This sample instructional plan incorporates WIDA Key Language Uses to support English language development in conjunction with Science content instruction.*Note: Some images may not appear in "View Resource."  To see all images in this instructional plan, click "download" at the bottom of the overview. 

This article describes some common misconceptions that elementary students may have about oceans. It also includes suggestions for formative assessment and teaching for conceptual change.

Most of our oceans still remain a mystery. Dr. Chris Massell Symons shares how scientists are exploring the depths to uncover their secrets. We'll also find out about a fun song to "lure" your students into learning about our "One Big Ocean."

CK-12 Earth Science For High School covers the study of Earth - its minerals and energy resources, processes inside and on its surface, its past, water, weather and climate, the environment and human actions, and astronomy.

This is a unit for K-2 students on fish habitats. The last day is a field trip to a local lake.

This article highlights hands-on or multimedia lesson plans about oceans. Science lessons are paired with suggested literacy lesson plans. All lessons are aligned to national standards.

Students interact with Scratch to review continents and oceans. Students edit a Scratch template to begin to explore code. 

In this activity, students are split into groups and assigned different ocean regions. These include the Arabian Sea, Equatorial Pacific, North Atantic, and Southern Ocean. Each group uses Google Earth to view NASA satellite chlorophyll imagery and the cruise track of data collected as part of the U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study. At three locations along each cruise track, chlorophyll-temperature-depth (CTD) and bottle data collected as part of the study can be downloaded. Students work with the data to identify oceanographic features as a function of depth and then make simple calculations.

This activity can be used to teach concepts how different densities of liquids can be layered and/or how the salinity of water affects the movement of ocean water.

 NASA eClips Real World:  The Carbon Cycle - Essential for Life on EarthVideo Description:  Carbon is an essential building block for life. Learning how carbon is converted through slow- and fast-moving cycles helps us understand how this life-sustaining element moves through the environment. Discover how NASA measures carbon through both field work and satellite imagery keeping watch through its eyes on the sky, on Earth, and in space.  This video won and Emmy Award in 2020.  Video Length:  5:43.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.  

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the characteristics and living systems of the Arctic and Southern Oceans. Instructional resources include ocean-related lessons and informational text about blue whales.

This article assembles free resources from the Polar Oceans issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.