Teaching Resources
Teaching environmental issues in your classroom is a critical component of providing your students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. Discover a wealth Chesapeake Bay related books, multimedia, curriculum guides, individual lesson plans and online data sources.
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Subject
Level
- All Levels
- Early Learning
- Elementary School
- Middle School
High School
Type
Alignment
Keywords
- All Keywords
- acid rain
- adaptation
- African American
- agriculture
- air pollution and fossil fuels
- aquatic grass SAV
- beaver
- biodiversity
- blue crab
- boats, canoes and kayaks
- climate change
- culture and watermen
- development
- dissolved oxygen
- Drinking Water
- economics
- ecosystem and biomes
- erosion
- experiments and investigations
- fish
- food web
- forest
- geocaching (GIS/GPS)
- Geography
- green development
- habitat and niche
- identification
- invasive species
- John Smith and colonial times
- land use
- litter, trash and recycling
- Native American
- nitrogen and carbon cycle
- non-point source
- orienteering
- Outdoor Activity
- oyster
- photosynthesis
- point source
- pollution
- population growth
- predator prey relationships
- renewable resource
- restoration
- salinity
- schoolyard habitat
- sediment, soil and rocks
- smart growth
- stormwater
- stream study
- student action
- Temperature
- transportation
- Underground Railroad
- water and energy conservation
- water cycle and movement
- water quality
- water testing
- watershed
- weather
- wetland
- wildlife
> High School > Data NOAA Estuaries Physical Science Module Activity 1: Chemistry in an Estuary
In this activity, students (grades 9-12)investigate water quality parameters to study the nature of, and the cyclical changes inherent in, the chemistry of estuarine water. Students study key water quality factors at several stations in a single reserve over time — current, daily, and yearly time scales. Students also compare water quality values over a yearly time scale in three different estuaries within NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR) —South Slough NERR, Oregon; Delaware NERR; and Old Woman Creek NERR, Ohio. Then students take water quality measurements at a site near them and compare their data to the water in the three geographically diverse NERR estuarine environments.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
watershed, water quality, water testing, salinity, dissolved oxygen
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Investigating Nutrient and Sediment Pollution
Students investigate the sources of nutrient and sediment pollution in a sub-watershed of the Chesapeake Bay. Students will be able to identify the sources of nutrient and sediment pollution in a watershed, read pie charts and relate them to geographic areas on a map, and consider the effects of different land uses on the watershed and estuary ecosystem
Subject(s):
Science, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data, Posters and Maps
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, watershed, sediment, soil and rocks, water quality
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Dissolved Oxygen in the Chesapeake Bay
Students analyze how dissolved oxygen conditions change in the Chesapeake Bay over the course of the year and learn about the danger of low dissolved oxygen conditions to underwater habitats. Students will be able to understand how dissolved oxygen levels change throughout the Chesapeake Bay over the course of a year and identify factors and inputs affecting dissolved oxygen levels in the Chesapeake Bay.
Subject(s):
Science, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
watershed, water quality, dissolved oxygen
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Changing Turbidity
Students explore the effects of turbidity on Chesapeake Bay ecosystems and learn about the driving forces behind high turbidity levels in Chesapeake Bay estuary waters. Students will be able to understand how turbidity varies by location, understand how turbidity changes over time, analyze graphs to understand the conditions affecting turbidity levels recorded at buoy monitoring stations throughout the Chesapeake Bay, and analyze student-input data on turbidity and compare the data to buoy monitoring data from NOAA
Subject(s):
Science, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
watershed, sediment, soil and rocks, water quality
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Salinity in the Estuary
Students explore the varying salinity of the Chesapeake Bay estuary by manipulating and analyzing real-time and student-input data in the Chesapeake Bay FieldScope tool. Students will be able to read and interpret graphs in order to understand how salinity levels change throughout an estuary and predict salinity levels in an estuary based on relative location to fresh or saline water input sources.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
watershed, stream study, water quality, water testing, salinity
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Changing Temperatures in the Estuary
Students consider how water temperature changes with different parameters by examining factors such as time, depth, and location in the estuary. Students compare their data to data from professional monitoring systems.
Subject(s):
Science, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data, Posters and Maps
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
watershed, stream study, water quality, water testing, Temperature
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Sharing Data in FieldScope
After participating in field study, students will return to the classroom and assess the collected data to produce the highest quality dataset. The class will then use the National Geographic FieldScope tool to upload the data in order to share their findings with the citizen science community.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data, Posters and Maps
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
stream study, water quality, water testing, student action
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Collecting Data in the Field
Students measure water quality and document local conditions in the field in order to focus on parameters that can illustrate something about the health or degradation of a waterway. Students will be able to record water quality data for later analysis, take notes and other observational data on conditions in the ecosystem and reflect on local and regional environmental factors and how they might be affecting water quality and the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
stream study, water quality, water testing, student action
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Activity: Preparing for Field Investigation
Students consider what it means to be citizen scientists, learn how notes and photographs can enhance a field investigation, and review techniques for choosing and recording sampling locations.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
stream study, water quality, water testing, student action
Leaf Pack Network Database
Student collected data from leaf pack experiments that assess stream health by using aquatic insects as their indicator species. Data is available for the Susquehanna, James and Patapsco Rivers.
Subject(s):
Science, Technology
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
stream study, water testing, wildlife
Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) - Investigations
Scientists measure Bay water temperatures, turbidity (clearness of the water), and other "indicators" to monitor the health of the Chesapeake Bay. "Indicators" give us information about the quality of Bay waters. If you have ever wondered how muddy waters impact underwater plants in the Chesapeake, or how steamy summer temperatures affect water quality, explore the interactive investigations provided on this NOAA website. These short activities use real-time and stored data from the CBIBS to help you answer these and other water quality questions.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
weather, water quality
Chesapeake Bay FieldScope Website
Explore National Geographic's interactive online map of the Chesapeake Bay. Learn about land use by exploring real-time data and interactive map layers. Your class can also conduct stream studies and enter their data online to use some cool analysis tools, and to share data with other schools.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
pollution, population growth, wetland, land use, watershed, agriculture, development, ecosystem and biomes, forest, water quality, water testing
Calculating Your Carbon Footprint
In this activity, students will calculate their household’s carbon footprint using the US EPA’s Personal Emissions Calculator and will compare the size of their carbon footprint with that of another classmate. In addition, students will be asked to consider the limitations of this online carbon emissions calculator.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
climate change, water and energy conservation
EPA - Household Emissions Calculator
You can use the following online calculator with your students to get a rough “ballpark” estimate of their personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions, and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce emissions. The calculator is broken into three sections:
Section 1: Estimate your current total household emissions.
Section 2: Explore actions you can take to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and waste disposal costs.
Section 3: See how much you can save (in dollars and emissions) by taking the actions you chose in Section 2.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Data
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, climate change
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Portal
Learn about macroinvertebrates and their stream habitats with these interactive, online activities. This is a great multimedia tool for teachers who cannot get their class to a stream to learn about using macroinvertebrates as an indicator species.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
habitat and niche, stream study, water quality, water testing
NOAA Caution, Fix It!: Habitat Restoration Lesson
How can resource managers and concerned public groups repair coastal resources damaged by human activity or natural events? After completing this lesson, students will be able to give at least three examples of natural events and human activities that injure coastal resources, describe at least three cases in which injured coastal resources have been restored by human activity, and describe at least three ways that people have been able to contribute to coastal resource restoration.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
restoration
NOAA Do You Have Change?: Coastal Change Analysis Lesson
In this lesson students will learn how scientists can monitor changes in the ways land is used in coastal areas. During the lesson, students will explain how satellite imagery can be used to monitor land use change, construct a change table to summarize land cover information, and use a change table to make inferences about land use changes in a coastal region.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
population growth, land use, development
NOAA Who Moved The Beach: Shoreline Erosion
In this lesson students will learn the primary causes and impacts of coastal erosion, and how should human communities respond to this process. In this lesson students will identify coastal erosion as a natural process, explain how human activity can increase the risks associated with coastal erosion, and identify options for reducing risks caused by coastal erosion, and discuss the advantages and problems associated with these options. Students will also analyze and interpret beach elevation data, and make inferences from these data about the relative vulnerability of different beaches to coastal erosion.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
land use, development, erosion, sediment, soil and rocks
NOAA Motion in the Ocean Lesson: Ocean Currents and Waves
In this lesson, students will identify the primary causes for ocean currents and wave, explain how and why ocean currents vary with increasing latitude, explain the cause of the Coriolis effect, and how this effect influences ocean currents, and calculate the magnitude of ocean currents, given data from drifter studies. This lesson can be completed in one 45-minute class period, plus time for student research
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water cycle and movement
SERC Blue Crab Online Resource
This online resource contains a great deal of information on the blue crab. Learn about blue crab anatomy, food web, life cycle, migration, molting, mating, and blue crab research at SERC. Education resources on this site include a pdf handout and a collection of blue crab data collected during the 1998 trawling season that can be plotted and explored in your classroom.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
food web, blue crab, wildlife
Introduction to the Biotic Water Quality of a Stream
This lesson allows students to learn the Biotic Water Quality Score (BWQS) method for collecting
macroinvertebrates. Organisms with a high sensitivity to reduced oxygen levels are given a high numerical value. Organisms that can thrive in low oxygen levels are given a low numerical value.
Factors that promote high oxygen content will also promote a diversity of macroinvertebrates. The
central idea behind quantification is that macroinvertebrates have a wide range of oxygen
requirements.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
New York
Keywords:
adaptation, biodiversity, identification, water testing
Comparing Current Chemical Water Quality Measurements with Past Measurements At A Stream Site
In this lesson, students will compare their most recent water quality measurements with their past
measurements at the same stream site. Samples are usually taken during the spring and fall seasons of
the year, and to avoid seasonal variations, the spring measurements should be compared only to spring measurements from the past. The same protocol should be followed when comparing the fall
measurements to those from the past.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
New York
Keywords:
water testing
Total Nitrogen Loads to the Bay and Underwater Grasses Graph
Learn how nitrogen pollution influences the amount of aquatic grass in the Chesapeake Bay. This bar graph shows acres of aquatic grass vs pounds of nitrogen pollution from 1989 - 2003.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, aquatic grass SAV
The Bay's Decimated Oyster Population Graph
Bar graph showing the oyster harvest from the 1800's to 2000. See how disease and advancing in oyster harvesting techniques influences the oyster population
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
oyster, culture and watermen
Troubling Trends in Blue Crab Catches Graph
Graphs blue crab catch from the 1930's to 2000.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
blue crab, culture and watermen
