Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oyster Gardens - No Soil Required!

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Explore the practice of oyster gardening. Because oysters play a vital role in marine ecosystems and their populations have declined, biologists are transplanting oyster seed to repopulate reefs. After learning about this practice,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blue Crabs - The Blue Crab's Chesapeake Journey

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A plethora of information about the blue crabs of Chesapeake Bay will amaze and delight your marine biologists. They learn, through direct instruction, about the characteristics and life cycle of this fascinating arthropod. A highlight...
Lesson Plan
Concordia University Chicago

Tahitian Landscape by Paul Gauguin

For Teachers 7th
Get ready to explore the piece Tahitian Landscape with your seventh graders. They discuss the primitive style, bright colors, and impressionism found in the work, as well as biographical information regarding Gauguin's life. There are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biodiversity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars explore the biodiversity of the national marine sanctuaries. In this science instructional activity, students view a video about Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Birds

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners list marine birds in their area and report on the threats made to these species.  In this marine life lesson students compare bird count data and argue either for or against its accuracy. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Urchins - Diadema Antillarum

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners investigate oceanography by painting sea life. In this crustacean lesson, students identify sea urchins in our ocean environments and describe the functionality of their spherical-shaped bodies. Learners design their own sea...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunken Slave Ship

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students investigate shipwrecks. In this marine archaeology lesson, students create the site of a shipwreck by using a tub filled with sand and items from a "ship". Students excavate the site and analyze the findings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Can Preserve My Planet

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students explore renewable and nonrenewable resources. In this ocean preservation lesson plan, students use KWL charts to understand ways the ocean is important to our daily lives. Students create a poster or wirte a letter to someone...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In The Zone

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders identify ways that ocean animals grow, survive, reproduce, and adapt. They use computer Internet skills to acces and collect information. They create a PowerPoint presentation. They demonstrate writing skills throughthe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Habitats and Deep Sea Environments

For Teachers K - 3rd
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Animals vs. Humans

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students use critical thinking skills to solve word problems using ratios that allow them to compare humans to ocean animals.
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 instructional activity, students read information about the location, wildlife, and characteristics of Monterey...
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

Fish Eyes - More than Meets the Eye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Inform your class about the adaptations in fish eyes: cones, lens size, endothermy, and speed of vision. The adaptations are related to diving behavior. Junior marine scientists compare the adaptations of four different fish species to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Big Fleas Have Little Fleas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Climate Conundrum

For Teachers 5th - 8th
After viewing a video and reading an article about the threatened turtles and tortises in The Amazon River area, collaborative groups create a poster or presentation about how we can help them. Several links to other related lesson plans...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Density Dynamics

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners set up working models demonstrating lake turnover and the formation of deep water masses in the oceans.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's for Dinner?

For Teachers 7th - 10th
View a video presentation comparing chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. Review the findings of the 2004 Ring of Fire Expedition that studied biological communities around the hydrothermal vents of the Mariana Arc. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Fading Corals

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Summer Intern

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Your young apprentices build a function describing the percent concentration of salt in a brine. The rational function is then related to the parent function, y= 1/x, and graphed. Finally, the apprentices predict the amount of fresh...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Longshore Current

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Planet: Sea Secrets

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students identify ocean features and draw a profile using data points on a map. Through discussion and research, they discover the importance of oceanography and plot a profile of the ocean floor in search for a vessel full of precious...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gifts from the Sea

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students discover the oceanic food chain.  In this healthy eating lesson, student investigate the fish we eat and the food the fish eat.  Students discover what ocean animals eat seaweed and what everyday foods we eat that also...
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.