Tutorials

• Using Google Earth to Explore Estuaries - Grade Level: 9-12
  Google Earth is a virtual globe web site that lets people fly around Earth, zooming in for details or zooming out for a broad perspective. Google Earth uses satellite imagery, aerial photography and a 3D globe, putting the world’s geographic information at your fingertips. Google Earth is a powerful tool for exploring your world. In your study of estuaries, it can be used to reveal the relationships among landforms, water features, towns, cities, and the habitats of the animals and plants that live in estuaries.
• Monitoring Tutorial - Grade Level:  6-12 and above
  A series of animations and visualizations will make it fun and easier for you to understand why scientists monitor estuaries and what parameters they use to measure water quality and weather patterns in an estuary.
• Estuaries Tutorial - Grade Level: 9-12
  This is an overview of estuarine habitats, the threats facing them, and efforts to monitor and protect estuaries nationwide. It includes photographs, videos, illustrations and interactive graphics to enhance the text and bring understanding to concepts that may be difficult to visualize.

Localized & Topic Oriented Curriculum
Find specific NERRS educational materials and curricula organized by state and topic. These materials are generally intended to compliment a visit to a Reserve site, but are also appropriate for students studying estuaries anywhere in a specific State and/or about a discrete topic.

Data Lessons
Find a series of modules and activities to help you bring real-time and archived data into your K-12 classrooms.

EstuaryLive Activities by Grade Level
All the activities listed below complemented EstuaryLive broadcasts from past years. Because of their usefulness, outside of the EstuaryLive program, we are now evaluating and revising them. Why? We want to enhance their quality and provide educators with better packaged materials that will lead your students to deep understanding of estuaries. In the mean time, please contact us if you wish to get a copy of any of original lesson plans.

        Grade Level: K-4

• Plants and Animals of the Estuary in NJ
• Density Layers (NJ)
• Stream Table (NJ)
• The Pinelands National Reserve (NJ)
• The C.O.O.L. Classroom (NJ)
• Water Filtration (NJ)
• Virtual Community Ecotour (NJ)
• Virtual Community Ecotour of Rutgers University (NJ)
• Water Babies (NC)
• Ecological (NC)
• What is an Estuary? (NY)
• Water Quality Issues in the Peconics (NY)
• What Can Students Do to Help in the Peconics? (NY)
• What’s An Urban Estuary? And the Salish Sea (WA)
• Salish Sea Map (WA)
• Estuary Party (WA)
• The Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition (MA)

Grade Level: 5-8

• Sea Grasses (Charlotte Harbor, FL)
• Mangroves (Charlotte Harbor, FL)
• Plants and Animals of the Estuary in NJ
• Density Layers (NJ)
• The C.O.O.L. Classroom(NJ)
• The Pinelands National Reserve(NJ)
• Water Filtration (NJ)
• Virtual Community Ecotour (NJ)
• Virtual Community Ecotour of Rutgers University (NJ)
• Estuarine Habitats (NC)
• Ecological (NC)
• What is an Estuary? (NY)
• Water Quality Issues in the Peconics (NY)
• What Can Students Do to Help in the Peconics? (NY)
• What’s An Urban Estuary? And the Salish Sea (WA)
• Salish Sea Map (WA)
• Estuary Party (WA)
• South Slough Middle Grades Curriculum (OR)
• Carnivorous Plants: A Bug’s Nightmare! (AL)
• pH Potential (AL)
• The Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition (MA)

Grade Level: 9-12

• Sea Grasses (Charlotte Harbor, FL)
• Mangroves (Charlotte Harbor, FL)
• Estuarine Habitats (NC)
• What is an Estuary? (NY)
• Water Quality Issues in the Peconics (NY)
• What Can Students Do to Help in the Peconics? (NY)
• What’s An Urban Estuary? And the Salish Sea (WA)
• Salish Sea Map (WA)
• Food Web (WA)
• Estuary Party (WA)
• Salmon (OR)
• Eel Grass (OR)
• Land Use Activity (OR)
• Carnivorous Plants: A Bug’s Nightmare! (AL)
• pH Potential (AL)