National Geographic
Ocean Exploration
Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard, the...
NOAA
To Explore Strange New Worlds
It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...
NOAA
Ocean Exploration
Where am I? The second installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program starts with pupils guessing the years in which major ocean exploration events took place. The lesson then focuses on how...
Curated OER
Ocean Careers Exploration
Learners will work together in groups to gather information about careers in oceanography. They discover the need to have a diverse group of people on a team and then share their information with the class. Web links and materials are...
Curated OER
Effects of Oil Spills on Environment and Marine Life
Students explore oceanography by conducting an environmental experiment in class. For this oil spill lesson, students discuss the human need for oil and what is at stake when we drill for oil in our oceans. Students read a book in class...
Curated OER
Exploring National Marine Sanctuaries
Students research marine ecosystems by creating class presentations. In this oceanography instructional activity, students research the different locations of marine sanctuaries by identifying them on a transparency map in class....
NOAA
A Day in the Life of an Ocean Explorer
What's life like aboard an ocean exploration vessel? Junior oceanographers examine the important role of communication in ocean research in lesson two of a five-part series from NOAA. The materials introduce the class to life on board...
NOAA
Watching in 3D
Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...
Curated OER
Mooring Mobiles Lab
Oceanography experts use candy to construct a model of a bio-physical mooring that would test a variety of factors. Each piece of equipment to be included on the mooring is described within the write-up. As pupils gather the candies for...
Curated OER
How To Grow Red Seaweed
Students explore ocean biology by participating in a plant growing activity. In this seaweed lesson, students identify the importance and uses of seaweed in the ocean and examine different seaweed samples. Students utilize an aquarium,...
American Museum of Natural History
Journey to Deep Sea Vents
Take a deep dive into oceanography. The online interactive allows for learners to board a submersible to dive to the bottom of the ocean to investigate sea vents. On the way down, individuals see different marine life at different...
Curated OER
Tools of the Trade
Students construct functional replicas of oceanographic tools and demonstrate and explain their use.
Curated OER
Introduction to Ocean Grazers
Students explore biology by creating a poster with classmates. For this oceanography lesson, students identify the importance of coral reefs to the ocean's ecology and examine a food web of ocean animals. Students define a list of...
Curated OER
Fisheries Management in the Open Ocean
Learners explore biology by researching fishing equipment. In this oceanography lesson, students discuss the impact of human technology on the fish population. Learners utilize marbles as a visual aide and complete fish population...
Curated OER
Under Pressure: How Deep Can They Dive?
Young scholars explore geography by conducting an in-class experiment. For this deep sea exploration lesson, students identify the different zones of the ocean and utilize water bottles, masking tape and scissors to conduct a water...
Curated OER
Journey of the Pacific Salmon
Students explore oceanography by researching migrating fish. In this Pacific Salmon lesson, students participate in a board game activity in which they move a salmon through their annual journey to the spawning habitat upstream. Students...
Curated OER
What Lives in the Open Ocean and Where Do They Live?
Students explore oceanography by participating in a flash card activity. In this ocean inhabitant lesson, students define a list of ocean related vocabulary terms and answer ocean geography study questions. Students utilize organism...
Curated OER
How Are Open Ocean Organisms Structured for Their Environment?
Students explore biology by conducting an animal dissection. In this oceanography lesson, students identify the life cycle of a squid and other animals that are involved with commercial fishing. Students dissect a squid in class and...
Curated OER
Too Hot? Gotta Vent!
Students study deep sea exploration and underwater geology, specifically hydrothermal sea vents. They create digital video projects of their own to demonstrate their knowledge, illustrating the discoveries of the explorers of the ocean's...
NOAA
Technology II
Ping, ping, ping. The last installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explores technology use in marine studies, such as sonar. Activity involves simulating sonar techniques to identify a...
NOAA
El Niño
El Nino, La Nina ... and the Santa Maria? The 11th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explains the mechanism of El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Pupils use previous data to determine...
NOAA
Ocean Layers I
How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...
NOAA
Mapping the Deep-Ocean Floor
How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....
NOAA
A Quest for Anomalies
Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...