Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This set of lesson units, designed by Scripps Institute, offers more than a dozen topics dealing with ocean environments and inhabitants. Many of these lessons include hands-on activities that can require only minimal equipment. The units also include extension activities to make the content suitable for secondary or upper elementary students.

tag(s): oceans (147), whales (11)

This site from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse offers on-line laboratory materials - primarily color photos of laboratory slides - which are sorted by major classifications. The result is an on-line resources which can supplement in class activities or help compensate when suitable laboratory facilities or materials are not available. The structure of the site makes it suitable for either sequential use of to reinforce specific topics.

This site is a collection of data about the evolutionary history and characteristics of organisms using branches of a tree to link data. Very extensive database.

Get involved in real-world water conservation issues, investigate STEM careers in science and engineering, and meet scientists and engineers from those disciplines. Also, watch Youth in Action videos where young people work for positive change. Expeditions are designed around conserving water with titles such as Water by Design, Shell Shocked, Beyond the Dead Zone, Into the Dead Zone, and Plastic Seas. Also, find many Educator Resources that can be filtered by grade level, Program (Food, Toxins, Energy, Marine Debris, and several others), and media type (Videos, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, etc.). EarthEcho was Founded by Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, grandchildren of Jacques Yves Cousteau, in honor of their father Philippe Cousteau, Sr. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): conservation (100), engineering (128), scientists (64), STEM (290), sustainability (46), water (101)

Learn about the life and careers of many famous scientists by viewing intriguing videos. Find out about scientists such as Richard Feynman, Rosalind Franklin, and Gregor Mendel through interviews with scientists in their field today. Don't let the cartoon figures fool you: these videos are not "juvenile." The scientists included may not be household names to everyone, but the videos make their work accessible and interesting. At the time of this review, there were over a dozen scientists included, and more were being added regularly. Note that the actual videos are hosted on YouTube so may not be accessible in some schools.

tag(s): biographies (94), darwin (13), scientists (64)

This lesson explores a large amount of debris that washes up on the most remote islands in the world and the effect of this garbage on ocean animals. The lesson features the video, "Trash on the Spin Cycle" and includes pre-viewing activities, focus questions, and post-viewing questions. Be sure to also check out the many additional resources included on the site. Viewing the video requires flash which is not available on all browsers; however, the lesson plan can be modified by using other available videos.

tag(s): environment (247), oceans (147)