Education Commons^™

Earthquakes, Glaciers, And Sediments, Oh My! Subjects: Earth Science, Environmental Science, Life Science/Biology Grades: 9-12, Elisabeth Clyne

Reports

This lesson plan is developed for 9th grade earth science classrooms, but can be scaled up or down. Students will explore how marine sediments serve as a history book for geologic activity. They will collect mock cores and developing conclusions about earth history.

The Mystery Of Ocean Acidification, Patricia Thibodeau

Reports

Grades: 9-12 Subjects: Biology | Life Science | Environmental Science | Chemistry

This lesson plan invites middle-school students to solve a mystery: what is ocean acidification and how is it affecting marine life in the Antarctic? To solve the mystery, students will participate in an ocean acidification scavenger hunt, and propose hypotheses and arrive at their own conclusions with interpretation of real-time data from the Antarctic.

Sea Turtle Csi: A Graphing Activity, Subjects: Life Science / Biology Environmental Science Marine / Ocean Science, Bianca Santos

Reports

This lesson plan invites seventh grade students to take on the role of detective to determine the time of death of the stranded turtle that washed up on shore. Students will make observations and use evidence-based reasoning to turn qualitative data into quantitative data

Seagrass Survivor. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Amanda Bromilow

Reports

This role-play and decision-making game allows students to simulate predator-prey interactions between fish and blue crabs in a seagrass bed. Students will then make inferences about the influence of habitat and body size on juvenile blue crab survival.

Keeping Up With Sea-Level Rise: Salt Marsh Accretion. Subjects: Earth Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 9-12, Bethany L. Williams

Reports

This lesson uses a hands-on demonstration to give students an understanding of how this critical ecosystem can keep pace with sea-level rise. Students will have the opportunity to make and test hypotheses about how different animals can affect salt marsh resilience, after learning about simple ecological interactions.

Digesting Data - Subjects: Life Science / Biology Grade Level: 6-8, Amanda Bromilow

Reports

This lesson plan encourages students to become scientific investigators to determine which fish species are important predators of juvenile blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay. Students will have the opportunity to practice using triple-beam balances and draw conclusions based on their data.

Understanding Changes In Seagrass Communities: Impacts From Local Environmental Factors, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade Level: 7-12

Subjects: Life Science, Biology, and Environmental Science

Students will work in groups to determine what happened to seagrass communities during June and August in 2010 and 2011. Students will estimate percent cover visually at four locations along a mock transect and analyze trends in the data collected. Students will use water quality data to help understand the trends in seagrass cover.

Counting Blue Crabs In The Bay! Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grade Level: 6-8, Bruce W. Pfirrmann

Reports

This lesson plan invites students and teachers to ponder the question: How many blue crabs are in the Chesapeake Bay, and where do we find them? Through hands-on activities and the use of real data, students will discover the excitement and grapple with the challenges faced by marine scientists as they try to quantify the use of different habitats by marine animals and estimate the size of marine animal populations.

Microscopic Hitchhiking: Taking A Trip With Microbes And Plankton. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Lucia Safi

Reports

This lesson plan develops concepts on food webs and ecological relationships, giving special attention to microorganisms and Chesapeake Bay species and dynamics. Students will conduct investigations, generate their own data and find out more about species they constantly see!

Plastic As A Habitat For Bacteria And Human Pathogens. Subjects: Life Science / Biology Grades: 6-8, Amanda Laverty

Reports

This lesson plan invites 7th grade life science students to investigate marine plastic pollution as a habitat for bacteria and human pathogens. Students will examine the hazards of marine plastic pollution and learn about current science. They will have the opportunity to use data to create graphs and discuss patterns.

Can’T Catch My Breath! A Study Of Metabolism In Fish. Subjects: Environmental Science, Marine/Ocean Science, Life Science/Biology Grades: 6-8, Gail Schweiterman

Reports

This lesson plan invites high school students to ask questions and formulate hypothesis regarding the drivers behind observed differences in metabolism in different fishes. Students will practice calculating metabolic rate, making biologically relevant inferences about the lifestyles of different fishes based on their findings, and formulate questions that would guide future studies.

Examining Sea Level Rise Scenarios Through Mock Marsh Transects, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grades: 9-12

Subjects: Earth Science | Environmental Science | Oceanography

Students will work in groups to survey a mock, locally relevant, marsh habitat that includes dominant plant community types. Students will use elevation data to construct and interpret a profile of the mock landscape. Students will understand local vegetative species found in each marsh zone, and how sea level rise may impact the marsh habitat. Students will be able to interpret elevation and elevation changes in a real world, hands-on example.

Assessing The County’S Readiness For A Climate Related Event, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade Level: 9-12

Subject Area: Earth Science, Environmental Science

Students will participate in a role playing scenario in which they represent different stakeholder groups, including emergency responders, land planners, and watermen. Using a variety of provided resources, students are given a task to present on, whether it be creating an evacuation route for their county and identifying shelters, establishing new areas for development, or locations for the best catch of crabs in the year 2050.

Lesson plan has 2 parts.

York River Water Quality Curriculum: Using Real Water Quality Data To Investigate Water Quality Cycles And Answer Applied Marine Science Questions, Bob Carroll, Sarah Mcguire

Reports

Considering that Virginia has approximately 50,000 miles of rivers and streams, 2,500 square miles of estuarine water and 100 lakes greater than 100 acres, water quality monitoring with your students is a great hands-on activity that gets students thinking about the properties and processes occurring in classroom aquaria, lake, stream, river, estuarine and marine environments. It can be difficult to elucidate water quality patterns or trends with student generated data due to the low number of samples taken, the possibility of inaccurate results due to user error or expired test kit reagents as well as the innate lack of accuracy …

Oyster Reef In The Classroom – A Hands-On Laboratory Approach, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade Level: 7

Subject Area: Life Science

Students will examine different species found on an oyster reef in the Chesapeake Bay. Students will use a microscope and a dichotomous key to help them determine the different organisms being viewed. Students will draw conclusions based on the observed adaptations of the organisms about how the organism utilizes the oyster reef. Students will practice scientific sketching and become familiar with how to use a field guide and dichotomous key.

Estuarine Aquarium Keeping For Beginners, Sarah Mcguire

Reports

This information was created as an introduction to estuarine, or brackish water, aquarium keeping for the beginner using simple aquarium gear. Estuarine aquarium set-up and maintenance is easy as long as you have access to brackish water and you have time to devote to the tanks. The following information has been obtained from practical experience gained while maintaining estuarine aquariums using basic systems. You can add more sophisticated aquarium gear and keep animals that require more precise water quality, food and care as your wet thumb improves from experience and through information obtained from other sources.