Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trash Traits: Marine Debris, Litter, Ecology, Oceans

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students perform experiments to examine whether trash can float, blow around, or wash away. The effects of these characteristics on the presence of marine debris in the environment are then discussed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Winds Over Land vs. Ocean

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore friction and the way it impacts wind over the ocean compared to over land.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oceanography Class Quilt

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students create and observe a collage of oceanography topics that be placed on quilt tiles in a culmination art project to represent information learned.
Graphic
Fourmilab Switzerland

John Walker: Named Lunar Formations

For Students 9th - 10th
This atlas of the Lunar surface features lists all named features. Click on a name and see an image of that item, or at least an image of the Moon centered on that item.
Handout
Scholastic

Scholastic: Ocean Life

For Students 9th - 10th
Good starting point for researching ocean life. Find general information, research-topic ideas, a glossary of important terms and people, and numerous links to related sites.
Website
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Magazine: Eco Center: The Oceans

For Students 9th - 10th
Students explore the potential problems and fascinating phenomena of the oceans. Some topics investigated are climate change, nutrient pollution, and fishing. The resource consists of a quiz, slideshows, articles, and video clips.
Website
University of California

Mid Ocean Ridge

For Students 9th - 10th
An article from Scientific American details some recent discoveries about the ridge systems. "New maps reveal striking details of how segments of the Ridge form and evolve."
Website
Rice University

Rice University: Ocean Currents and Tides

For Students 9th - 10th
This URL will start you out at the site map for Rice University's study of longitude and navigation. Scroll to the section titled "Oceans" and you will find some very good information on surface currents, especially those of the South...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Harbor Porpoise Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
In this project you can use archived satellite tracking data to learn about activity patterns of harbor porpoises. How far do they travel? Can you find patterns in the routes individual animals take? Can you correlate their route with...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Salty Is the Sea?

For Students 3rd - 5th
Have you ever been swimming at the beach and gotten some water in your mouth by mistake? Then you know that the ocean is very salty. Bodies of freshwater also contain some salt, but much less compared to oceans. In this experiment you...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Primary Productivity and Plankton

For Students 3rd - 8th
The oceans contain both the earth's largest and smallest organisms. Interestingly they share a delicate relationship linked together by what they eat. The largest of the ocean's inhabitants, the Blue Whale, eats very small plankton,...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: From Brine to Beverage: Solar Powered Salt Removal

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this science fair project you'll discover how to turn the ocean into a source of freshwater by using the power of the Sun, and the water cycle. You will ultimately find just how salinity affects this process.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Building Beaches

For Students 3rd - 5th
A day at the beach is a wonderful way to spend time with your family and friends. You can swim, play games, and build sand castles. But have you ever thought about how all of that sand got there and wondered why the shoreline weaves in...
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Hotspot Lesson: Relative Dating

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson explains the application of relative dating for volcanic features in the ocean, after which students will identify which volcanic features are relatively older than others.
Activity
Missouri Botanical Garden

Missouri Botanical Garden: What's It Like Where You Live? (Oceans)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains a wealth of information. You can click on shorelines, temperate oceans and tropical oceans. Each page contains links to even more information.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian: Ocean Planet: Interdisciplinary Marine Science Activities

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Smithsonian Institution presents ?Ocean Planet: Interdisciplinary Marine Science Activities?. Through this series of six interdisciplinary lessons, students will look at such things as the organisms in different marine ecosystems, the...
Article
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Action Bioscience: Discovering Amazing Life in the Deep Sea

For Students 9th - 10th
A research biologist at the Monterey Aquarium and a professor at UC-Santa Cruz is interviewed to explain the studies done in the deep sea. Steven Haddock addresses the purpose of uncovering the mysteries of life and environment lying out...
Handout
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

Abpi: Human and Animal Habitats

For Students 3rd - 6th
An interactive learning game where students answer whether or not certain environments would be suitable for different animals. Printable worksheets are available for review at the end of the activity.
Website
Canadian Wildlife Federation

Hinterland Who's Who: Seabirds

For Students 9th - 10th
Get the facts about seabirds. This group of birds makes up about three percent of the various species, even though two-thirds of the Earth is covered in water. Learn some unique facts and characteristics of seabirds. Also included in...
Handout
University of California

Ucmp: The World's Biomes

For Students 9th - 10th
The University of California Museum of Paleontology hosts this site devoted to the study of the earth's biomes, which are the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and adaptations of organisms to...
Activity
Other

Campeoles

For Students 9th - 10th
This cute website offers various types of information to viewers: stays, specials, reservations, and a boutique. If you click on "campeole," you will be able to read more about the organization.
Website
Other

Nasa: Iss Earth Kam

For Students 9th - 10th
Students get a whole new perspective of the world through images obtained from the International Space Station. Students can even request images to be taken through ISS EarthKAM. Activities and educator guides are provided.
Graphic
US Geological Survey

Usgs: u.s. Atlantic Continental Margin Gloria Mapping Program

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the U.S. Geological Survey allows you to access detailed images of the continental margin around the United States. There is additional information about the sonar methods used, and a wealth of additional sources listed.
eBook
Other

Peoples Education: Make Inferences in Science [Pdf]

For Students Pre-K - 4th Standards
This online textbook selection focuses on how scientists make inferences from evidence. Students are given a reading passage about underwater exploration and are asked to make inferences based on the text. The passage is followed by...