NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

There is a clear connection between ocean currents and climate. Ocean currents help to move heat, support rainforests on land, and make life possible for animals across the globe. Without ocean currents large parts of Earth would be unlivable. Humans are already seeing the impact of climate change on life in the sea. This lesson helps students explore the role of the ocean in climate. They do this through an investigation to show how hot and cold temperatures help to move water around the world. Students examine temperature and precipitation data from two cities and use their understanding of water movement to explain why these cities have differences between their temperatures and rainfall.

In this lesson, small groups of students use card sets to learn about some of the plants and animals that live in the ocean. They explore where the living thing lives, what it looks like and where it gets its energy. They share information with classmates as they place picture cards on a chart to show the depth at which the living thing lives in the ocean.

In the Ocean Explorers: Unlocking Mysteries lesson, students investigate an ocean explorer and their work in and around national marine sanctuaries or monuments. Students will realize that we know very little about the ocean, with many mysteries yet to be investigated.

The Ocean Food Webs Module is part of the Modeling Marine Ecosystems with Virtual Reality collection. In this module, students use the concepts of food webs and trophic levels to explore populations of marine organisms. Students research an organism in a marine habitat, then the whole class combines their data in a jigsaw activity to produce a food web diagram for that habitat. Next, students collect biomass data during “virtual dives” which they use to determine the relationship between biomass and trophic levels. Included resources: Seven activities, A virtual Dive tutorial using virtual reality software, Student Data Sheets, NGSS Alignment, Presentation Graphics folder.

Ocean literacy is an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you, and your influence on the ocean. An Ocean-Literate person understands the Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts about the ocean; can communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way; and is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean and its resources. This guide presents a vision of an ocean-literate society. and is part of a series of documents that outline a framework for achieving Ocean Literacy. This document is part of a series of practical, research-based resources to influence learning and teaching about the ocean.

This educators guide includes 8 elementary school level lessons, reflecting many NOAA mission areas. including marine biodiversity, ocean currents, marine debris, climate, sustainable fishing, marine mammals, and more! The lessons in this guide have been aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, Ocean Literacy Principles, Common Core State Standards, and National Geography Standards. Each lesson includes wonderful graphics and everything you need to start using these materials with your students right away.

In the Ocean Origins of Life lesson, students explore the evolution of marine organisms. They use cards showing images of extinct organisms and attempt to match brief descriptions with the correct organisms. Then they try to order these from simplest to most complex anatomical structures and body systems. They hypothesize which organisms evolved first. Then they match living species with their extinct relatives, noting similar traits. Students research where in national marine sanctuaries the living species are found and create a sanctuary poster featuring the organism. The teacher facilitates discussion about the importance of the ocean in the evolution of life.

This is part of a set of K-12 education resources that comprehensively supports science education using the Eastern Oyster in Chesapeake Bay as a theme. This unit consists of six lessons; one for each grade in Kindergarten through 5th. Each lesson targets an important area in the study of oysters: individually, as part of an ecosystem, and in oyster restoration. Lessons incorporate age-appropriate skills used in previous lessons and build new skills. They are an introduction to creating three-dimensional activities that incorporate the K-12 Framework for Science Education connect to the Common Core, and the MD Environmental Literacy Standards.

This is a high school transdisciplinary unit incorporating State and National Education Standards, the Common Core, and Maryland Environmental Literacy Standards. There are strong connections to the College, Career, and Civic Life Standards, including history, economics, and politics. There are four modules, each building on the knowledge and skills of the previous, and each with different overarching questions. They build analysis skills as students investigate a local environmental issue. The lessons present “the idea that science is both a body of knowledge, and an evidence-based model and theory-building enterprise that extends and refines previous knowledge.”

This resource comprehensively supports science education using the Eastern Oyster as a theme. Each of these seven lessons build on the knowledge and skills of the previous one. The lessons engage students in a local environmental issue. Students learn the history of how Eastern oyster populations and the Chesapeake Bay watershed have changed over time; investigate the effect of land use on water quality, oyster populations, and reef ecosystems; learn about the effect of management practices on water quality and asked to suggest ways that these can be used to increase the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its water supply through healthy oyster reef systems.