NOAA
A Laboratory Simulation of Ocean Surface Currents
Stimulate interest in ocean currents with a simulation. The first installment of a five-part middle school series teaches future oceanographers about the forces that interact to cause ocean currents. A simulation shows how wind and...
NOAA
Ocean Exploration
Where am I? The second installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program starts with pupils guessing the years in which major ocean exploration events took place. The lesson then focuses on how...
NOAA
Through Robot Eyes
How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...
Curated OER
Fish Communities in the Hudson
Learning to read data tables is an important skill. Use this resource for your third, fourth, or fifth graders. Learners will will study tables of fish collection data to draw conclusions. The data is based on fish environments in the...
Curated OER
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Guide your class on an adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with this Hampton-Brown outline. It provides educators with a guide to increase reading comprehension, critical thinking, literary analysis, and reading strategies. This...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Ocean Floor
Learners explore the ocean in this earth science lesson. They use the Internet to gather information on parts of the ocean including the beach, ocean floor, continental shelf, trenches, and the animals that inhabit these parts.
Curated OER
Exploring Marine Ecosystems in the Caribbean and Maine
Students compare the marine habitats of Maine and the Caribbean using temperature, tides, ocean currents, latitude and longitude. In this marine ecosystems lesson, students analyze maps to complete graphic organizers that evaluate the...
Curated OER
Ocean Friends Nametags
Students complete a number of activities to complete a study of ocean animals. They identify the animals, make nametags using appropriate colors, the animal habitats, and make a book by putting the pages in numerical order.
Curated OER
Marine Protection Areas
Learners explain the importance of having Marine Protected Areas. In this ecology lesson, students research MPA's in any of the Great Lakes. They play a MPA simulation game and identify MPA's on the map.
Curated OER
Ocean Pollution
Students explore ocean pollution. In this ecology lesson, students view a video entitled This Pretty Planet and identify common biodegradable products. Students participate in activities designed to simulate the negative effects of...
Curated OER
Blue Planet: Seas of Life - Tidal Seas
After viewing the video Blue Planet: Seas of Life, students review oceanic concepts. In this earth science lesson, students reflect on the effect tides have on living things and conduct research to create a "tidal trivia" game....
Florida International University
The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting
Examine the benefits of chemical defense mechanisms. Organisms in oceans use chemicals to ward off predators. Duplicate this adaptation using a hands-on experiment in which you ward off your predators (your pupils) with some...
Curated OER
Classifying Deep-Sea Organisms
Young scientists access the EARTH Web site in order to engage in this instructional activity 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...
Polar Trec
Rings of Life
Individuals analyze tree rings to determine the health of an ecosystem. They then look at otoliths of fish, hard calcium carbonate structures located behind the brain, in the same manner.
Space Awareness
Water is a Heat Sink
One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...
Aquarium of the Pacific
Kelp Forest Conservation
There otter be a better way. As a class, groups work together to create a food web based on the organisms in the kelp forest. Budding scientists watch a video on the kelp forest to see how the organisms create a food web and hear about...
Curated OER
Ocean Habitats
Students examine the water samples from a demonstration and discuss the difference between fresh and salt water. They draw different animals that live near or in the ocean and how humans can harm the ocean habitat. They draw pictures of...
Curated OER
The Census of Marine Life
Learners explain diversity and abundance in marine life. In this oceanic biology lesson, students collect information for various geographical areas to collect a census of marine life.
Curated OER
Entering the Twilight Zone
Students describe major features of cold-seep communities and the process of chemosynthesis as it relates to organisms in each habitat. In this deep-sea habitats lesson, students study the categorization of ocean habitats...
Curated OER
Something Fishy Going On
Young scholars create a video animation of how Swimmy gathered his fish friends together to form a great big fish that would frighten the predator tuna away. In art class each child create a small red fish which gets displayed in the...
Curated OER
Journey to the Unknown
Students explore the ocean depths. In this scenario based lesson plan, students pretend they are on a submarine in an unknown part of the ocean. By using clues the class discusses and determines where they are in the ocean. They follow...
Curated OER
The Intertidal Zone: Tide and How Creatures Survive
Students explore oceanography by completing science worksheets. In this tide pools lesson, 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...
Curated OER
Magic School Bus: The Wild Whale Watch Lesson Plan
Learners research information about whales. In this early childhood lesson plan, students create an illustration of a whale to display in a sea scene in the classroom. Learners then use the library and internet to research a whale of...
Curated OER
The Nutrient Cycles
Students investigate the circle of sea life by creating nitrogen compound models. In this oceanography instructional activity, students discuss sea creatures and where their waste goes. Students identify nitrogen cycles in...