Curated OER
Factors Affecting Ocean Currents
Students design and conduct an experiment to determine the effect of salinity and temperature changes in the movement of ocean currents. In this earth science lesson, students record observations and collect data. They share their...
Curated OER
Finding the Deep Water Masses of the Atlantic Ocean
Learners describe the role of density in driving deep ocean currents and the density layers of the ocean. They determine that the ocean is one continuous body of water with global currents that interact, with water surrounding all...
Curated OER
Ocean Currents
Students examine ocean currents. In this investigative lesson, students examine ocean currents and the relationship between the ocean, our atmosphere, and the weather. They will create a model of an ocean current.
NOAA
Climographs
In the second lesson plan of a five-part series, young climatologists use provided temperature and precipitation data to create climographs of three different cities. They then analyze these climographs to develop a general understanding...
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...
Curated OER
Climate Change in My City
Students investigate the climate changes occurring locally, regionally and globally over the last one hundred years. They brainstorm and predict whether the current year's weather was warmer or colder than last year then check the...
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Driving Currents
Students conduct a variety of investigations to see how water, heat, and salinity affect the flow of the world's ocean currents,as well as, explore many factors that affect the flow of the world's ocean currents. They also describe in...
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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
Deep Ocean Currents
Students observe the interactions of different temperatures of water using colored ice and a thermometer and then compare the results with global ocean current solar heating. They identify where floating ice would be found in the ocean,...
Curated OER
Wind and Currents
Students observe how wind generates currents and the effect of islands and banks on currents. They determine ocean circulation affects climate and plant and animal populations on land and in the ocean and that surface currents are...
NOAA
Tracking a Drifter
Be shore to use this drifter resource. The third installment of a five-part series has learners using the NOAA's Adopt-a-Drifter website to track to movement of a drifter (buoy) in the ocean. Graphing the collected data on a map allows...
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course
Students explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results to...
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How Temperature Affects Density
Middle schoolers examine the effects of temperature and density in ocean currents. In this density lesson, students explain how coastal climates are impacted by ocean currents. They investigate how the ocean currents are affected by...
Curated OER
Climate Change & Coral Activities
Learners study how the ocean stabilizes our planet's climates and how global warming is becoming a threat to this fine balance. In this climate change lesson, students identify that fossil fuel emissions are responsible for global...
Curated OER
Climate Change
Students discuss problems associated with a world climate change. They examine how animals would be affected if the world heated up.
Curated OER
Sampling the Ocean Floor
Learners sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...
Curated OER
Modelling Ocean Currents
Learners construct a replica of the Atlantic ocean given certain parameters. In this earth science lesson plan, students draw their own map of ocean currents. They answer questions related to the activity.
Curated OER
Scientific Investigation of Sea Ice Thickness
Young scholars study the importance of global ocean currents, sea water chemistry, and cultural issues surrounding sea ice. In the field, students travel to the floe edge with their teacher and an elder to drill holes in the ice and...
Curated OER
Temperature Changes: Atmosphere & Ocean
Students observe temperature differences of water and air in sunlight and darkness. They determine that the sun warms the Earth's surface, which controls global currents and climate, keeping the earth habitable. They discover water and...
Curated OER
Weather and Climate Around the World
Students explain the difference between climate and weather. They gain concepts of currents and discuss how the currents have an affect on climate and weather. Students gain knowledge of the instruments that meteorologists use to predict...
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Ocean Influences on Climate
Students brainstorm the geographical factors that contribute to climate. They graph average monthly temperatures at two island groups. They analyze data for similarities and differences.
Curated OER
Biomes: Extreme Climate
Students create a web connecting global warming, the Arctic, and wold climate. They write a paragraph explaining the role of the Arctic in world climate.
Curated OER
The Inside Current
Eighth graders explore ocean currents and wind patterns. They discover the concept of systems to show how change in one component of a body of water, causes change in other components in that system. Students describe positive and...
Curated OER
Climate Patterns across the United States
Students articulate differences between climate and weather using examples in a written statement. Using climate data from across the country, they describe climate patterns for various parts of the United States on a map. Students...