Scholastic
Study Jams! Aquatic Ecosystems
Mia's friends are fish-sitting while she is away on vacation. Zoe divulges to Sam that different animals need different habitats, and that there are both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. Examples of the kinds of organisms found in...
Curated OER
Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first lesson, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second lesson, they read a...
Curated OER
Week 8 - Sea Life
Using a magnifier, mini marine biologists examine the barbules of a bird feather. They swirl the it into a mixture of oil and water and then re-examine the feather. After the activity, discuss how the oily feathers pose a problem to sea...
Space Awareness
Transforming Water Into Acid ... And Back
Greenhouse gases affect marine wildlife in life-threatening ways. Through experimentation, your classes explore the acidification of water from the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. As they introduce carbon dioxide to water, a pH...
NOAA
Biological Oceanographic Investigations – Signals from the Deep
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill directly impacted an area of the Gulf of Mexico the size of Oklahoma. A marine biology lesson looks at the impact of an oil spill on the deeper parts of the ocean. Scholars download actual data collected...
Curated OER
Marine Debris
Now is the time to educate tomorrow's citizens to care for the planet, and here is a instructional activity to help facilitate the process. Collect some marine debris and bring it into class. Have your class separate it into types and...
Curated OER
Marine Fisheries Management
The many aspects to consider in Marine Fisheries are covered in this very detailed PowerPoint. There are a large number of slides dealing with both the conditions to consider and terms regarding fisheries. It also covers the laws,...
Kenan Fellows
The Effects of Environmental Conditions on Aquatic Organisms
What kind of experiment can your class do to how observe the environment effects on organisms? Groups design and conduct lab experiments to learn about the effects of the environment on aquatic organisms. Based upon knowledge gained from...
Curated OER
Sustainable Marine Fisheries
Through a fishing simulation, environmentalists discover consequences of over fishing. Afterward, they discuss how the activity relates to the impact of real-life commercial fishing. They also consider sustainability in the fishing...
Curated OER
Whale Song Acrostic
What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.
Science Matters
Blubber Gloves: It’s All About Insulation
Instill the concept of adaptation with the help of Blubber Gloves—ziplock bags, shortening, and duct tape. Scholars discuss how animals and plants keep warm in polar regions, record their predictions, and try on their Blubber Gloves to...
Curated OER
Effects of Oil Spills on Environment and Marine Life
Students explore oceanography by conducting an environmental experiment in class. In 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
Oyster Gardens - No Soil Required!
Explore the practice of oyster gardening. Because oysters play a vital role in marine ecosystems and their populations have declined, biologists are transplanting oyster seed to repopulate reefs. After learning about this practice,...
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
The Dead Zone
The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.
NOAA
Tides
Low tides, high tides, spring tides, neap tides, diurnal tides, semidiurnal tides, mixed tides ... just how many types of tides are there? The 10th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO)...
NOAA
Coastal Dynamics
Life's a beach! The 16th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program first examines different types of coasts and how they form. An activity then has learners investigate the shoreline...
NOAA
Sediments
Calcareous ooze ... what an interesting name! The 15th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on sediments found on the ocean floor. After viewing the slideshow lecture,...
California Academy of Science
A Day inthe Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...
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
Build Your Own Ocean Ecosystem
Hold the sea in the palm of your hand! Amateur oceanographers work together to create models of an ocean ecosystem in the sixth and final installment in a series. Raise awareness of global ocean health issues through guided research,...
Curated OER
"Dead-Zones" and Coastal Eutrophication: Case-Study of Chesapeake Bay
Take an in-depth look at nutrient loading, eutrophication, and hypoxia using data on The Chesapeake Bay as an example. This comprehensive presentation includes detailed graphs, photos, and details about the changes in marine organism...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Bacterial Quorum Sensing
The marine bacteria vibrio harveyi helps with DNA repair in humans. Understanding how to manipulate and genetically mutate this bacteria fascinates researchers. Young scientists observe two different mutations, predict the resulting...
Curated OER
Ocean Life
Students explore the topics of ocean water salinity, ocean life zones, marine life classification, and ocean food chains. They observe demonstrations, conduct experiments, complete quizzes and handouts, and analyze key vocabulary.