Oceans: Teachers

Ocean Education!

Secrets of the Ocean Realm from PBS is a companion to the program of the same name. Lots of resources for you and your class.

Ocean videos from PBS Learning Media.

Marveling at the Marine Biome from Arizona State University offers a wealth of resources to help you teach about the largest biome on Earth. You'll find articles, worksheets, and scientist interviews explaining the structure, characteristics, and ecosystem features of both the open ocean and coastal areas.

Ocean Challenge is a compilation of excellent resources for educators, including lesson plans from National Geographic and engaging animations that illustrate the depth and size of the oceans.

Ocean floor model activity and diagram for your ocean floor lesson.

The classroom resource Oceans Alive! is from Boston's Museum of Science.

Lesson Plans for the Ocean

Here is a great visual of the earth from the highest peaks to the lowest depths. Comparisons of oxygen levels and historic locations all in one scrollable image.

Here is a great YouTube video explaining how surface waves become surf that crash on the beach.

Watching the Tides is a great video from PBS about the tidal flow.

Ocean Adventures is a PBS production from Jean-Michael Cousteau. Included are lesson plans, videos, articles, games and more for your ocean lessons.

The Science Behind Tsunamis – lesson plan and hands-on activity for your class.

NASA studies the oceans as well as space. Find out what they are learning.

Ocean Resources and More!

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the place to head for answers about oceans, weather and more. Check out the excellent collection of Ocean Facts.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has lots for you and your students on oceans. Find lessons, activities, games, and more.

Ocean currents from NOAA – map, lessons, and more.

There's lots for you and your students to discover at the Natural History Museum. The deep ocean and frozen oceans along with the many forms of ocean life are just a few of the interesting topics available.

Here are an entire list of ocean lesson plans from Core Knowledge.

The Ocean Portal at the Smithsonian is a great resource for lesson plans for your ocean studies.

Lesson plans and hands-on activities from Ohio State University about the ocean.

Ocean Study Units

Ocean Life Study Unit – Lesson plans from Scholastic with downloadable reproducibles, Teachers' Guide, meet an explorer, classroom mission, and more.

National Marine Sanctuaries has great resources for teachers, including curriculum, lesson plans, units and activities to support ocean literacy.

Here is a complete kindergarten unit about Oceans. First and second grade teachers may find some useful information that they can adapt to their students too.

Mariana Trench activity for your class. Lesson plan and activity description from National Geographic.

Ocean quizzes, videos, diagrams to label and vocabulary skills are just some of the great resources available at Neok12.

Ocean Activities!

National Ocean Service – a kid friendly site with educational information, games, and a sea floor mapping interactive you are sure to love – from NOAA.

Under The Sea Activities - engaging K-12 classroom activities from StemWorks.

Be An Ocean Guardian – K-3 activity book from NOAA.

Salish Sea Activity Book – K-3 activity book about the ocean waters of the Pacific Northwest from NOAA.

Pacific Coral Reef Coloring Book - activity book about the underwater world of coral reefs from NOAA.

Marine Debris Activity Book – all ages from NOAA.

Find more resources from NOAA – activity book and projects to download for your class. Take a look at these quick hands-on classroom activities.

More Ocean Lesson Plans

Lesson plans from NOAA!! You can even search for specific lessons by keyword. Or scan through their library of lesson plans.

The American Museum of Natural History has a great student site on ocean structure, ocean life, and ocean conservation.

Sonar allows scientists to see the ocean floor. This video tells the story of how they do this. From National Geographic.

Online games/quizzes created by other teachers or their students related to your ocean topic can be found at purposegames.com – take a look at the large list of ocean related topics they have available.