Curated OER
Fort Clatsop: The Corps of Discovery's Winter at Fort Clatsop
High schoolers investigate the Lewis and Clark expedition and how it helped to shape American expansion during its early history. Students reflect upon the period of history and its implications for America.
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Habitats and Deep Sea Environments
Students examine and identify the characteristics of the four zones of the ocean. They discover the amount of diversity in marine habitats. They also explore the adaptations organisms have that have allowed them to survive.
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Oceanography
Fourth graders define new vocabulary associated with oceanography. They locate and label the four oceans. They also identify features of the ocean floor.
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What's the Big Deal?
High schoolers define terms and describe where they are found and formed. In this methane lesson students complete an activity and describe ways in which methane hydrates impact our lives.
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"Where in the West" Guided Reading Lesson
Learners complete a vocabulary chart, review proper/common nouns, discuss and review comparative adjectives and make "self to text" connections before reading. In this language arts lesson, comprehension questions are completed during...
Curated OER
Genres, Genres Everywhere
Young readers assume the role of Genre Sleuths to investigate the characteristics of folktales, fantasies, and mysteries. For this session you will need to collect a variety of books on a topic you have been studying. Groups then examine...
Curated OER
Oceanography
Fifth graders study the topography of the ocean floor. They determine its ever changing nature as they examine currents and trade winds. They write paragraph describing how the winds might affect land formations after the discussion of...
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Understanding Oceans
Students investigate how ocean currents affect our world. In this ocean currents lesson, students perform an experiment to show how cold water is near the poles and warm water is near the equator. Students use water, food coloring,...
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Friendly Volcanoes
Students discuss the benefits of volcanic activity on marine life. They explain the process of tectonic plates.
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Deep Gardens
Students compare and contrast deep-sea coral reefs with shallow-water coral reefs. In this underwater ecology lesson, students describe three types of coral and explain why scientists are concerned about the future of deep-sea coral.
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Climate Change: Is there a Controversy
Young scholars explore climate changes. In this climate changes lesson plan, students research what causes changes. Young scholars search the Internet, summarize reports they find and create a poster with the information.
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How Can We Help?
Students explore ocean animals and their environments. In this environmental stewardship instructional activity, students read a story and discuss the environmental needs of animals. Students think of ways to help clean up the...
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Food for Thought
Students understand the importance of each member of a food chain through a game. In this food chains lesson, students receive background information and then play a game to simulate what happens in the food chain of an endangered...
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Fisheries And Songs
Students view examples of songs that have the ocean and its life as their themes. After hearing and reading them, students write their own, having done research on the social and political issues of the ocean's environment.
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Ecosystem Interactions Web
Students pick an ecosystem (forest, desert, coral reef, open ocean, grassland, mountain, savanna, etc.) and design an interaction web for their chosen ecosystem. Each group shares their ecosystem's web of life with the class.
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Small Wonders
Students investigate some of the 'mysteries' of the animal, marine and insect worlds, and create student books explaining their findings to younger students.
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Picture This!
Students compare and contrast different types of light on the electromagnetic spectrum. In this investigative lesson plan students create a photographic image that demonstrates the infrared, ultraviolet and polarization...
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Titanic: Looking for Clues
Students make inferences about a shipwreck based on the location of artifacts. They role play as marine archaeologists and list three processes that contribute to the deterioration of the Titanic.
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Oceanography
Fifth graders use scientific skills and processes to recognize how living things depend on one another and on the environment for survival and that the human use of natural resources impacts the environment. They research how Earth's...
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Wildlife
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
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Cypress/Tupelo Swamps
Students study the geologic history of terrain, soils, and drainage patterns. They recognize ecological processes that determine the dynamic nature of habitats. They investigate the influence of human activity on the landscape.
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What Do We Know About Africa?
First graders explore Africa, its geography and climate. After completing a KWL chart, 1st graders locate Africa on a globe and discuss how its location on the earth affects its climate. Using the Internet and a given fact sheet,...
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Keep it Complex
Students consider the importance of biodiversity in the ocean layers. In this oceanography lesson plan, students use the Shannon-Weaver diversity index to analyze data. Students analyze the information collected and write a report...
Virginia Department of Education
Succession
The final instructional activity in a two-part series prompts scholars to create newspaper articles and succession events. Applying their knowledge of the ecosystem and the past examples of succession, they predict what will happen...