National Wildlife Federation
Why All the Wiggling on the Way Up? CO2 in the Atmosphere
The climate change debate, in the political arena, is currently a hot topic! Learners explore carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and what this means for the future in the 11th installment of 12. Through an analysis of carbon dioxide...
NOAA
Invertebrates
Crabs and lobsters ... yum! The 18th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on invertebrate marine life. After the lecture slideshow, learners conduct an activity to sample...
Curated OER
Scavenging the Sandy Shore
Students explore oceanography by examining a beach. In this living things lesson plan, students define the terms abiotic and biotic and practice identifying living and non-living things that have been previously found on a beach....
Curated OER
What Does it Take to be a Survivor: Part 2
Students explore adaptation by completing worksheets. In this fish anatomy lesson, students identify the different survival strategies fish utilize to live in the ocean and the adaptation their bodies have gone through over millions of...
Curated OER
Wreck Detectives
Junior archaeologists examine types of artifacts from the Bronze Age on the internet. In collaborative groups, they create a story about a ship from this period and then construct a model of the ocean floor after their ship has sunk....
Curated OER
This Life Stinks
Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...
Curated OER
Mystery of the Megaplume
Read through the extensive background information and then lead your geology or physical oceanography class through an investigation of actual temperature anomaly data from the Juan de Fuca ridge. They translate the data onto a plot,...
Curated OER
Obis Oil Spill
Students explore environmental challenges by participating in an oil spill simulation. In this water safety lesson, students discuss why oil spills happen and how their impact affects the entire ecosystem. Students utilize popcorn,...
Curated OER
What's Left to Explore-Space and the Ocean Floor
Middle schoolers describe unique exploration studies of the ocean floor and space. They utilize research skills and write summaries of research studies using the Internet. Students answer a variety of questions over their research findings.
Curated OER
Fisheries Project
Young scholars explore biology by completing a fishing worksheet. In this commercial fishery lesson, students identify the process of taking mass fish from the ocean and delivering them to eateries while discussing the negative aspects....
Curated OER
What's Down There
Students write an essay about the coral reefs. In this oceanography lesson, students investigate the reef of Bonaire and compare it to reefs that are not thriving. Students then explore the differences that contribute to the overall...
NOAA
Vertebrates I
I spy a spine. The 19th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explores vertebrate species, such as sharks and other fish. Learners take part in an activity evaluating the...
Curated OER
Leaky Seal
Junior high schoolers explore possible theories for the cause of the Hunley submarine sinking. Through hands on activities, they investigate how to create a waterproof seal. Afterwards, they discuss how seals work and various...
Curated OER
Marine Animal and Plant Adaptations
Pupils examine nature by creating their own animals. In this animal adaptation lesson, students define scientific vocabulary terms dealing with adaptation such as sea stars, sea cucumbers and exoskeleton. Pupils utilize their adaptation...
Curated OER
An Oceanographic Proxy
Students conduct experiments on a sample of sea water. In this oceanography lesson, students inquire how conductivity is used to approximate the salinity ocean water. Students construct their own conductivity meters and test solutions...
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
Through Robot Eyes
How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...
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...
NOAA
Off Base
How does carbon dioxide affect the world's oceans? The final installment in a series of six lessons has pupils research ocean acidification, then conduct an experiment to witness the delicate balance that exists in our seas. Materials...
Curated OER
Wave Superposition: Interactive On-line Mac and PC
Students study definitions of wavelength, wave speed, wave amplitude, and wave period using an interactive JAVA environment. Distance and time are given so speed=wavelength/period can be verified or deduced by students. Waves reflection...
Curated OER
Beach Zonation
Young scholars investigate the characteristics of the beach environment and explore beach zonation. After gathering samples from different areas of the beach, students discuss how the beaches work and the characteristic of each zone....
Curated OER
Ducks in the Flow: Resources about Surface Ocean Currants for the Upper Elementary Classroom
Young scholars investigate surface ocean currents. In this oceanography instructional activity, students work in small groups to create models that demonstrate surface currents, the Coriolis Effect, and how surface currents move debris....
Curated OER
Conditions at Sea Data Activity
Students study how to forecast sea conditions. For this oceanography lesson students complete a class activity on wave making.
Curated OER
Ups and Downs of Diving
Students explore the science and sport of scuba diving. In this scuba diving lesson, students build Cartesian divers and observe their behavior under water pressure.