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.
Featured Lesson Plans
Keeping Watch on Coral Reefs
Students learn why coral reefs are important, and what can be done to protect them from major threats.
Long Live the Sharks and Rays
Students will learn about adaptations that have helped sharks and rays survive. Students will explore similarities and differences between sharks, rays and other fish and that different types of sharks and rays have different temperaments and diets and that some of the largest sharks and rays are the most gentle.
Focus on Farmer Fish
In this two part lesson, students gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between environmental factors and organism adaptations through a focused study on a specific coral reef denizen—the personable farmerfish. Students first take part in an interactive PowerPoint presentation to gain background knowledge and then apply learned concepts by participating in a board game.
Search Lesson Plans
Find lessons/activities by topic, title or grade levels. Sort by newest 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.
Grade Level
Lesson Subject
The Methane Circus
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Students will describe the overall events that occurred during the Cambrian Explosion; explain how methane hydrates may contribute to global warming; and describe the reasoning behind hypotheses that link methane hydrates with the Cambrian explosion.
The Moon Made Me Do It!
NOAA Ocean Service Education
Much like rising and setting sun has an impact on life on Earth, the cycle of the moon can change plant and animals behavior. In this lesson plan, students will discuss how the lunar cycle affects living organisms and how this might occur. They will also design experiments that could figure out whether the lunar cycle affects a specific behavior.
The Puzzle of Ice Age Americans
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Students describe alternative theories for arrival of first humans to come to America. Students explain evidence for these theories and explain how exploration of a submerged segment of Gulf Of Mexico coast may give insight into origin of native Americans. Students describe role of skepticism in scientific theory.
This Old Tubeworm
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Students will be able to explain the process of chemosynthesis; explain the relevance of chemosynthesis to biological communities in the vicinity of cold seeps; construct a graphic interpretation of age-specific growth, given data on incremental growth rates of different-sized individuals of the same species; and estimate the age of an individual of a specific size, given information on age-specific growth in individuals of the same species.
Tracking the Invasive Veined Rapa Whelk
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
The veined rapa whelk is an invader in Chesapeake waters. These predatory snails eat ecologically and economically important shellfish that are native to the bay. In this lesson, students will learn about invasive species and predict where the invasive rapa whelk will live within the bay. A discussion of invasive species impacts on native ecosystems will follow.
Treasures in Jeopardy
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Students will be able to compare and contrast deep-sea coral reefs with their shallow-water counterparts; explain at least three benefits associated with deep-sea coral reefs; describe human activities that threaten deep-sea coral reefs; and describe actions that should be taken to protect deep-sea coral reef resources.
Trophic relationships in Arctic marine ecosystems
NOAA
In this activity, students will be able to describe how ratios of stable nitrogen isotopes can be used to study trophic relationships between marine organisms, make inferences about trophic relationships between organisms and habitats, and compare and contrast organisms in sea ice, pelagic, and benthic communities in terms of feeding strategies and consequent stable nitrogen isotope ratios.
Undersea Geologic Features: Bathymetry
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Students create models of undersea geologic features on a bathymetric chart. Students interpret and explain the difference between bathymetric charts and topographic maps.
Understanding Sea Level Using Real Data
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Students will use graphical data to understand changing sea levels and how they will impact people around the globe.
Ups and Downs
NOAA
The rise and fall of the ocean tides is a predictable phenomenon influenced by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Here, students will learn about how tides are measured and predicted so that they can then create a presentation for fifth and sixth graders about the topic. Students will also become familiar with publically available data that anyone can use to study the tides.