NOAA
A Day in the Life of an Ocean Explorer
What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life on...
Curated OER
Ecology Explorers
Students create accurate, detailed map showing physical features, plants and trees, and other details of three school sites.
Messenger Education
Exploring Exploring
The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...
NOAA
What Little Herc Saw
See the underwater world through a different pair of eyes! Middle school marine biologists identify deep-sea organisms by examining images taken by an ROV from the Okeanos Explorer. After determining what creatures lie beneath the...
NOAA
To Boldly Go...
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...
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
Curated OER
Medical Explorer
After reading a case study, pupils will explore possible diagnoses, assessment, and treatment plans. Finding the definitions to medical vocabulary and sorting through patient history, they will begin to understand the process of...
Curated OER
Exploring Habitats
Third graders go on a mission to research three different habitats on the campus of Manchester College so that they can be part of a resuce effort. They work in groups and each group starts at a different habitat. Group one starts at...
Curated OER
The Greatest Survival Story of All Time
Students use the Internet to read about an explorer's survival in the Antarctic. They try to find a better route for him to have taken.
Curated OER
I, Robot, Can Do That!
Students describe the three types of underwater robots and the advantages and disadvantages of using them. In this underwater instructional activity students are given a task and identify the best robot for the job.
Curated OER
Let's Outrage the Bull
Students study kinetic and potential energy. In this energy lesson, students in grades K-2 understand the differences between kinetic and potential energy. Students in grades 3-5 demonstrate that kinetic and potential energy. Students in...
Curated OER
Endangered Ecosystems
Reading comprehension and note-taking skills are practiced as young ecologists embark on this journey. Explorers visit a website where they will read about three ecosystems that are in danger. They use interactive programs to build a...
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 plan of six from NOAA. Lab groups...
Curated OER
Settlement Exploration: Then and Now
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
National Geographic
Measuring Elevation Past and Present
After viewing a short video about a climb up Mount Everest, high schoolers read about triangulation for measuring distant elevations. Have your class work in groups to construct an inclinometer and then use it to measure the height of...
Curated OER
National Marine Sanctuaries Fish
Information is provided on Gray's Reef, Florida Keys, and Flower Garden Banks marine sanctuaries. Young marine biologists then visit the FishBase and REEF databases to collect fish species information for each location. They then...
Curated OER
Arizona Plant Booklet: An Introduction to Arizona Plants & Cacti
Students explore variety of plants & cacti in their Arizona community by collecting samples and taking photographs. Can be adapted to other areas.
NOAA
Journey to the Unknown
What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid lesson, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an expedition aboard...
National Geographic
Ocean Exploration
Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard,...
NOAA
Wet Maps
How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The...
NOAA
History's Thermometers
How is sea coral like a thermometer? Part three of a six-part series from NOAA describes how oceanographers can use coral growth to estimate water temperature over time. Life science pupils manipulate data to determine the age of corals...
NOAA
What Killed the Seeds?
Can a coral cure cancer? Take seventh and eighth grade science sleuths to the underwater drugstore for an investigation into emerging pharmaceutical research. The fifth installment in a series of six has classmates research the wealth of...
Curated OER
Ocean Exploration: Shapes and Patterns Under the Sea
So many shapes in our vast oceans. Young explorers can discover new shapes in a variety of ways in this lesson. One way is having free exploration with a pattern shape kit handed out by the teacher. Another is by viewing a...