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Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Life in an Ocean World

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does the shell color of crabs and the habitat they live in impact the predator-prey relationship? The fourth lesson in a series of five is a game where participants try not to get eaten if they are a prey and try to eat if they are...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predator Protector Game

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students take on the role of an Ocean Adventures expedition volunteer member and are charged with protecting three species of sharks from danger in order to defend the balance of nature in the ecosystem. They play an online game which...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wildlife

For Teachers 5th - 7th
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Symbiotic Strategies: The Secret Lives of Sharks and Rays

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners investigate the interaction in an oceanic ecosystem. For this symbiotic relationship lesson, high schoolers investigate how ecological relationships evolve over long periods of time in order to maintain balance and stability of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fisheries in the Open Ocean

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore fisheries in the open ocean. In this ocean environment lesson, students study the impact fisheries have on the ocean habitat. Students complete a WebQuest and summary project regarding fisheries.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Web of Predators and Prey

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the components food chains and food webs in various ecosystems. They describe how living things depend on one another for food energy (food chain) and how more than one food chain exists in an ecosystem
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Zones

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students create a mural showing ocean zones and the diversity of ocean life. They use reference books to create a list of plants and animals that would live in each zone.
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Fish and Ladders: Grades 5-8

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Swim with the fishes. Learners simulate the migration of Chinook salmon. Groups pretend to be salmon, while others are predators, fishers, and hazards. The salmon start in the spawning area and swim downstream to the ocean until reaching...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Ocean Life Zones

For Students 8th - 10th
In this ocean worksheet, students answer questions about ocean life, the plants and animals of the ocean and their classification, the major life zones of the ocean and questions about an animal of their choice that lives in the ocean.
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Lesson Plan
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)

Arctic Smorgasbord

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Web of Predators and Prey

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the food chain by researching the Internet.  In this ecosystem activity, students view the video "Competitor and Predator" and read a book from the series "The Magic School Bus."  Students utilize a worksheet to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Specialized for the Sea

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students use pictures and make a mural to investigate how ocean animals are adapted to certain parts of their environment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting Food

For Teachers K - 4th
Students complete activities to learn about the ocean food web. For this ocean life lesson, students discuss how the tides affect feeding, learn about filter feeders, grazers, predators, and scavengers. Students then group the animals...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Cycle of Hawaii's Honu

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Learners simulate the life cycle of Hawaii's Honu. In this Science lesson, students act out the life cycle of the Hawaiian sea turtle. Learners determine and play the roles of prey and predator.
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Lesson Plan
Florida International University

The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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 bad-tasting...
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Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What's This? Staying Safe

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Amaze the class with the creative adaptations species employ to trick predators. An online interactive lesson introduces learners to six different species with unique adaptations. Each species highlights a different adaptation and its...
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Instructional Video2:41
American Museum of Natural History

They Glow!

For Students 6th - 12th
Would you believe marine animals can make their own light? An online resource describes the process of bioluminescence and how animals in the ocean use it to survive. The lesson features a catchy tune that describes the behavior of ocean...
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Instructional Video2:41
American Museum of Natural History

They Glow!

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Let there be light! An interactive online lesson describes the process of bioluminescence and how ocean species use it to their advantage. The lesson highlights several specific species as well as provides vocabulary support with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predators Among Us

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students 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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PPT
Curated OER

Glacier Bay Pacific Halibut

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
The National Park Service has produced a high-quality presentation on the halibut population of Glacier Bay, Alaska. It takes the viewpoint of the marine biologists or rather, ichthyologists, who have been studying the adaptations,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in the Crystal Palace

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Marine biologists research sea ice communities. Assign some groups to construct paper models of sea ice communities in winter, and some to construct models of them in summer. The lesson is simplistic, but the Internet resources provided...
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Interactive
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NOAA

Deep-Sea Benthos

For Students 6th - 12th
Much like a distant planet, the underwater world of deep-sea benthos is strange and largely unknown. How do creatures survive and thrive in such extreme pressure and temperature conditions? Young oceanographers join the crew of Operation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blue Planet: Open Ocean

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research facts about animal species.  In this ocean activity  students view a video, prepare illustrated cards and create a food-web display.  
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predator/Prey Activity: Fish Feeding, Environments, and General Behavior

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students explore concepts of environment and survival among different marine life, focusing on the ocean environment.