Curated OER
Oceans
Students become aware of the differences between ocean water and lake water by smelling, tasting and seeing. They distinguish between land and bodies of water on a globe and gain increased awareness of oceans and life.
Curated OER
Entering the Twilight Zone
Students describe major features of cold-seep communities and the process of chemosynthesis as it relates to organisms in each habitat. In this deep-sea habitats lesson plan, students study the categorization of ocean habitats according...
Michigan Sea Grant
Great Lakes, Great Careers
Pupils play a question-asking game to investigate careers relating to marine and aquatic science, then conduct research to further investigate the career of their choice—examples range from marine veterinarian to underwater...
Curated OER
The Intertidal Zone: Tide and How Creatures Survive
Students explore oceanography by completing science worksheets. In this tide pools instructional activity, students discuss the forces of the tide pools, the animals that live within them, and the impact they have on the rest of the...
Curated OER
Oceans and Coasts
Learners explore the topic of marine pollution. They define key vocabulary words, list examples of marine pollution, complete a true/false handout, read an article, and participate in a class discussion.
Curated OER
Magic School Bus: The Wild Whale Watch Lesson Plan
Students research information about whales. In this early childhood lesson plan, students create an illustration of a whale to display in a sea scene in the classroom. Students then use the library and internet to research a whale of...
Curated OER
Water Layering and Circulation
Students examine relationships and interactions between different types of water. They experiment with colored water of different temperature and salinity and discuss how the results relate to real ocean currents.
Curated OER
Design a Reef!
Students explore coral reef ecosystems. In this ecosystems science lesson, students research coral reef ecosystems to determine the major functions the participating organisms must perform. Students construct a miniature coral reef...
Curated OER
Water Will, Water Way
Students test tap water for hardness and mineral content. In this environmental science lesson plan, students identify the different stages of the water cycle. They classify plant and animals according to the rules of taxonomy.
Curated OER
Take Only Photos and Leave Only Bubbles: Learn About American History from a Sunken Spanish Galleon
Students simulate the research process of investigating a shipwreck. In small groups, they conduct Internet research, and develop and write a proposal for excavation of the archaeological site.
Curated OER
Salmon Homing Instincts
Students identify the stages of the salmon life cycle. In this fish instructional activity, students experience first hand what it would be like to be a returning salmon attempting to identify a home stream by smell.
Curated OER
Getting Food
Learners complete activities to learn about the ocean food web. In this ocean life lesson, students discuss how the tides affect feeding, learn about filter feeders, grazers, predators, and scavengers. Learners then group the animals...
Curated OER
Fish Fashion 101
Learners explore fish anatomy. In this fish anatomy and adaptation lesson, students define and identify the location of fish body parts. Learners add these parts of a fish's anatomy to a life-sized fish costume worn by a student. ...
Curated OER
Ocean Exploration
Students explore whales. In this animal adaptation and whale instructional activity, students access prior knowledge about whales from previous lessons, then use background knowledge to predict the eating strategies of a baleen whale and...
Curated OER
Out of Old England in the 1630s-Flat Me Project
Students write letters to penpals. In this geography/literacy lesson plan, students become penpals with a classroom in England to learn about customs and society across the ocean. Flat Stanley by Will Holton is read aloud, and students...
Curated OER
Life of an Island: From Mountain to Atoll
Students research the evolution of a volcanic island from origin to erosion. They determine the relative ages of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands given their position in the archipelago.
Curated OER
Helping Right Whales - Right Now
In this whales worksheet, students answer eight questions referring to the right whales found in the Atlantic Ocean. Students read a map to answer three questions and five questions are multiple choice.
Curated OER
Trash Traits: Marine Debris, Litter, Ecology, Oceans
Students perform experiments to examine whether trash can float, blow around, or wash away. The effects of these characteristics on the presence of marine debris in the environment are then discussed.
Curated OER
Marine Communities
Students view a video and then complete lab exercises to help them explain marine communities and animals in them.
NOAA
Calling All Explorers
Let's get moving! The second installment of a 2-part series of six adventures helps learners take part in individual explorations by sea and by land. After navigating the waters in an informative WebQuest, groups create and hide their...
NOAA
Wet Maps
How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...
NOAA
What's the Difference?
Due to the isolation of seamounts, their biodiversity offers a great deal of information on the development of biological and physical processes. Pupils use simple cluster analysis to rate the similarity and differences in biological...
Sea World
Whales
A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...
Polar Trec
Nature's Density Column
Nature provides density columns in the polar regions that provides food for many animals. Young scientists build their own density columns with water in order to answer analysis questions. Through a slideshow presentation, scholars...