Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Sanctuaries

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers delve into diverse marine ecosystems and the problems they face. They discover students the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dance: Water Dancing

For Teachers K
Examine the way water moves, drips, and splashes with an expressive dance. Learners discuss the ways in which water moves, then create dance sequences that show or describe water. There are several suggestions to adapt this lesson to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coral Bleaching in the Caribbean

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars practice analyzing images, maps and graphs from Internet-based educational resources. They explore the correlation between sea surface temperature and coral bleaching. Students comprehend that coral reefs are collections...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Exploration: Shapes and Patterns Under the Sea

For Teachers K - 3rd
So many shapes in our vast oceans. Young explorers can discover new shapes in a variety of ways in this lesson. One way is having free exploration with a pattern shape kit handed out by the teacher. Another is by viewing a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hurricanes As Heat Engines

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine sea surface temperatures to see how hurricanes get heat from the oceans surface.  In this hurricanes lesson students use the Internet to find data and make line plots. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Renewable vs. Non-Renewable Resources

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders are introduced to the important topic of renewable, and non-renewable, resources. They are expected to be able to correctly categorize different types of resources as renewable or non-renewable. Another emphasis of this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dry Season and 'Green' Season in Costa Rica

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars explore the seasonal changes in Costa Rica.  In this dry season lesson students use the Internet to locate science data then generate data for precipitation. 
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Climate Change Impacts

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Getting kids thinking about climate change now, will hopefully push them into action when they become adults. Young environmentalists discuss the evidence and causes of climate change seen in the state of California. They brainstorm ways...
Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Do You See What Icy?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Here is a lesson that kicks off with a question. "How does ice floating on the ocean act as it melts?" As learners investigate this natural phenomenon, they'll discover that it has a lot to do with temperature, salinity, and the effect...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Google Earth Geology Field Trip

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
Students take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip lesson, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California.  Students compare environments where rocks are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Comparison of Cloud Coverage over Africa

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners identify different climate regions and local weather patterns.  In this cloud coverage lesson students use NASA satellite data and import it into Excel. 
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Carbon Cycle Role Play

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Anytime you make concepts clear with role playing or hands-on experience, it's a win for the whole class. Ping-Pong balls are used to represent carbon in a carbon cycle role-play activity. In small groups, children first discuss what...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Water: A drop in your cup

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students complete activities where they observe the amount of freshwater in the world as a fraction of the actual amount of water using different mixtures. In this freshwater lesson plan, students brainstorm on how to preserve...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Graphing Temperatures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Battle of the hemispheres? In the fourth installment of a five-part series, young oceanographers use the NOAA website to collect temperature data from drifters (buoys), one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct an...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Calling All Explorers

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Let's get moving! The second installment of a 2-part series of six adventures helps learners take part in individual explorations by sea and by land. After navigating the waters in an informative WebQuest, groups create and hide their...
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Animals of the Fire Ice

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonic Cycle

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the Earth's movements by completing worksheets. In this plate tectonics activity, students define such natural disasters as volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and mudslides and discuss their connections to plate tectonics....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nutrient Cycles

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the circle of sea life by creating nitrogen compound models.  In this oceanography lesson, students discuss sea creatures and where their waste goes.  Students identify nitrogen cycles in the ocean by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Filter Feeding in Reef Sponges

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the role of sponges in our oceans.  In this biology lesson plan, students create a diagram visualizing how sponges bring food into their bodies through a filtering process.  Students discuss the connections...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Researching the World's Oceans

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students research and compare important features of the oceans based on current data. They examine the globe or map, determine the major oceans of the world, and record their names on the data sheet.
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

The Search for El Nino

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete an El Nino scavenger hunt. In this earth science lesson, 6th graders describe the conditions that create El Nino and compare it to normal condition. They discuss how this phenomenon affects marine ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Volcano Factory

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Collaborative groups work together to report on the volcanic activity leading to island formation and construct models to demonstrate the process. Consider having each group present their project to the rest of the class. There are many...

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