Virginia Department of Education
Go with the Flow
How does nature's hierarchy relate to our local human environment? Answer this question, along with others, as the class visually depicts the natural hierarchy provided by nature. Pupils discuss each piece of the pyramid and its energy...
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Plankton
Students research phytoplankton and zooplankton. In this food chain lesson plan, students read This is the Sea That Feeds Us and discuss plankton, food chains, and webs. Students define phytoplankton and compare them to land...
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Dinnertime On The Reef
Learners identify the main parts of a coral reef. They describe a coral reef food chain.
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Shark Attack
Students examine the white shark. They think critically about a set of shark facts and predict whether the statements are true or false. Students describe a year in the life of a white shark living in the Red Triangle. They create a...
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WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
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Bad Algae!
Students explore algal blooms. In this ecosystem and health lesson, students define and describe harmful algal blooms, then discuss ways in which the impact of these algal blooms could be reduced. Students work in groups to...
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The Key To Classifying Animals
Explorers of the environment construct a dichotomous key for a variety of organisms and design a key to classify Galapagos animals based on descriptions and images. The lesson includes a link to an animal gallery and the worksheet for...
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Ecosystems and Remote Sensing
Students obtain remote sensing data to compare and contrast global biomass data with global temperature data.
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Holey Clamshells
Students analyze data to make hypotheses and conclusions regarding the predator/prey relationship between moon snail and surf clams.
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Galapagos Adaptations
Students examine photographs of closely related species found in the Gal??pagos environment, observe differences and similarities between species, and form hypotheses about species differences and the relationship to the environment of...
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Using Maps to Make Public Health Descisions Case Study: Harmful Algal Blooms in the Gulf of Mexico
High schoolers are introduced to GIS and its uses. Students participate as public health scientists to deliberate a course of action to explore possible research questions. Pupils interpret spatial data, and make predictions based on GIS...
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Tortoise Tales
Students read journal entry from a Gal??pagos field researcher, find examples of five ecological relationships (competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism) and take notes on the details they find in the entry using a...
Virginia Department of Education
The Cycles of Nature
Encourage peer collaboration and assist with the creation of visual aids to identify carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles as your class learns more about nature. They discuss relative information, create a visual aid...
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Tracking Ocean Ecology
Students look at the data maps given to them about how chlorophyll affects the algae blooms and make predictions about the harm they will cause. For this data maps lesson plan, students manipulate data sets from the website.
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Primary Producers
Students examine the role of carbon in the oceans and how phytoplankton determine the levels present. In groups, they practice measuring primary productivity using two methods. They use the internet to research the role of phytoplankton...
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Adventuring in the Archipelago
Students study Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle and his visit to the Gal??pagos Islands. They click through an interactive map of the Gal??pagos Islands to read actual and fictional journal entries from a fellow eco-tourist.
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Just Jelly
Students identify common gelatinous zooplankton in the Canada Basin and their ecological role. They compare and contrast feeding strategies of at least three different types of gelatinous zooplankton.
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Deep Gardens
Young scholars investigate the differences and similarities between shallow-water and deep-sea coral reefs. In this coral reef lesson, students research and compare the characteristics of reefs. Young scholars describe...
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Treasures in Jeopardy
Students study how coral reefs can be protected from humans and their activities. In this conservation activity students explain the benefits of coral reefs and what humans can do to help protect them.
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Busy Otters
Students prepare for a trip to an aquarium by identifying otters, their body parts and behaviors as they read "Pup's Supper", do an otter pantomime and make a puppet. After their field trip, they complete a Venn Diagram of Otter behaviors.
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Exploring the Biomes of South America
Sixth graders complete a five-week unit investigating the eight major biomes of South America. They conduct Internet research, collect short-term and long-term climate data, and create a HyperStudio slideshow stack about a selected biome...
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Algae Experiments
Students describe the characteristics of algae. In this biology lesson, students perform a series of experiment to explore algae. They investigate the basic things algae need to survive.
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Exploring Limu Diversity
Students explore limu diversity. In this ocean ecosystem lesson, students classify limu according to its physical properties. Students work in small groups to generate scientific observations and sort limu by characteristics.
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Adaptations
Young scholars identify what adaptation is and to research a specific mollusk. They also identify and interpret how animals get their common and scientific name and why it is Latin. Finally, students draw their shell (mollusk) and name...