Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Life in an Ocean World
How does the shell color of crabs and the habitat they live in impact the predator-prey relationship? The fourth lesson in a series of five is a game where participants try not to get eaten if they are a prey and try to eat if they are...
Curated OER
Predator Protector Game
Students take on the role of an Ocean Adventures expedition volunteer member and are charged with protecting three species of sharks from danger in order to defend the balance of nature in the ecosystem. They play an online game which...
Curated OER
Wildlife
First, biology pupils research land and marine habitats along the route of skipper Rich Wilson's Great American II. Then, using colored paper clips scattered across a colored paper background, they play the predator-prey game to...
PBS
Symbiotic Strategies: The Secret Lives of Sharks and Rays
Learners investigate the interaction in an oceanic ecosystem. For this symbiotic relationship lesson plan, high schoolers investigate how ecological relationships evolve over long periods of time in order to maintain balance and...
Curated OER
Fisheries in the Open Ocean
Students explore fisheries in the open ocean. In this ocean environment lesson, students study the impact fisheries have on the ocean habitat. Students complete a WebQuest and summary project regarding fisheries.
Curated OER
Web of Predators and Prey
Students investigate the components food chains and food webs in various ecosystems. They describe how living things depend on one another for food energy (food chain) and how more than one food chain exists in an ecosystem
Curated OER
Ocean Zones
Students create a mural showing ocean zones and the diversity of ocean life. They use reference books to create a list of plants and animals that would live in each zone.
National Wildlife Federation
Fish and Ladders: Grades 5-8
Swim with the fishes. Learners simulate the migration of Chinook salmon. Groups pretend to be salmon, while others are predators, fishers, and hazards. The salmon start in the spawning area and swim downstream to the ocean until reaching...
Curated OER
Ocean Life Zones
In this ocean worksheet, students answer questions about ocean life, the plants and animals of the ocean and their classification, the major life zones of the ocean and questions about an animal of their choice that lives in the ocean.
Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Arctic Smorgasbord
Though the walrus spends roughly one third of its time on land, it eats organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean. The first in a series of five, the lesson uses a variety of plant and animal cards to have scholars build an arctic...
Curated OER
Web of Predators and Prey
Students investigate the food chain by researching the Internet. In this ecosystem lesson, students view the video "Competitor and Predator" and read a book from the series "The Magic School Bus." Students utilize a worksheet to...
Curated OER
Specialized for the Sea
Students use pictures and make a mural to investigate how ocean animals are adapted to certain parts of their environment.
Curated OER
Getting Food
Students complete activities to learn about the ocean food web. In this ocean life instructional activity, students discuss how the tides affect feeding, learn about filter feeders, grazers, predators, and scavengers. Students then group...
Curated OER
Life Cycle of Hawaii's Honu
Students simulate the life cycle of Hawaii's Honu. In this Science lesson, students act out the life cycle of the Hawaiian sea turtle. Students determine and play the roles of prey and predator.
Florida International University
The Good, the Bad and the Nasty Tasting
Examine the benefits of chemical defense mechanisms. Organisms in oceans use chemicals to ward off predators. Duplicate this adaptation using a hands-on experiment in which you ward off your predators (your pupils) with some bad-tasting...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Staying Safe
Amaze the class with the creative adaptations species employ to trick predators. An online interactive lesson introduces learners to six different species with unique adaptations. Each species highlights a different adaptation and its...
American Museum of Natural History
They Glow!
Would you believe marine animals can make their own light? An online resource describes the process of bioluminescence and how animals in the ocean use it to survive. The lesson features a catchy tune that describes the behavior of ocean...
American Museum of Natural History
They Glow!
Let there be light! An interactive online lesson describes the process of bioluminescence and how ocean species use it to their advantage. The lesson highlights several specific species as well as provides vocabulary support with...
Curated OER
Predators Among Us
Students study environmental science. In this ecosystems lesson, students discover how humans have an impact on life in the coral reef. They watch video clips and work on small group activities. This lesson includes links to the videos...
Curated OER
Glacier Bay Pacific Halibut
The National Park Service has produced a high-quality presentation on the halibut population of Glacier Bay, Alaska. It takes the viewpoint of the marine biologists or rather, ichthyologists, who have been studying the adaptations,...
Curated OER
Life in the Crystal Palace
Marine biologists research sea ice communities. Assign some groups to construct paper models of sea ice communities in winter, and some to construct models of them in summer. The lesson is simplistic, but the Internet resources provided...
NOAA
Deep-Sea Benthos
Much like a distant planet, the underwater world of deep-sea benthos is strange and largely unknown. How do creatures survive and thrive in such extreme pressure and temperature conditions? Young oceanographers join the crew of Operation...
Curated OER
Blue Planet: Open Ocean
Learners research facts about animal species. In this ocean lesson students view a video, prepare illustrated cards and create a food-web display.
Curated OER
Predator/Prey Activity: Fish Feeding, Environments, and General Behavior
Students explore concepts of environment and survival among different marine life, focusing on the ocean environment.