Marine Habitats of Galveston Island

Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first instructional activity, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second instructional activity, they read a mystery in which a blue crab has gone missing. The mystery is solved by the habitat clues that you provide. In the third instructional activity, learners make plankton models from playdough and experiment to see if different shapes float more readily. The final instructional activity prepares them for a field trip to the salt marsh.