Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Observation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe the different methods used by MBARI researchers to study the ocean.  In this ocean instructional activity students research the Internet and use the information they find to write in their journal. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seeing Sound & Sonar

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners make inferences based on different sounds that they hear. In this inferences lesson plan, students will hear sounds of different objects and describe the sounds based on what they hear. They will answer various questions about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Model of the Sea-floor

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students create a paper model to illustrate sea-floor spreading.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping The Ocean Floor

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Young scholars explore and analyze the bottom structure of underwater habitats. They describe and explain what can't see through the collection and correlation of accurate data. Learners assess that technology is utilized as a tool for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

One World Ocean

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students compare and contrast the properties of salt water in the oceans/seas and freshwater elsewhere on the planet. They also analyze mixing caused by currents in the ocean, including the effects of warm and cold water as well as with...
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Invertebrates

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Crabs and lobsters ... yum! The 18th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on invertebrate marine life. After the lecture slideshow, learners conduct an activity to sample...
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Sediments

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Calcareous ooze ... what an interesting name! The 15th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program focuses on sediments found on the ocean floor. After viewing the slideshow lecture,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oceans Socratic Questioning

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students participate in a whole class discussion of ocean-floor structures and plate tectonics. They respond to prompts in a structured sequence that lead them to conclusions about the role of plate tectonics in the creation of sea-floor...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Galapagos Spreading Center

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the basic concept of seafloor spreading. They describe the processes involved in creating new seafloor at a mid-ocean ridge. They investigate the Galapagos Spreading Center system.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3 Activity 1: On the Trail of Knowledge

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plot the earthquake epicenter data on the base map of the North Atlantic ocean floor using different symbols or colors to characterize different values.
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Technology II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Ping, ping, ping. The last installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explores technology use in marine studies, such as sonar. Activity involves simulating sonar techniques to identify a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals of the Lost City

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Begin with a demonstration of exothermic reactions and discussion of chemosynthesis. Your aspiring oceanographers research vent communities and then craft a mural of a vent community. This is a terrific method of introducing learners to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ocean Floor

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students identify ocean floor features. In this earth science instructional activity, students predict the object inside a close box to make them realize the difficulties scientists faced then. They label the different zones of the ocean...
Lesson Plan
Ocean Explorer

Living with the Heat

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young oceanographers study the Submarine Ring of Fire, which is a series of deep-water volcanic vents that come up from the ocean floor. Learners take a close look at the unique ecosystems that are associated with these areas, how these...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Sea Drilling

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore ocean vessels that drill the ocean floor. In this ocean drilling lesson plan, students watch videos about drilling the ocean floor and discuss. Students get into groups, go outside and use string to mark off...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Massif Mystery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After reviewing plate tectonic theories and the discovery of both the Atlantis Massif and the Lost City hydrothermal vents, earth science learners complete a worksheet and participate in discussions about what the types of rock found...
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

The Biogeochemical Cycle

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The biogeochemical cycle ... no physics? The fourth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program introduces the biogeochemical cycle by having pupils simulate movement between Earth's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map that Habitat

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in an activity that replicates the creation of sea floor bathymetry by taking a simplified form of soundings in the classroom. They discuss sea floor mapping technologies, sonar, soundings, and remote sensing,...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Plate Tectonics: Kindergarten Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers K Standards
This unit focuses primarily on plate tectonics and plate boundaries surrounding continents. It contains pre- and post-lab sections that walk young geologists through plate movements in order to visualize what's going on inside Earth.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seafloor Block Model

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students construct a 3-D block model of the ocean floor to study fundamental earth processes. This is a preconstructed cut out that allows the students to put it together but then to add their own colors as well. There is an evaluation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Properties of the Ocean: Measurement

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners simulate the development of an underwater amusement park after reading background on Coral Reef State Park. They decide which factors they would need to consider such as the ocean floor, currents, wave patterns and water...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Coral Reef Habitat Match

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Different animals live in different habitats, and each animal has specifically adaptive traits that make them tailor-made for their environments. This is true on land and in the ocean. Little ones examine how various marine animals have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Deep is the Ocean

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students predict and then analyze the layout of the tectonic plates that form the ocean's floor using mapping skills and Inquiry based problem solving, They compare the depth of various regions in the ocean with the geologic age to...
Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Plate Tectonics II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, island arcs, mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes ... there are so many features associated with plate tectonics. The 14th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography...