Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life In the Flood Zone

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students discover how floods occur by visiting the Weather Channel's website. They examine the areas of the United States which are more vulnerable for flooding. They research the history of previous floods and how to protect themselves.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Ocean: A Watery World

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils discuss the proper clothing for the season. They make wind chimes to use as an indicator of movement of the air and observe and identify the various cloud formations. They determine the basic rules of storm safety and discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Life Stinks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study cold seeps and see how organisms obtain energy from methane.  For this sinkholes lesson students examine the relevance of chemosynthesis to communities. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seas Of Life

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers brainstorm examples of predator and prey that are featured in a video they watch.  In this investigative lesson students will research an animal from the video and explain if it is a predator or prey and how it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climate and Change: Fitting the Facts Together and Acting on Them

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine climate change. In this current events instructional activity, students read the provided articles "Key Facts + Key Conclusions=0?" "Oil Companies Fund Climate Change Deniers," and "Acting on Climate Change Facts."...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Sea

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Oceans

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Learners complete a variety of activities in preparation for a unit on oceans. They discuss their own proximity to the ocean, identify and name the oceans on a globe, and in small groups identify facts about a selected ocean. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Monitoring Coral Reefs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate data on coral reef monitoring in a marine protected area in the Florida keys. In this coral reef lesson plan, students use online data from a marine protected coral reef to complete a worksheet about coral...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living Light

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain bioluminescence. In this life science lesson, students discuss bioluminescence and conjure examples of organisms that carry this trait and how it is useful in their environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Depth Line

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students use adding machine tape to plot increasing ocean depths and deep sea historical events.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Barracuda

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars explore oceanography by researching the great barracuda.  In this animal life lesson, students read several vocabulary terms dealing with ocean life and examine a drawing of a barracuda.  Young scholars examine...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Piece of Cake

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine life under the sea to discover coral gardens and microhabitats. They demonstrate learning by creating an edible marine ecosystem with a sheet cake, icing, and different candies.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ping!

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study side-scan sonar and discover how it can be used to locate objects underwater. They complete a sonar simulation activity in which they create and map mystery landscapes inside shoeboxes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Microstructure Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the microstructure of the ocean by analyzing graphs created by Dr. Mike Gregg of the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory during the EPIC 2001 research cruise on the Ronald H. Brown NOAA vessel.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

No Escape

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Via four student handouts, marine biology learners examine the topography and circulation cell of the Fieberilng guyot. Then they examine the number of individual hydroids counted at each depth. Pupils use the information to relate water...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Desalination: Creating a Solar Still

For Teachers 4th - 6th
To better understand how solar power can aid in creating desalinated drinking water, the class creates a model still. They will build a model of a solar still, make observations, and discuss how the process works. While the idea behind...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survival in the Open Ocean

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine how scientists conduct pelagic research and identify pelagic predators as they study the open-ocean ecosystem. They discuss and conduct small group research of this environment in order to produce a presentation.
Lesson Plan
Ocean Explorer

Looking for Clues

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Upper graders become "shipwreck detectives" by studying the debris field from a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea which took place in the 700s.  A website is accessed that gives specific information about the debris field, and pairs of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students use satellite data to see the correlation between sea temperature and sunlight in the Gulf of Maine.  In this phytoplankton lesson students use Excel to analyze data. 
Lesson Plan
Poetry Class

Tackling Climate Change

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Get your kids thinking about climate change with a series of activities that include creating a ditty box poem for the planet, a poem that identifies concepts or objects they would want to preserve.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Estuarine Currents

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students experiment observing a demonstration on models of density-driven currents which are typically found in an estuarine system of water flow. They compare/contrast water temperature and salinity to the formations of estuarine currents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stranded along the Coast

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students plot stranding sites onto a map using latitude and longitude as well as compass directions with respect to coastal features. They identify several species of marine animals that might become stranded; distinguish their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Small Wonders

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate some of the 'mysteries' of the animal, marine and insect worlds, and create student books explaining their findings to younger students.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oil Spill Cleanup

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students participate in an oil spill simulation and how to clean it up. In this oil spill lesson plan, students also calculate the cost of the clean up of an oil spill.