These lessons and activities have been created by teachers for teachers. Access our 2023 Nudibranch module!
Try this oil spill clean up experiment with your students or kids! This is agreat one for Earth Day or anytime you want to teach about the environment!
In this post, I'm sharing resources for teaching about plastic in the ocean in your middle school science class.
By Noah Moster Last week’s blog post focused on ways to avoid the heat of the summer with fun and entertaining STEM projects that students could do
Chromatography: Is Black Marker Really Black? The very important scientific technique of chromatography (separation of colors or parts in a mixture) can easily be introduced to kids by testing whether black is it's own color, or a combination of many. Cut strips of either coffee filters or paper towels (I used both) Have kids draw a line with a black washable/non-permanent marker. I used crayola. Make sure the line is at least a little higher up than the edge. Place strip in water. Make sure you do not immediately submerge the marker line. Watch as the water is absorbed and travels up the paper. What happens when it reaches the marker? The colors begin to separate. The color black is actually a combination of many colors (ROYGBIV). These colors travel up the paper at different speeds. With our markers, the separation of blue and red was clearly visible, with red moving further up the paper than blue. Depending on age and curiosity of kids, you can go deeper into explaining this process, why it happens, and what it is used for in science and forensics. Talk about chromatography paper and other professional equipment. Usually other solvents are used instead of water, like rubbing alcohol or other liquid chemicals.. many of which would probably produce better results than our run. Or keep it simple- black is actually a mixture of many colors and an simple experiment can prove that to us. I also used a "mystery ink" which nothing happened to when placed in water... I had kids compare and deduce why. Some thought it was a different paper or water or technique, but eventually (and some quicker than others) realized this was a permanent marker and the markers we used were water-based. Few tips: water travels up paper towels faster than coffee filter, obviously. Keep that in mind for impatient kids If you dunk the marker line into the water immediately, the experiment won't work. Boys especially didn't listen to directions and did this on their first try (see some in 2nd photo below) The steadier and still and longer you hold your paper upright in the water, the better results and better separation of colors you will get. If for some reason the water is taking a long time to reach the marker (most likely because a child put it too far up) you can help it along... don't submerge the line, but slowly dip the strip further into the water to speed up the process. Gravity I did a few simple gravity demonstrations. First, I asked my kids if they could explain to me what happens when a ball is thrown up in the air. Why does it fall to the ground? Why do all things we throw fall to the ground? Is there a name for this process? Is there anywhere we don't experience gravity? Then I used simple items: book, feather, piece of computer paper (flat), crumpled up paper, small ball..etc to test which items fall faster to the floor and why? (weight and/or surface area) Second experiment was learning how water travels from high places to low places because of gravity. We learned about a special tool, a siphon. When filled with water completely, you can place one end of the siphon in a bucket of water and the other end in an empty bucket of water (at a lower elevation than the full bucket). Water will move from the full bucket into the empty bucket. We don't have our fish tanks yet but I spent time explaining that the siphon is used often during water changes for very large tanks- it is much easier than scooping water out! Having two cups or buckets of the same size would be much easier. When the cup at the bottom was full of water, we stopped each end of the siphon simultaneously (by putting our thumb over it). Then we either poured out the bottom bucket or switched the places of the two buckets. Then put the siphon back into position and released our fingers. If the siphon is not completely filled with water at all times the process won't work and you'll have to stop and refill the siphon. The end that is pulling the water needs to be submerged in the water the whole time. At the other end, we held it a little above the cup so that everyone could see the water coming out.
Do this simple salt water experiment to teach kids about the respective density of salt water and fresh water. It's a fantastic kitchen science experiment that works for an ocean unit or a density science lesson. The perfect STEM activity for kids to use a controlled variable and works great as a science fair project!
Browse my collection of free environmental science worksheets and printable free learning resources for kids!
Teach your kids about the 3 oceans zones: sunlight, twilight and midnight. Plus, get a free printable zones of the ocean worksheet to reinforce everything they learn!
Conduct a hands-on activity that simulates an oil spill and challenges kids of all ages to clean up the simulated disaster and its effect on wildlife.
Included is a puzzle activity on plate tectonics. Students will be coloring, cutting, and gluing puzzle pieces according to their plate boundaries. The boundaries include divergent (continental and oceanic lithosphere), convergent (continental, oceanic, and continental/oceanic lithosphere), and transform. The puzzle pieces are EDITABLE. Hence, you can edit the puzzle pieces to fit your classroom needs.
Explore the ocean with these great science-related under the sea activities and projects for preschool, kindergarten and elementary age kids!
This "Protect Our Oceans Oil Spill Activity" is a really fun, hands-on activity that teaches kids about the negative effects of oil spills on our oceans.
Use a Jenga set as a scientific model of a marine food chain to teach kids about food webs and the delicate balance of the ecosystem in a fun way. This activity introduces kids to contemporary envi…
Are you aware of the environmental benefits of seaweed, specifically kelp? Sustainable kelp farming is a promising tool to address carbon in our atmosphere, reduce ocean acidification, and prevent dead zones in polluted bodies of
This is an independent sort where students are asked to identify if an animal lives in a pond or does not live in a pond.
Ocean Pollution Activities and Ocean Pollution Sensory Bin and Sensory Bottles to show visual water pollution. You'll find how to teach Pollution in a fun way with Water Pollution Activity and Pollution Activities for Kids, including Ocean Pollution Facts. These are great Earth Day Activities
Try this algae and pollution experiment with your kids when you're studying ecology. All you need is pond water, jars, and some pollutants to add to it.
We created this fun mural the other day after reading the book "Hooray for Fish" by Lucy Cousins. Ok, actually we've read the book a billion times the last several weeks. Love this book! It's a story
Get your little one up and swimming around with these fun (and free) movement cards. There are tons of ways to use them, too!
Ocean pollution sensory bin teaching activity for kids. Great educational activity to show kids how pollution effects ocean animals.
Adventures of Ed the Bear did an awesome experiment to demonstrate what would happen if acidity in the ocean got out of hand, due to fossil fuels and global warming. "Acid oceans are caused by increased amounts of carbon dioxide absorbed by oceans, putting many marine animals in danger." - Adventures of Ed the Bear materials: 2 jars (one filled with vinegar, the other water) 2 seashells Below is the seashell submerged in vinegar: photos via adventures of ed the bear
Foil fish craft :: activities for an ocean theme for preschool
I recently had another opportunity to observe a science program in an after school setting, this time at Greenleaf Elementary School in Oakland, CA. The rising fifth graders have an hour and a half of STEM programming after lunch every afternoon, and the day I visited they did an activity about cleaning up oil in the ocean. They worked with trays filled a few inches with water, feathers, straws, cotton balls and sponges. I think it's especially challenging to lead activities like this, where the materials you have to work with are analogies of what really happens in the real world. I was impressed with the ways the facilitator drew connections between the activity they were doing and what happens in the real world. The facilitator started the activity by asking the kids what they already knew about oil spills. I was struck by how many hands went in the air, and details the kids knew including the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The group discussed what kinds of engineers help solve the environmental problems caused by oil spills - chemical and environmental engineers. In groups, the kids examined their 'oceans' of water, with oil floating on top. They discussed and wrote observations in their science notebooks. The facilitator introduced some terms and definitions and then passed out materials the kids would use to try to clean up the oil. As kids formulated their plans for working together to get the oil off the feathers and out of the 'ocean', the facilitator passed around photos of actual oil spills and the effects they have on wildlife. Then it was time to work together to figure out how to use materials to clean up the oil. During the discussion after the activity, the kids all said that they enjoyed this activity even though it was very difficult to get all the oil out of the water and off of the feathers. In order to help kids make connections between the science activities we do after school and science in the real world, here are some things we see quality programs doing: Ask kids what they already know about related issues Show kids pictures, news articles or videos Introduce kids to a scientist who works on the problem in the field Take a field trip Participate in a citizen science project to help a scientist conduct a study on a related issue Let us know some ways that your after school science program connects kids to real world science!
CollectA offer their realistic Orca Calf Animal Replicas for kids and collectorsExcellent for educational purposes, endangered species awareness, environmental consciousness, plus gaining deeper knowledge of actual animals
Kids will love this vinegar and baking soda Fizzy Earth Day Science Experiment! A fun and educational Earth Day activity for kids of all ages.
Mini Wave Model: A little wave goes a long way! The mini wave model is small but mighty. With just a few minutes of set-up, it's just as good at demonstrating as its bigger siblings. This is a great model for waves that move, reflect, stand, and wiggle, perfect for…
THIS IS A DIGITAL PDF FILE- NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE SENT PLEASE READ CUTTING AND TRIMMING INSTRUCTIONS BELOW BEFORE ORDERING This listing is for a bundle of three Guessing Game Insert Card Sets: OCEAN LIFE NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS BUGS AND INSECTS Each Set includes full set of 24 cards and a comprehensive information guide to help students and kids learn about their cards and formulate questions. If there is a special bird, bug, or ocean creature that you would like to add to your game simply send me a message and Im happy to make extra cards for your game, free of charge. Your game also includes a printable game guide. You can print it full size or two to a page to make a half sheet for each player. The game guide includes some starter questions to help get everyone started. The cards can be printed on regular copy paper but work best printed on a thin cardstock. To set up your Guess Who game, print all pages of the game cards so that you have one copy of the large cards and two sets of the small cards. Your game includes an optional design background to print on the back of your cards if you want to add more privacy to your cards. Cut the large cards using the guidelines and they are ready. The smaller cards are made to fit universally in all of the size variations of the game by trimming to match. First cut both sets of smaller cards using the guidelines. Next, use one of the flip insert cards from your game to trim the insert cards to fit. Hold your sample card over the image and trim to match. Insert your smaller cards randomly into both game boards and you are ready to play. If you have any trouble with your cards at all, reach out to me and I will be happy to help. If you would like more cards for this set or some variation please send me an email and I will make the additional cards for you. modernclassicalhomeschool [!at] yahoo.com
Check out my round up of my favorite ocean centers and activities designed for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.
