National Wildlife Federation
Water, Water Everywhere?
Visibly display the location of the water in the world. Using 12 liters of water to represent the total amount of water in the world, the class measures out the water located in different areas, such as the ocean and ice caps. Class...
Curated OER
Mixed Media Ocean Art
Students design pictures of ocean environments. For this art lesson, students use mixed media art materials to develop a picture that depicts the ocean environment. They use paint, sand paper and various basic art materials.
Space Awareness
Continental Climate and Oceanic Climate
There's nothing better than a cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. Scholars explore how water affects change in temperature using a hands-on experiment on climate. They use measurement tools to compare the continental and oceanic...
NOAA
Ocean Acidification
If tap water is more acidic than ocean water, why are we so concerned about ocean acidification? The third installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on carbon dioxide levels in...
Polar Trec
Where is the World's Water?
Scholars discover the amount of the Earth's water in various locations such as the ocean, ice, the atmosphere, etc. They then make a model of the how much water those percentages represent. Finally, analysis questions bring the concepts...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
Discovery Education
Smoke on the Water
How do clouds form? Learners demonstrate the formation of clouds and the water cycle by testing four different setups in a plastic bottle. They identify the key components of a cloud to help them understand the process of cloud...
Curated OER
Water Cycle Worksheets
A website links you to several water cycle worksheets geared toward an upper elementary or middle school level. Diagrams, word search, crossword, and fill-in-the-blank worksheets are available. As an added bonus, there are links to...
Peace Corps
Celebrating Our Connections Through Water
Water is vital for survival, but how does it help global cultures flourish? Elementary and middle schoolers learn about the different cultures around the world that celebrate water and incorporate it into their festivals or traditions.
Curated OER
Where's the Water? Stream Side Science
After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...
Curated OER
Composition of Ocean Water
Students experiment to determine the composition of ocean water. In this ocean water composition lesson, students color in a grid that shows the percentage of each of the components of ocean water which include chloride, sodium, sulfate,...
Curated OER
Oceans: Water, Water Everywhere. . . but Only on the Earth!
It's not long, but it's thorough! This PowerPoint takes 4th - 8th grade earth scientists deeper into the oceans. They learn about tide and current activity and the forces that drive them. They also discover how wind and the rotation of...
US Department of Energy
Thermal Expansion of Water: Rise of Sea Level
Using bunsen burners, Erlenmeyer flasks, thermometers, hollow glass tubes, stoppers, and rulers, learners experiment with and measure how water expands when heated. The activity connects the expansion of water when heated to global...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Rising Ocean Temperatures - Rising Sea Levels
As an anticipatory set, young environmental technicians watch a video about how ocean temperatures seem to be changing along with the global climate. They perform a laboratory demonstration with the purpose of observing what happens to...
NOAA
Ocean Layers II
Now that you know the ocean has layers, let's name them. The seventh installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program covers terminology associated with ocean layers, such as thermocline and...
NOAA
Ocean Primary Production
A cold seep is an area on the ocean floor where hydrocarbons leak from the earth, creating entire unique biomes. Learners explore cold seeps, photosynthesis in the ocean, and its limitations due to loss of sunlight. They further explore...
NOAA
Ocean Exploration
Sea explorers and scientists have found that because of temperatures being two to three degrees Celsius at the bottom of the ocean, most animals are lethargic in order to conserve energy. In this web quest, pairs of learners read about...
California Education Partners
Follow the Water by Arthur Dorros
Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...
Curated OER
Stacking Water
Learners experiment with different salinities of water using straws and different colors of water. They collect and interpret data from the experiment.
Curated OER
Amazon Water Cycle Role Play
Learners participate in a role play where they play clouds, the ocean, rain drops, and more in order to learn about the water cycle. In this water cycle lesson plan, students have discussions and learn vocabulary.
NOAA
Ocean Zones
How can organisms light up in water? Bioluminescence is light produced in a chemical reaction that can occur in an organism's body. First, learners determine what happens to light/color as you move into the deep ocean. In groups, they...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: The Case of the Leaky Gyre
The fascinating video "Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic," introduces your oceanographers to the world's gyres. They learn that melting sea ice is making the gyres larger, and that the changes could, in turn, contribute even...
University of Southern California
What Is The Ocean?
Go on a tour of the ocean through the lens of a scientist. Learners read maps of the ocean floor, study tide behavior, examine wave motion, and analyze components of soil. Each lesson incorporates a hands-on component.
NOAA
Why Should I Care?: Show How Increased Carbon Dioxide Makes the Ocean More Acidic
How does a change in pH affect the ocean ecosystem? Scholars explore the idea by making an acid-base indicator in part seven of the 10-installment Discover Your Changing World series. First, they explore impacts of carbon dioxide in...