community, of which they should have previous knowledge....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wonderful Whales

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
Primary marine biologists consider the largest living animals on Earth, the whales. Introduce them to general anatomy, unique adaptations, and behaviors. Teach them to sing a song that will help them remember some of these facts....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classifying Deep-Sea Organisms

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this lesson life forms found in the ocean. Student groups of 3 - 4 choose one set of deep-sea organism images. The groups decide how they would classify their organisms and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wildlife Variety Show: Biodiversity In Illinois

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders write a short report in first person about any plant or animal found on a list of Illinois species. They become the character of the plant or animal and give a short report describing the plant or animal.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galapagos: Beyond Darwin

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students identify plants and animals endemic in their local area after learning about the plants and animals of the Galapagos Islands. In this plants and animals lesson plan, students create an endemic garden on school grounds.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Prairie Dog That Met the President

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
StudentS name and discuss facts of the characters in "The Prairie Dog that Met the President". They create a 4 to 8 beat chant about a character from the opera, play a percussion instrument with an assigned rhythm and identify a melody...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Prairie Dog That Met the President

For Teachers K - 8th
Young scholars study the history of jazz music. They listen to various examples of jazz music and complete a worksheet in which they must identify the individual instruments they hear and identify characteristics of the genre of jazz music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frozen Seas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research animal life in the frozen seas. In this researched based activity, students use the Internet to create a poster about an animal that lives in an Arctic or Antarctic environment. Students will focus on the behavioral and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pleistocene Mammals

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students research the causes of the extinction of Pleistocene mammals.  For this Pleistocene mammals lesson, students read essays to understand the Pleistocene epoch. Students write an essay about the personal impact of this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Are Animals Too

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners create posters that show how a shark is a major predator in kelp forests and coral reefs after studying the food webs for these ecosystems. They determine that fish are important animals in the ocean's web of life.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Stewardship Activities

For Students 5th - 6th
In this ocean pollution learning exercise, students read the stewardship activities for ocean pollution. Students list 3 ways to help reduce pollution. Students then draw or write the items in the correct order of decomposition along the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Exploration: How Doea you Data Grow? (Grades 7-8)

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners explore fieldwork.  In this seventh or eighth grade mathematics lesson, students watch a video on data collection in the field.  Learners use fieldwork to gather data about their school environment. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduce Vocabulary: I See Animals Hiding

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students are introduced to the story " I See Animals Hiding" and define key vocabulary words from the story. In this instructional activity aimed at reinforcing vocabulary, students listen to the usage of vocabulary words in the...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Life in the Ocean

For Students 9th - 12th
In this ocean life worksheet, students review the animal and plant plankton and photosynthesis in the ocean. Students fill in the blank of 15 statements and then find these terms in a word search.
Lesson Plan
Science Matters

That’s An Otter Story

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scientists discover how sea otters' habitats have changed due to human impact. Through conversation, video observation, and story reading, scholars identify how human interactions change a specific ecosystem in both positive and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America's Stone Age Explorers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students watch a Nova program examining the earliest in habitants of the Americas. In groups. they take notes on various topics covered in the program. Among the topics covered are: the Clovis people, Solutrean culture, migration...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Sonar & Echolocation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Lesson Plan
Forest Foundation

Forests, Carbon & Our Climate

For Teachers 4th - 6th
To conclude their examination of forest ecosystems, class members consider the role forests play in the carbon cycle and how forests can offset climate change.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean/Beach Center

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine different types of ocean life. They classify sea shells and role play in the ocean center. They color and write about their experience in the ocean center and share their experiences with their classmates.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Ocean Water and Life

For Students 7th - 9th
In this ocean water and life worksheet, students match the vocabulary term with the correct definition. Also, students answer questions by deciding if the statements are true or false. Finally, students complete concepts maps while using...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Ocean Tides

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this ocean tides worksheet, students read 2 pages about ocean tides and answer true or false questions about it. Students complete 10 questions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Ocean Animals - Fill in the Missing Vowels

For Students 1st - 3rd
Students look at 8 pictures of ocean animals and fill in the missing vowel for each ocean animal. This activity is a very goo way for young learners to practice their vowel sounds and spelling rules.