This educator lesson plan uses simple materials for activities to learn that phytoplankton are autotrophic and carry out the process of photosynthesis, and understand the importance of body form and function in keeping phytoplankton floating in the upper levels of the water column.
Curriculum
Globe Toss Educator Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials to let students determine whether Earth is covered mostly by water or land. Discussion includes reasons why the ocean is important to humans and other animals and plants, and ways in which humans positively and negatively impact the ocean environment.
Experimenting with Density Educator Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials to demonstrate the properties of different liquids, find out whether freshwater or saltwater is more dense, and discover how the density of water impacts Earth’s ecosystems.
Capturing the Creek Cultural Connection Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials to explore how local creeks connect to a larger watershed system and communicates the historical and cultural importance of the creeks and watershed systems in the area.
Causes and Effects of Our Rising Seas Educator Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials to teach about sea-level rise. Discuss the main differences between sea ice and glacial ice, how melting sea ice and/or glacial ice impacts currents and sea level, and how thermohaline circulation affects climate.
Carbon the World Traveler Educator Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials to teach the carbon cycle in the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Activities demonstrate how natural processes release and absorb carbon, and ways in which carbon influences and impacts climate.
Clay Ball Challenge Educator Lesson Plan
This educator lesson plan uses simple materials for fun STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) challenges designed to teach about the properties of buoyancy and density. Includes a separate activity to be done with parents.
Educator’s Guide to Marine Debris in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico
A regional introduction for educators to three main categories of marine debris: litter; derelict or abandoned boats; and lost or abandoned commercial and recreational fishing gear.
Sea Sampler Activity Book (Secondary)
Shortly after its creation in 1980, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium began supporting an effort to bolster K-12 marine education. A long process led to the publication in 1985 of “Sea Sampler: Aquatic Activities for the Field and Classroom,” edited by Wendy Beard Allen and Patty Owens McLaughlin. The science in these publications still holds up, even if some activities might no longer match updated grade-level state education standards.
Sea Sampler Activity Book (Elementary)
Shortly after its creation in 1980, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium began supporting an effort to bolster K-12 marine education. A long process led to the publication in 1985 of “Sea Sampler: Aquatic Activities for the Field and Classroom,” edited by Wendy Beard Allen and Patty Owens McLaughlin. The science in these publications still holds up, even if some activities might no longer match updated grade-level state education standards.