Related: OLP#5: The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

LESSON PLANS AND ACTIVITIES

Click on a lesson plan or activity name to learn more about it

  • Life of a Coral Reef Fish

    Barbara McDaniel / COSEE – Central Gulf of Mexico

    To synthesize a lesson on coral reefs, students write first person narratives as though they were reef organisms including their daily lives and the threats facing themselves and their communities.

    Grades: 6-8

  • Caribbean Coral Reef and Climate Case Study

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Through a case study and related activities, students learn where coral reefs are found and what conditions are necessary for their survival.

    For more information about NOAA Ocean Service, visit http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education.

    Grades: 6-8

  • Coral Conservation

    / NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

    Students will learn about the natural and human threats to coral reefs including destructive fishing practices.

    For more information about the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, visit http://coralreef.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 3-5, 6-8

  • Who Has the Data?

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Students learn what types of data scientists collect to monitor coral reefs, and how these data are used.

    For more information about NOAA Ocean Service, visit http://oceanservice.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 9-12

  • A Reef of Your Own

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Students learn what physiological, ecological, and behavioral strategies contribute to the success of reef-building corals.

    For more information about NOAA Ocean Service, visit http://oceanservice.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 9-12

  • Caution! Do Not Bleach

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Students learn why coral reefs are important, and what possible explanations are for the phenomenon known as “coral bleaching.”

    For more information about NOAA Ocean Service, visit http://oceanservice.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 9-12

  • Are Great White Sharks As Dangerous As We Think They Are?

    / National Geographic Xpeditions

    Students discuss their existing thoughts on sharks and analyze a map of reported shark attacks. After viewing and discussing both a painting of a shark attack and an image of a researcher swimming with a bull shark, students do research to determine the real dangers posed by and to sharks.

    For more information:
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions

    Grades: 3-5

  • Sharks: Setting the Record Straight

    / National Geographic Xpeditions

    Students read, discuss, and compare news reports of shark attacks with data and then design a television special to educate the public about sharks.

    For more information:
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/.

    Grades: 9-12

  • Shark!

    / Sea World Education

    Students explore the natural history of sharks and recognize that humans are an interconnected part of sharks’ ecosystems.

    For more information:
    http://seaworld.org

    Grades: 3-5, 6-8

  • Long Live the Sharks and Rays

    / PBS Nature

    Students will learn about adaptations that have helped sharks and rays survive. Students will explore similarities and differences between sharks, rays and other fish and that different types of sharks and rays have different temperaments and diets and that some of the largest sharks and rays are the most gentle.

    For more information:
    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature.

    Grades: 6-8

  • Learning Ocean Science Through Ocean Exploration

    / NOAA Ocean Explorer

    A curriculum for teachers of Grades 6-12 that takes lesson plans that were developed for NOAA Voyages of Discovery and the Ocean Explorer Web Site and presents them in a comprehensive scope and sequence through subject area categories that cut across individual expeditions.

    For more information: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 6-8, 9-12

  • Why Do We Explore the Ocean?

    / NOAA Ocean Explorer

    Students will be able to discuss why scientists believe there are important undiscovered features and processes in Earth’s ocean; discuss at least three motives that historically have driven human exploration; explain why ocean exploration is relevant to climate change; and discuss at least three benefits that might result from ocean exploration. For more information http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

  • Exploring Explorations

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Students will describe human benefits that have resulted from explorations of the Earth’s deep oceans.

    For more information:
    http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 6-8, 9-12

  • Molecular Explorations

    / NOAA Ocean Service

    Students will be able to explain and carry out a simple process for separating DNA from tissue samples and complex mixtures. Students will also be able to explain the process of restriction enzyme analysis.

    For more information
    http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 9-12

  • The Methane Circus

    / NOAA Ocean Explorer

    Students will describe the overall events that occurred during the Cambrian Explosion; explain how methane hydrates may contribute to global warming; and describe the reasoning behind hypotheses that link methane hydrates with the Cambrian explosion.

    For more information:
    http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.

    Grades: 6-8