Lesson Plan
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Animals: Dolphins

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students use the internet to discover information about dolphins. They examine their behavior, appearance and distribution of dolphins.
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Oceans of the World

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders demonstrate their ability to find the five oceans on a globe and on a world map and relate their knowledge of mountains and other physical characteristics of land masses to the physical characteristics of the ocean floor.
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Debris Dilemmas

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners examine debris, what it is, where it comes from and where they go.  In this debris lesson students view a video, answer questions and discuss what they learned.
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Sunken Slave Ship

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners imagine they are archaeologists who are looking for treasure under the sand or sea. They work in teams to create the story and site of a shipwreck in a tub or aquarium filled with sand and water.
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Predators Among Us

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners study environmental science. In this ecosystems lesson, students discover how humans have an impact on life in the coral reef. They watch video clips and work on small group activities. This lesson includes links to the videos...
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Food for Thought

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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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Fish Are Animals Too

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create posters that show how a shark is a major predator in kelp forests and coral reefs after studying the food webs for these ecosystems. They determine that fish are important animals in the ocean's web of life.
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Oil Spill Dangers

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners analyze the effects of oil spills on our environment and develop action plans to protect animals and habitats.
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Hawaiian Hot Spots

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers describe how plate tectonics contribute to the development of volcanoes. In this earth science activity, students examine the map of Hawaii and explore the physical and biological environment there. They write a story...
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Drawing Fish

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Young scholars practice creating art by imitating the camouflage of fish. In this animal characteristic lesson, students identify certain fish and their ability to change colors in order to survive in the wild. Young scholars utilize...
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What Was for Dinner?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine energy obtaining strategies that are used by organisms in deep reef communities.  In this ocean lesson students complete an isotope activity. 
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SOS!

For Teachers K - 4th
Students examine natural and man-made threats to sea turtles. They create sea turtle mobiles while studying the range, environment, predators of and threats to sea turtles.
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Hudson Canyon Expedition; Fishy Deep Sea Designs!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students explore the physical location of deep water habitats along the Hudson Shelf Valley and in Hudson Canyon. They study the basic characteristics of the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones with regard to depth, temperature, pres
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Diatom Ooze

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore seafloor sediment. In this ocean environment lesson, students describe the characteristics of different types of seafloor sediment and oozes. They compare and discuss locations of sediments and oozes by plotting the...
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Molecular Explorations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain the processes for separating DNA from tissue and separating complex mixtures.  In this exploratory lesson students complete a lab where they extract DNA.  
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Eyes on the Estuaries

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study estuaries and compare several ones in the U.S. In this estuary activity students interpret data and compare the distribution of different species. 
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Waves : An Alternative Energy Source

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers evaluate the feasibility of wave energy as an alternative source of energy.  In this alternative energy source lesson plan students are introduced to renewable and nonrenewable energy and study energy production.
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Species on the Edge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students study science. In this endangered species instructional activity, students examine sea turtles and actions that can be taken to help keep them alive. They work in small groups to research different species of turtles and share...
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Save the Bay

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars explore the concept of environmental stewardship. In this science lesson, students examine the environmental effects of oil spills as they replicate a contained oil spill and clean up.
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Who Has the Light?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study ways in which the ability to produce light may be useful to deep-sea organisms. In groups, they research and present to the rest of the class, how a specific organism is able to produce bioluminescence.
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Lesson 9 - Along Our Coast

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students study the benefits of estuaries. They construct a saltwater food web, and complete worksheets and a quiz.
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Who's New in the Deep Sea?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the methods and technology that scientists use to study the deep sea and other remote environments.  For this ocean habitats lesson students make observations about organisms from video clips, generate questions and...
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Entering the Twilight Zone

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners describe major features of cold seep communities  and list organisms that are found in these communities.  In this water habitat instructional activity students examine trophic levels, describe the process of...
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Oceanography

For Teachers 5th
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...