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Marine Habitats of Galveston Island
Four lessons introduce elementary ecologists to salt marsh and sandy beach habitats. In the first activity, they place shells and other materials in vinegar to determine if they contain calcium carbonate. In the second activity, they...
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Follow a Fish
Students choose a fish from anywhere within the Ocean Center. They observe it for a given time, recording its behavior. Students comprehend the concept that living things have individual characteristics that enable them to live in their...
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Manatee Crossword
In this manatee crossword puzzle instructional activity, students use the 10 clues and the word bank to fill in the blanks in this crossword puzzle.
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The Ocean
Plant and animal life of the ocean is the focus of this science lesson. Young scientists sort a variety of seashells and explore why many sea animals have shells. They examine the shells, write journal entries highlighting the...
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Whale Migration - The Long Journey
Marine biology learners examine right whale sighting data from the WhaleNet website. They plot the data on a map and write down the number of adults and calves spotted. Questions accompany the data analysis activity, making this a...
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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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Staying Up
Young scholars will explain the Archimedes's Principle. In this lesson on plankton, students will describe three factors that can affect the buoyancy of plankton. This lesson contains extensive background information, extensions, and...
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It's the Law
Learners explain various scientific laws used in SCUBA diving. In this theory based instructional activity, students examine and explain how temperature, density, and salinity relate to SCUBA diving using various scientific laws to...
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Abiotic and Biotic Factors
Students examine abiotic and biotic factors. They define biotic and abiotic, categorize a list of items onto a Venn diagram, label various items from areas on the school grounds as biotic or abiotic, and diagram a magazine picture.
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Reconstructing a Fossil Pterosaur
Students reconstruct the skeleton of the fossil Scaphognathus crassirostis. In this fossil lesson plan, students discuss the Kingdoms of life, geologic history and the history of the skeletons of species. Students are given 20 minutes to...
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Animal Sorting & Matching
In this animal sorting activity, 5th graders first match animal pictures with their names and a fun fact. Students must then fill in 15 blanks based on information given on the matching cards.
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The Gray Whale Obstacle Course Viewing Guide
Students complete a worksheet while watching a film about whales. They examine the human impact on whale migration and identify adaptations the whale has acquired in able to survive. They discover how global warming has effected the...
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Blue Planet: Seas of Life - Tidal Seas
After viewing the video Blue Planet: Seas of Life, students review oceanic concepts. In this earth science lesson, students reflect on the effect tides have on living things and conduct research to create a "tidal trivia" game....
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Blue Planet: Tidal Seas
Students investigate how tides affect sea life. In this video based lesson, students view a video on how tides affect sea life. They do web-based research to find the answers to a series of questions and then play Tidal Trivia to test...
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Mountains
Explore the mountain habitat with this collection of slides. The climate is described, along with the associated plant and animal life. Some of the pictures are attractive, but some leave much to be desired. There is a generous amount of...
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Maintaining Body Heat
Young scholars observe and compare heat loss in different objects with surface-to-volume ratios. They transfer this comparison to the physical characteristics of animals in their environment. They focus on how whales maintain their body...
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Maintaining Body Heat
Learners observe and compare heat loss in various objects with surface area-to-volume ratios and transfer this comparison to the physical characteristics of animals in their environment. In small groups they conduct an experiment...
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Toilet Paper Geologic Time Scale
Students examine and demonstrate the extent of geologic time compared to recent time. They develop a demonstration of geologic time using an unrolled roll of toilet paper, with each sheet of toilet paper representing 20 million years.
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Don't Cry Over Spilled Oil
Students study the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill while evaluating oil spill clean up activities. They discover the long term impact can have on an ecosystem by completing this experiment.
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Compound Sentence
In this sentence structure worksheet, students review a definition and examples of compound sentences prior to responding to 10 questions that require them to label the parts of compound sentences.
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Animal Classification
Young scholars list characteristics and features of animals found in their community. They then group the animals according to how they are similar and different and create names for each group. They then create a chart of their...
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The Environments of Big Sur:Which Do We Protect?
Students examine the California environments. In this environmental lesson, students examine the various ecosystems of California, creating a presentation on how these environments impact Big Sur. They write a paper defending their point...
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Let's Get Specific
Students explore how different species thrive. In this speciation lesson students research and complete a lab activity.
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You Are What You Eat: Plastics and Marine Life
Young scholars study the different types of plastics and see which ones sink or remain buoyant. In this ocean environmental lesson plan students complete several handouts, and view a film on PBS.