Ocean Lesson Plans

Welcome to the Educators' Corner

The ocean provides the air we breathe, food we eat, and water we drink. Just as we need the ocean, the ocean needs each one of us.

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.

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Ocean Lesson Plans & Activities

Since 1987, researchers have been tracking Phoenix.

Find lessons/activities by topic, title or grade levels. Sort by newest, highest-rated 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.

Newest Lessons & Activities

Coral REef Symbiosis
Grades: Sixth Grade, Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade
(Related Topics: )
Just Jelly: ecological role of gelatinous zooplankton
Grades: Ninth Grade, Tenth Grade, Eleventh Grade, Twelfth Grade
(Related Topics: )
Benthic communities of the Arctic Ocean
Grades: Ninth Grade, Tenth Grade, Eleventh Grade, Twelfth Grade
(Related Topics: )

All Lessons & Activities

Ocean Portal Feature

Deep-sea Corals

It may be the last place you’d expect to find corals—up to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the ocean’s surface, where the water is icy cold and the light dim or absent. Yet believe it or not, lush coral gardens thrive here. In fact, scientists have discovered nearly as many species of deep-sea corals (also known as cold-water corals) as shallow-water species.

Newest Ocean Lessons & Activities

Hermit Crab Coenobita clypeatus
Grades:
(Related Topics: )
Penguin TV: Ocean Drilling for Kids
Grades:
(Related Topics: )
Deep Earth Academy: Arctic Ocean Scientific Drilling
Grades:
(Related Topics: )

All Lessons & Activities

Newest Ocean Resources

Hermit Crab Coenobita clypeatus
Grades:
Penguin TV: Ocean Drilling for Kids
Grades:
Deep Earth Academy: Arctic Ocean Scientific Drilling
Grades:

All Lessons & Activities

Ocean Educational Resources

<p>Dive through the zones of the ocean to the deep ocean bottom -- like this remote operated vehicle (ROV) -- where many strange species live, and there are many yet to be discovered. Explore them in the <strong><a href="http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-science/deep-ocean-exploration">Deep Ocean Exploration</a></strong> section.</p>

The resources found here provide educators with background information and informal activities on Ocean Portal topic areas. It also includes links to research organizations involved in specific topic areas.

Hermit Crab Coenobita clypeatus

(Related Topics: )
Penguin TV: Ocean Drilling for Kids

(Related Topics: )
Deep Earth Academy: Arctic Ocean Scientific Drilling

(Related Topics: )

View All Resources

From Our Ocean Collaborators

Click on the name of a collaborator to see all of their contributed lesson plans and activities.

Consortium for Ocean Leadership

It’s Sedimentary, My Dear Watson

In this introductory activity, students analyze core sample data to identify sediment composition on the ocean floor. They use Google Earth to make their own qualitative observations that help them determine the types of sediments that make up the Mid-...

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National Geographic Society

Sharks: Setting the Record Straight

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:
...

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Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Network

Mapping the Ocean Floor

After an introduction in which students try to identify hidden objects by the sounds they make when shaken in a box, students use string to map a model ocean floor by taking depth readings to simulate sonar.

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