
Educators' Corner
Our Ocean Portal Educators’ Corner provides you with activities, lessons and educational resources to bring the ocean to life for your students. We have collected top resources from our collaborators to provide you with teacher-tested, ocean science materials for your classroom. We hope these resources, along with the rich experience of the Ocean Portal, will help you inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.
Featured Lesson Plans
Keeping Watch on Coral Reefs
Students learn why coral reefs are important, and what can be done to protect them from major threats.
Long Live the Sharks and Rays
Students will learn about adaptations that have helped sharks and rays survive.
Focus on Farmer Fish
In this two part lesson, students gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between environmental factors and organism adaptations through a focused study on a specific coral reef denizen—the
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Find lessons/activities by topic, title or grade levels. Sort by newest or alphabetically. Lessons were developed by ocean science and education organizations like NOAA, COSEE, and NMEA to help you bring the ocean to your classroom.
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Oil and Art
DEEPEND
The students will generate a KWL focused around the BP oil spill. What do they already know, what do they want to know, and what did they learn? Students can generate their ideas individually or in groups. After they have completed the K and W, students will watch the National Geographic documentary “Can the Gulf Survive?” During the video the students are to take notes and generate at least five questions that they have regarding the aftermath of this disaster. After the video the students will get back into their groups, discuss the video, and compile what they learned. The students will present their findings to the class.
Bay Drift: Tracking Ocean Pollution
CARTHE
To introduce students to ocean currents and the transport of marine debris, spilled oil, and other pollutants in the ocean.
Haunted by Hurricanes
Virginia Sea Grant
Hurricanes are powerful storms that can cause devastating damage when they hit the shore. How is it that these storms grow to such impressive sizes? This lesson plan teaches students about how hurricanes form and then probes students to think about how changing conditions are affecting hurricane patterns.
Ups and Downs
NOAA
The rise and fall of the ocean tides is a predictable phenomenon influenced by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Here, students will learn about how tides are measured and predicted so that they can then create a presentation for fifth and sixth graders about the topic. Students will also become familiar with publically available data that anyone can use to study the tides.
Paper Plate Fish Lesson
Moorea Coral Reef LTER Education
This activity is a fun, basic craft, but can be adapted to incorporate structure and function lessons in a classroom setting. Students will build their own fish from a paper plate, decorate it, and learn about the function of each of their fish’s fins in the process.
What is a Coral Reef? Elementary School
Moorea Coral Reef LTER Education
Students will create a class mural depicting coral reefs and act out life on a coral reef through a short skit. This artistic approach to studying the coral reef habitat will engage many types of learners.
What Do Scientists Do?
Moorea Coral Reef LTER Education
To help students understand that science is a part of their everyday lives, students will complete an activity where they create a collage of people doing science using magazines and drawing pictures. This lesson gives students a realistic idea of what science is and helps them understand that scientists are real people answering interesting questions. Watch interviews with scientists.
Trophic relationships in Arctic marine ecosystems
NOAA
In this activity, students will be able to describe how ratios of stable nitrogen isotopes can be used to study trophic relationships between marine organisms, make inferences about trophic relationships between organisms and habitats, and compare and contrast organisms in sea ice, pelagic, and benthic communities in terms of feeding strategies and consequent stable nitrogen isotope ratios.
Consequences of Arctic Climate Change
NOAA
In this activity, students will be able to identify and explain at least three lines of evidence that suggest the Arctic climate is changing, identify and discuss at least three social, three economic and three environmental consequences expected as a result of Arctic climate change, identify at least three climate-related issues of concern to Arctic indigenous peoples, and identify at least three ways in which Arctic climate change is likely to affect the rest of the Earth’s ecosystems.
Burp Under the Ice
NOAA
In this activity, students will be able to identify the natural processes that produce methane, describe where methane deposits are located in the Arctic region, explain how warmer climates may affect Arctic methane deposits, explain how the release of large volumes of methane might affect Earth’s climate, and describe how methane releases may have contributed to mass extinction events in Earth’s geologic history.