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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- Early Learning
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Type
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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
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- litter, trash and recycling
- Native American
- nitrogen and carbon cycle
- non-point source
- orienteering
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- oyster
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- predator prey relationships
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- restoration
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- 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
> National Science Education Global Water Supply: Elementary School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, water and energy conservation, water quality, Drinking Water
Youth Action Guide for the Study and Stewardship of Community Riparian Areas
Holding onto the GREEN Zone is an Earth Science and life science curriculum with a focus on science inquiry and experiential learning. Using questioning, analysis,observation, and investigation,learners will enhance their knowledge of science, boost their critical thinking skills, learn the importance of preserving and restoring vital riparian ecosystems, and have fun. When young people become involved in investigating the GREEN
Zone, they are better prepared to take action
on local watershed issues now and in the future.
They also gain the opportunity to exercise
their rights and responsibilities as citizens and
community members. Both a leader guide and a student action guide are provided. Correlations are provided to National Science Education Content Standards, NAAEE Excellence in Environmental Education—Guidelines for Learning, and 4-H Youth Development Guidelines.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, point source, non-point source, water cycle and movement, photosynthesis, wetland, land use, food web, adaptation, watershed, agriculture, development, stormwater, air pollution and fossil fuels, aquatic grass SAV, ecosystem and biomes, erosion, experiments and investigations, forest, habitat and niche, identification, sediment, soil and rocks, water quality, student action
Global Water Supply: Middle School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
adaptation, water and energy conservation, water quality, Drinking Water
Global Water Supply: High School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, land use, water and energy conservation, renewable resource, water quality, economics, Drinking Water
Project Learning Tree Curriculum Guide
The Project Learning Tree Curriculum Guide is a collection of 96 hands-on interdisciplinary activities that bring the environment into your classroom. The guide is designed so you can use a single activity or many over the course of a quarter or school year. Each activity includes an overview, background content and a teachers' step-by-step guide. The guide's five main themes are diversity, interrelationships, systems, structure and scale, and patterns of change.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland,
Virginia,
New York,
West Virginia,
District of Columbia,
Delaware,
National Science Education,
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
pollution, land use, watershed, air pollution and fossil fuels, biodiversity, forest
Green Eggs and Sand
Green Eggs and Sand is a Tri-State Horseshoe Crab/Shorebird Education Program. The curriculum, designed for middle and high schools students, was developed by coastal managers and teachers from Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware. Teacher workshops are held on the spawning of the horseshoe crab, the interrelationships with other species and how management decisions are made. The first three curricular modules were designed so you can introduce your students to the lives of horseshoe crabs, their extraordinary history, ecological niche, and interrelationships with other species. The fourth and culminating module integrates all this information to prepare students to confront the multi-faceted challenge of managing horseshoe crabs, a natural resource. Parts of this curriculum may be used independently. Optional extension activities are included to increase your flexibility. The curriculum interdisciplinary with lessons that integrate one or more of the following subjects: history, science, language arts, reading, and math.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland,
National Science Education
Keywords:
food web, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, restoration, wildlife
Be the Particle Activity
This activity will show students how sea grasses are important in settling sediment and other particles suspended in the water.
Subject(s):
Mathematics
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
aquatic grass SAV, sediment, soil and rocks
Alternative Fuels Used in Transportation Activities
The projects included in this resource are designed to give students the opportunity to create their own investigation and test alternative fuels to discover how they influence transportation. The projects included will fit easily with regular classroom lessons surrounding scientific inquiry and the scientific method.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water and energy conservation, transportation
Estuaries 101 Curriculum - Survival in an Estuary
In this activity, students investigate the range of
conditions that selected animal and plant species need tosurvive in an estuary. They examine data for abiotic factors that affect life in estuaries—salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH. Students use archived data (trend analysis graphs) and real-time conditions at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) to predict whether a particular animal or plant species could survive in an estuary.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
ecosystem and biomes, water quality, salinity, dissolved oxygen
Estuaries 101 Curriculum - Nutrients in an Estuary
In this activity, students model estuaries, artificially
enriching both fresh and salt water samples with
different amounts of nutrients and observing the growth of algae over a several weeks. They relate their results to the phenomenon of algae blooms in estuaries. They then analyze data for different sites at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve(GTMNERR) in Florida to discover the relationships between nitrogen, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen. Finally, they study how nutrients cycle through an estuary and suggest recommendations for reducing nutrient inputs to estuary waters.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, pollution, point source, non-point source, photosynthesis, development, stormwater, water quality, dissolved oxygen
Think Green "What is in our Trash?" Lesson Plan
Students begin the lesson by examining items to determine what they are made of—glass, paper, plastic, or metal. Next, students collect data to determine what types of trash they produce at lunch time. After making a class graph of this information, students discuss what happens when trash is thrown away and discover four strategies for using resources wisely (reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover). After learning more about recycling by exploring the ThinkGreen website, students display their new learning on a mini poster. Finally, the lesson is extended to the home, where students analyze the trash they produce and brainstorm strategies for reducing the waste.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
litter, trash and recycling
NOAA Ready, Set, Drift!:Coastal ocean currents lesson
Students will learn how navigators of ships and boats can predict and compensate for the effects of coastal ocean currents in this lesson. Learning objectives include: 1. Students will define and explain the terms set, drift, course over the ground, and speed over the ground. 2. Students will use online databases to recover specific data on water movement for selected geographic areas. 3. Students will use information about currents, winds, and tides to solve practical problems relevant to coastal navigation. 4. Students will demonstrate the use of a maneuvering board in solving problems involving ocean currents and navigation.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, transportation
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
Nitrogen Footprint Calculator
Most people are aware of the dangers of releasing CO2 into the environment, but do your students know that it can be just as dangerous to release too much nitrogen? Humans use nitrogen through agriculture, energy use, resource consumption and more, but once it is lost, nitrogen can cascade through the environment and cause smog, acid rain, forest dieback, coastal “dead zones,” biodiversity loss, stratospheric ozone depletion and an enhanced greenhouse effect. The Nitrogen Footprint Calculator, created by the University of Maryland and University of Virginia, measures the amount of reactive nitrogen released to the environment as a result of human activities. Incorporate this free, online tool into high school lessons about the nitrogen cycle, eutrophication, human impacts on the environment, the Chesapeake Bay, and more.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, acid rain, aquatic grass SAV, water quality, dissolved oxygen
Think Green Lesson 3: Focus on Recycle/eCycle
This lesson focuses on recycling, with an emphasis on how recycling saves energy and the importance of e-cycling, commonly referred to as eCycling. Students will assess their current knowledge of recycling in the US, calculate the environmental impact of their personal recycling efforts, examine the life cycle of a cell phone and apply that life cycle to environmental decisions, and design an e-cycling plan for home and school electronics.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
litter, trash and recycling
What Affects Dead Zones Activity
Students will explore scenarios in real datasets to investigate how physics and biology interact to produce Dead Zones of various sizes and durations. Further questioning will challenge students to apply their new knowledge of Dead Zones to real life questions.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, habitat and niche, water quality, dissolved oxygen
Dead Zone Model Activity
Students will understand the biological processes associated with dead zones, as well as how human activities impact the severity of dead zones. Students will also collect and plot data and use scientific equipment. Students add fertilizer to pond, river, or estuary water and compare to a control treatment to simulate how algal blooms and dead zones occur in bodies of water.
Subject(s):
Mathematics
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, experiments and investigations, water quality, water testing, dissolved oxygen
Save the Beach Activity
Students will compete with other teams to construct the best “barricade” that prevents sediment from spreading in a container during a “hurricane.” The components of the barricade will represent the parts of seagrass. Students will gain a better understand of the following ecological service provided by underwater grasses: underwater grasses help stabilize sediments.
Subject(s):
Mathematics
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
aquatic grass SAV, sediment, soil and rocks
Dead Zone Online Learning Module
Take a Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Modules Tour to learn more about dead zones, global and local dead zone trends, and how scientists are studying dead zones.
Subject(s):
Mathematics
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, dissolved oxygen
What Does the Sun Give Us Guide (5 Activities)
Where does the energy to build, light, and heat our houses and schools come from? The sun has actually created almost all of the energy we use today. If we want to find more energy, we can look back to the sun itself. All the light and heat we feel is energy that we might be able to use. How much energy could the sun give us? How much would this energy cost us? How can we capture the energy and use it for our needs? This lesson has five experiments that will begin to answer these questions.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water and energy conservation, green development
Exploring Solar Energy Teacher and Student Guides (7 Activities)
These seven activities are hands-on explorations that teach the scientific concepts of solar energy and photovoltaics.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
green development
Energy From the Sun Teacher and Student Guides (7 Activities)
These hands-on explorations introduce the scientific concepts of solar energy to elementary students.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
green development
See the Wind Activity
The goal of this activity is to help students see the difference in the speed and smoothness of the wind at different altitudes above the earth. This is important for wind engineers as they seek to place their wind turbines in the fastest and smoothest winds possible. It is also a major reason that wind turbines are getting larger and higher in the sky, and is why we are starting to see wind turbines in the plains and out in the ocean near the coast.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
green development
Scale Models and Wind Turbines Lesson
As wind turbines and wind farms become larger to take advantage of the economies of scale and increased wind speeds at higher altitudes, their impact in the locales where they are sited becomes more dramatic. One place this is especially contentious is in the offshore environment of the Northeast. This lesson explores scale models and the issues surrounding models and their accuracy when developing a large wind farm. Worksheets are included.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
green development
Life With Energy Lesson
Students will describe ways in which technology affects the environment, both negatively and positively, and identify different forms of energy and their advantages/disadvantages. They will also determine the benefits as well as the environmental harms of using energy to improve our quality of life.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water and energy conservation
