Wilderness Classroom
Ocean Life
Our oceans are composed of many complex relationships. Young oceanographers explore relationships between organisms, understand the world ocean's currents, and discover the effects of water pollution and how it behaves. There are...
Curated OER
Marine Animal Tracking
Students engage in a lesson which serves as an introduction to the ideas and implications of animal tracking. They monitor animal foraging behavior on a spatial scale. The students break into groups and track each other's movements as...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
Rainforest Alliance
How Do Jaguars and Howler Monkeys in Belize Depend on Us?
How does weather play a role in the lives of land and sea creatures? Find out with a instructional activity focused on habitats and the ways animals from different homes are connected. Here, learners explore how the life of a...
Curated OER
Wildlife
The centerpiece of this lesson plan is a predator-prey simulation in which colored paperclips represent different species of animals camouflaged against a colored background. Relevant follow-up questions are provided. The activity is...
Curated OER
What's the Difference?
Students analyze the similarities in different species. This lesson plan is part of a multi-segmented unit on the diversity of life. In this segment, students classify shoes to mimic the scientific categories of the classification system.
Curated OER
Fish Fashion 101
Young scholars explore fish anatomy. For this fish anatomy and adaptation lesson, students define and identify the location of fish body parts. Young scholars add these parts of a fish's anatomy to a life-sized fish costume worn by a...
Curated OER
Web of Life - Role-Playing
Students role-play how organisms adapt to their environment. They play 20 questions with plant and animal habitats. They create a web of life to demonstrate how each plant and animal relies on the other for survival.
Curated OER
Human Impact on the Life Cycle of Corals
Students study the life cycle of a coral reef. They then participate in a simulated village meeting in which they roleplay various characters who must review proposed legislation dealing with reef management.
Curated OER
Big Fleas Have Little Fleas
A benthic habitat hosts a vast collection of organisms and its structure influences the biodiversity. Middle-school marine biology explorers will discuss how corals impact structure, and therefore diversity, on the ocean floor. They draw...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Color Variation over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
A species-specific look at natural selection, the resource herein examines how adaptations have helped the population of rock pocket mice survive in a changing landscape. To begin, middle or high schoolers watch a 10.5 minute video,...
Curated OER
Where Are All the Fish?
Students identify the problems that marine life is facing today. In this marine science lesson, students explain how Marine Protected Areas can help the ocean and the fish. They brainstorm ways to help in the conservation effort.
Curated OER
Wildlife
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
Prince William Network
The Incredible Journey
Divide your school gym into breeding grounds and non-breeding grounds so that your zoologists can play a game simulating the seasonal migration of shorebirds. Players pick one of the included game cards and follow its directions, which...
Curated OER
A Monument for Marine Conservation
Young scholars explore the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to discover what's there and pick up clues as to how people have both harmed and helped the native habitats. They study another protected area and see how to balance conservation...
Curated OER
Web of Life Game
Students participate in a web of life game. After reviewing new vocabulary, they play each round of the game and discuss the changes that occured in the last round. They are to survive in the game as long as possible given the...
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
Is There Room for Everybody?
Third graders examine the capacity of animals able to live in one habitat. For this habitat lesson, 3rd graders play a game that shows the food chain and the interactions between animals in an area. Students discover that food is a major...
Curated OER
Design a Reef!
Here is an ambitious, but highly valuable undertaking: set up a miniature coral reef in your classroom. Young marine scientists research coral reef ecosystems and ensure all vital factors are included in their functioning model. The...
Curated OER
Marine Protected Areas (MPA)
Ninth graders explain the purpose of MPA's. In this biology lesson, 9th graders identify MPA's in Southern California. They simulate coastal sampling using candy from two buckets. Students analyze their results and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Maintaining Strong Fisheries
Learners play a game about the life cycle of a blue crab in order to witness the causes of changes in the crab population and discuss what a resource manager could do to keep a stable crab population. Students then create a game titled...
Curated OER
Marine & Aquatic Habitats Activities - Estuaries Are for the Birds!
Learners recognize that birds act as indicators of pollution because of their sensitivity to environmental change, and role play the manner in which marine debris can be hazardous to waterfowl.
Curated OER
Backyard Birds: Who's Who Out There?
Students practice techniques of field observation and data-gathering while studying local bird population, describe ecosystem as complex combination of elements, which can affect or be affected by each other, and determine effects of...
Curated OER
Raising Trout
Students investigate the life cycles of fish as they observe a trout's life in class. In this fish life lesson, students create a proper habitat in a fish tank for the trout eggs to spawn and thrive for several weeks....