Curated OER
Ocean Expedition with Jacques Cousteau
Students role play that they are on an ocean voyage with Jacques Cousteau as they study plant, and animal species and adaptation. They write a five page journal, create artwork of the expedition.
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Under the Sea
Students identify and interpret that non-fiction books have features like a table of contents, a glossary, and an index, which can efficiently help them find information. They also identify how to narrow the search for information by...
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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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Bad Algae!
Learners explore algal blooms. In this ecosystem and health lesson, students define and describe harmful algal blooms, then discuss ways in which the impact of these algal blooms could be reduced. Learners work in groups to...
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If I Could Talk Like the Animals. . .
Students read and discuss a film review of the animated movie Antz and then write a monologue from the perspective of a non-human organism.
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How about a Little Give and Take?
Students design a closed system to test the relationships between plants and animals. They monitor abiotic fluctuations within this living system by using a chemical test kit. They observe how living organisms respond to fluctuations in...
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Water Quality Testing
Student explore factors affecting ecosystems. They test local water samples for pH level. After creating a methodology for data collection, they collect data, compare results, and draw conclusions based upon results.
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The Salt Water Connection
Students investigate the various factors that influence the Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay, California. They watch a video about Monterey Bay and take notes, and conduct research and write a report about a specific organism living in...
Texas Instruments
Can You Breathe Like a Pinniped?
Young learners compare the breathing patterns of different animals in this pinniped lesson. They examine the breathing pattern of California sea lions and northern elephant seals. Pupils collect, compare and analyze data concerning...
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Longshore Current
Learners are posted at the beginning and end of a 10-meter long line parallel to the ocean and are instructed to look straight ahead towards the water. The student at the beginning of the line uses a stopwatch, goes to the water's edge...
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Using and Creating a Dichotomous Key
Students assess what a dichotomous key is and how it identifies objects in a group through a process of answering yes/no-type questions about certain objects. They examine an interactive graphic key on sea turtles and then create their...
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Oceans Away
Students explore oceans. In this science lesson plan, students locate oceans, seas and continents of the world, identify ocean-related occupations, and complete activities pertaining to food chains as well as pollution.
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Washington D.C.
Students research monuments in Washington, D.C. In this geography lesson, students research one monument and use the Internet to gather information. Students create a three-dimensional model of their monument.
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Food Chains and Food Webs
Fourth graders study intertidal organisms and their role in the food web. In this food web lesson, 4th graders read the book The Sea That Feeds Us and discuss food webs. Students study pictures of intertidal creatures and discuss their...
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Shark Food
Students create a linking chain to demonstrate the food chain. For this food chain lesson, students use the Internet to research sharks, including what they eat, and create a chain link with a picture of a shark. They...
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In the Company of Whales
Learners examine whales and how they migrate. In this whale lesson plan students research whales and their migration patterns.
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Ocean Grazers: Class Field Trip
Students explore biology by participating in a field trip. In this oceanography lesson, students define the survival characteristics of bottom dwelling creatures also known as ocean grazers. Students attend a class field trip to a beach...
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Monitoring Estuarine Water Quality
Middle schoolers analyze water quality data from real data. In this environmental science lesson, students examine how salinity and dissolved oxygen affect the living organisms in the estuary. They interpret graphs to support or disprove...
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Bioluminescence
Students differentiate chemiluminescence from bioluminescence. In this biology lesson, students explain how fireflies and other animals emit light. They discuss the applications of engineered bioluminescence.
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"Garden Springs Gardeners"
First graders ponder the question of how plants help their lives. They observe and compare properties of several different plants. Differentiate between living organisms and nonliving objects.
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The Key To Classifying Animals
Explorers of the environment construct a dichotomous key for a variety of organisms and design a key to classify Galapagos animals based on descriptions and images. The lesson includes a link to an animal gallery and the worksheet for...
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Species on the Edge
Students describe factors negatively affecting population of sea turtles, and identify and discuss action that can be undertaken to reduce or eliminate threats to sea turtles and other endangered species.
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Voyage to Kure Viewing Guide
Young scholars complete a worksheet while viewing a video about the oceans. They locate the oceans on a map and identify positive and negative ways in which humans have impacted them. They discuss any questions at the end of the lesson.
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Sharks in Decline
Students investigate common fishing methods used to capture sharks. They decide why these methods and the shark's reproductive biology are contributing to the quick reduction in the shark population.