The lessons in this learning guide are designed to increase youngsters' awareness of the impacts of marine debris and to teach them about pollution prevention techniques. This fabulous, 30-page packet is chock full of important...

For as small as they are, plankton sure play an enormous role in maintaining marine ecosystems. Dive into an investigation of these tiny organisms with a hands-on life science activity in which children cut out pictures of sea...

Students work in groups and experience what it is like to be a hatchling marine turtle by playing a board game.  In this endangered marine turtles instructional activity, students research the threats to marine turtle hatchlings....

Students conduct an experiment.  In this marine debris and environment protection instructional activity, students categorize trash into piles, predict whether these trash items will sink, float or be picked up and carried by the...

Learners 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. Learners read a book in class...

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...

Learners explore the concept of fishing as it relates to oceans and how some fishing practices can damage the health of the marine ecosystems. In this lesson on the impact of fishing, students research the many places in the world where...

Students research sea life using laptop computers. In this sea life lesson, students participate in a field trip to the beach and enter observations into their laptop computers. Students classify shells and sea life.

A fun collection of activities about marine life would be a great addition to your elementary science unit. From cute penguins to scary sharks, the unit features crafts, experiments, and basic research projects that will teach your...

Learners study the diversity of marine life and their habitats.  In this aquatic ecosystems instructional activity students complete a lab activity and experiment. 

Students explore marine animal adaptation. For this introductory ocean life biology lesson, students access prior knowledge by participating in a whole class "thought swap." Students form two lines, respond to a prompt from the teacher...

Students are introduced to the idea of soil as a habitat for many different organisms. They are introduced to the links between the biological adaptations of an organism and the physical demands of its habitat. Pupils are introduced to...

Students experiment with different samples of sand from Maui leeward and windward beaches. They create a sand map to suggest at least one contributing factor for the formation of each beach sample. They test the samples to determine...

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...

Discover Impressionist painting as students investigate the 19th century combinations of colors characteristically used. Students experiment with their own paintings, utilizing primary and secondary colors.

Eggshells and seashells have a lot in common. Learners use the similarities to conduct an experiment that models the effect of ocean acidification on marine animals. Using varying levels of acidic liquids, pupils make observations on the...

Inspire young marine biologists to study animals in the wild with this assignment. Pupils view an eight-minute video and read an article in the New York Times about Denise Herzing's 25-year long study of dolphins in their own...

Students explore marine life by conducting a rubber duck experiment. In this water currents lesson, students practice identifying latitude and longitude coordinates on a map and define the currents of major oceans. Students discuss the...

A very informative interactive presents ocean zones, estuaries, hot water vents, phytoplankton, coral reefs, sea turtles, kelp forests, and all things that thrive in the ocean.

Students create a model estuary. In this modeling estuaries lesson, students identify characteristics and mix water of varying densities. Students form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and analyze the results.

What do a dead fish, conservation, and paint have in common? The answer is a great instructional activity about fish anatomy, fun print making techniques, and unsustainable fishing practices. The class will start by making fish...

The students take a harbor cruise, photograph, and draw shore line features attending to evidence of human impact/consequences, and its cost on marine/land animal habitats vegetation, weather patterns, signs of erosion, and the water...

Students study the characteristics of a stream habitat. In this life science lesson, students use sieves, nets, and jars to collect aquatic organisms. Students also measure the temperature of the stream and calculate the speed of the...

Young scholars explore the ocean rift habitat off the Galapagos through an audio expedition, Internet research on deep sea animals, an explorer game and simulation of the exploration of the deep sea bottom. They focus on the actual NOAA...