The Ocean Floor -- Science

Practice reading comprehension by approaching oceanography through 2 pages of informational text. The text compares the ocean floor to the Grand Canyon to gives students perspective, and gives a brief coverage of the earth's crust and...

How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....

Using "mystery bathymetry" shoeboxes, young explorers simulate sonar action to map out the topography of an un-viewable landscape. This classic activity helps physical oceanography learners understand how sonar works. It would be...

Learners sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...

Under the sea, the geography is as varied as it is on land! Young oceanographers find out about continental shelves, abyssal plains, seamounts, trenches, and mid-ocean ridges by viewing and reading the eight high-quality slides. Then...

What drives the ocean's motion? Get your class moving toward understanding by using this video. Viewers find that thermohaline circulation is caused by the concentration gradients of temperature and salinity. Using adorable animation in...

Creating a solar system map is a snap thanks to a hands-on activity! Science scholars explore the solar system by building it wherever they choose during an interactive from PBS's Space series. Users pick both the location and scale for...

Students build ocean floor structures, then map and model an unfamiliar ocean floor. They are introduced to bathymetry and sea floor features, and discover one of the most widely usd methods for studying the ocean.

Students draw a quick plan of an ocean floor as seen from the side; including the edge of a continent, a continental shelf, a continental slope, a basin, a trench, and a range. They require their definitions to do this.

Your class will be on top of their game when it comes to mid-ocean ridges! The second installment in a 13-part series focuses on the 65,000-km underwater ridge system that spans our globe. Junior oceanographers practice placing the...