Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Warm is the Water?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research how surface sea temperature changes throughout the year. They draw a time series of sea surface temperatures for each month of the year and a depth profile for a summer and winter month using an OceanExplorer Profiler...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Search for the Humpback Whale

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students work in teams to research and explore whale adaptations, behavior, migration, habitat, communication, and interactions with humans and present their findings.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Algae

For Students 9th - 10th
In this biology worksheet, students identify and locate various vocabulary terms pertaining to algae. There are 54 biology terms located in the word search.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Stars and the Northern Abalone: A Race for Life!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the ecosystem, structure and behavior of survival of the abalone versus the sea star. They consider the ramifications of reintroducing the endangered abalone. They present their findings to the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Water Mixing and Sinking

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate the role of temperature and salinity in determining seawater density. They use a Temperature-Salinity Diagram to examine the effects of mixing on density.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Disaster

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Describe how plate tectonics account for various land formations. Learners discuss different marine sanctuaries and create a poster about tectonic activity in these areas. They share their posters with the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's for Dinner?

For Teachers 7th - 10th
View a video presentation comparing chemosynthesis to photosynthesis. Review the findings of the 2004 Ring of Fire Expedition that studied biological communities around the hydrothermal vents of the Mariana Arc. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chilean Sea Bass

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Introduce your mini-marine biologists to using databases. Tables of how many Chilean Sea Bass were caught and number of hours spent fishing are examined. Using the data, individuals calculate the "Catch per Unit of Effort" for each year....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Save a Reef!

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Design a public information campaign to improve understanding of the coral reef crisis. Read about and discuss the biology and threats to the coral reef. The class creates a public information program about the problems facing the coral...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beans and Baleen

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Predict whale populations using different beans as whales! Learners observe different types of beans in a dish knowing that each bean represents a different kind of whale. They then predict how many "whales" there are in a certain area....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Vocabulary

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students interpret and name the vocabulary termed acted out by the mime. In this science/language arts/physical education lesson, students are given a set of vocabulary terms to discuss within their group. Next, students place all...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Academy Seafood Market and Fishery

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
What fishing method is the most sustainable? Find out through a fun, but meaningful game in which your little fishermen use different techniques to see what they catch. After the fishing activity is over, there are several discussion...
PPT
World of Teaching

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

For Students 7th - 12th
Explore the life and writing of John Steinbeck. A 48-slide presentation introduces the famous American author, his California heritage, and his impressive collection of published work. Viewers are then introduced to Of Mice and Men, one...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Thrill of Big-Wave Surfing

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students go on a Wave Scavenger Hunt on the Internet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Recycling the Seafloor

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students classify earth's layers and plates using Ocean Seismicity data. In this plate tectonics lesson, students outline where the plate boundaries are on the world map. They then compare these predicted boundaries with USGS map of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean in a Bottle

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create an enclosed ocean in a bottle and add different pollutants to explore the effects of pollution on the environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Incredible Journey

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study salmon and steelhead. They play a game in which they act out the salmon and steelhead journey from their spawning ground, to the open ocean, and then back to the spawning ground again. They identify obstacles these fish...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

SHOW 303: The Channel Island Fox

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Learners explore how archaeologists and other scientists use different clues to piece together a picture of the past. Students perform activities that allow them to conduct three types of scientific research. They discuss their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Beach?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Pupils use beach profile data to analyze how erosion and sediment transport changed seashore slopes. In this geology lesson, students plot the data provided and analyze erosion patterns. They also assess coastal erosion management...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light at the Bottom of the Deep, Dark Ocean?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers participate in an inquiry activity. They relate the structure of an appendage to its function. They describe how a deepwater organism to its environment without bright light.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock Eaters of the Gulf of Alaska

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare and contrast the processes of photosynthesis and chemosynthesis. They identify and describe sources of energy used by various organisms for chemosynthesis.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

For Students 9th - 12th
In this extraterrestrial life worksheet, high schoolers review the different space craft used to explore space for existence of life beyond Earth. This worksheet has 8 matching and 5 unscramble words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bermuda: Search for Deep Water Caves 2009: Out of Darkness

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze the three models on the origin of troglobitic fauna. In this life science lesson, students also consider how the Zonation model explains the fauna's origin. They also use the Internet to research solutional and volcanic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

There Are Algae in Your House!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students demonstrate that, although we sometimes can neither smell nor taste them, many ingredients in our foods and household products come from the sea. They also investigate food eat to determine algae derivatives they contain.