Education Commons^™

Investigating The Functions Of Wetlands, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade level: 2-5

Subject area: Life Science

Students will perform two experiments using models of wetlands to learn about the ability of wetlands to prevent erosion, control flooding, and soak up pollutants. They will apply this knowledge in an activity using metaphors to describe a wetland.There is also an outdoor activity that may be added to teach students about a particular type of wetland, the saltmarsh, and adaptations for plants that live in those environments

Sequence Csi: The Nitrogen Cycle. Subjects: Life Science, Environmental Science, Marine/Ocean Science - Grades: 9-12, Stephanie Wilson

Reports

This lesson invites students to work together to identify a mystery DNA sample using state of the art biotechnology.

After identifying the organism, they can work with another group of students to hypothesize about how the different organisms are related to one another. Students will learn that the samples are connected through the nitrogen cycle! This gives students an introduction to scientific molecular techniques and environmental nitrogen cycling.

Expedition Sediments: Mud's Journey Through The Watershed. Subjects: Earth Science / Environmental Science Grades: 9-12, Jessie Turner

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Expedition Sediments is a game-in-a-lesson that allows students to explore the movement of sediments through watersheds by moving around the classroom. This lesson explores how grains of estuarine mud and sand move throughout estuaries and coastal regions, with a focus on processes surrounding a highly populated estuary such as the Chesapeake Bay. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain how sediments are transported through an estuary, graph sediment residence times in different locations, and compare the timescales of different sediment transport processes.

Atlantic Wolffish: A Tale Of Missing Teeth. Subjects: Life Science, Biology, Marine/Ocean Science - Grades: 6-8, Kate Bemis

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This lesson plan asks students to make observations based on photographs of real specimens from a natural history collection.

Students collect data to make graphs, which allow them to compare trends for how different variables impact the ecology of Atlantic Wolffish.

Mitigating Marshes Against Sea Level Rise: Thin-Layer Placement Experiment, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Students will learn about thin-layer placement restoration techniques by using data from the first year of a plot-based thin-layer restoration science project being conducted by the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA). In groups, students will analyze images of vegetation plots exposed to different treatments and decide which is performing best and could be used as a possible restoration technique to combat sea level rise in the marsh. Students will also interpret graphs of vegetation percent cover, and use classroom discussion to come to a conclusion using critical thinking.

Trawling Through The Five Gyres: A Microplastic Research Study. Subjects: Life Science, Earth Science, Marine/Ocean Science - Grade 6, Meredith Seeley

Reports

This activity challenges students to help researchers understand what types of plastics are polluting the oceans!

Teachers will prepare samples of microplastics that were collected in each of the 5 ocean gyres, mimicking plastic concentrations actually found in the oceans! Working as a group, students will count the items of plastic and graph their results. They will share their results with the class to compare their gyre to the other four gyres. Finally, students will understand the link between ocean microplastic pollution, and our use of single-use plastics.

This activity can be completed in 45 minutes in the class. An …

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Whose Fish? Subjects: Life Science, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science, Shelby White

Reports

This activity invites students to assume the role of various stakeholders in fisheries management and actively discuss the influence of economics, ecology and human interactions in decision-making.

Students will demonstrate their argument for/against a certain regulation by participating as a specific stakeholder (i.e. commercial fisher, recreational fisher, scientists/researcher, environmental group, management agency, and citizen). Students will recognize that stakeholders tend to advocate based on their individual needs, often making it difficult for proposed policies to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and achieve sustainability goals.

Watershed Activity Set, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade level: 2-5

Subject Area: Life Science

This lesson plan contains 3 activities which can be used together or separately. The first activity demonstrates the overall concept of a watershed by having students build a simple model, the second connects watersheds with habitats and pollution - asking students to design their own watershed. The third module examines more closely human activities and their impacts on watersheds using an Enviroscape(TM) model.

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

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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!

Sexual Dimorphism In Shrimp. Subjects: Life Science / Biology Grades: 9-12, Soloman Chak

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Best suited for advanced high school students, this lesson offers an example of how a biologist uses morphometrics to test hypotheses about sexual selection and evolution in snapping shrimp. Students use software (ImageJ) to measure carapace and claws of two shrimp species with contrasting lifestyles. Students can take measurements themselves using ImageJ, and then analyze using Excel.

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

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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.

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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Marine Parasites And Fish: How To Sample And Analyze. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine / Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Zoemma Warshafsky

Reports

This lesson plan provides a hands-on way for students to investigate the impacts of an invasive parasitic nematode which has been targeting the American eel. Students will first “infect” pipe cleaner eels with parasitic nematodes (beads), which will then be used to simulate real-life research efforts through collecting multiple random samples of “eels” and counting the amount of parasites. They will then use this data to calculate prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance.

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

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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.

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.

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

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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

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.

Stakeholders Of The Chesapeake: Curse Of The Eastern Oyster. Subjects: Life Science / Biology, Environmental Science, Marine/Ocean Science Grades: 6-8, Taylor Goelz

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How do we decide how to manage oysters and who has a stake in that management decision? Students are placed in the role of a stakeholder group who cares about what happens to the Eastern oyster and asked to rank management priorities from the perspective of their group and others. Through viewing oyster management through a single perspective, students can begin to understand that balancing stakeholder’s views in setting policy and management is challenging.

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

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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.

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

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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

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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.

Sea Turtle Science : A Research-Based Middle And High School Classroom Resource, Susanna Musick, Lisa Lawrence

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Sea turtle quick facts, biology, turtle species, nesting behavior, hatching activity, classroom activities.

Blue Crabs In The Chesapeake - An Introduction To The Blue Crab, Lisa Lawrence, Vicki Clark, Jacques Van Montfrans, Susanna Musick

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A classroom resource covering crab anatomy and glossary, life cycle of Callinectes sapidus, data tables, data analysis guides, and illustrations.