| Unit 1: Where Did All The Water Come From?
- 1. How The Earth Got Its Ocean
- Students model the early earth, measuring rising temperatures and observing the layering of "crust, mantle and core".
- 2. Water, Water Everywhere
- Processes active at the time of ocean formation are modeled in a mini-water cycle.
- 3. A Pinch of Salt
- The origin of the sea's salt is explored by evaporating rain, river and sea water.
- Unit 2: The Changing Shape of the Ocean Basins: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
- 1. Reunite Pangaea
- Using a cut-up world map, student teams analyze the current evidence for plate tectonics.
- 2. The Plot Thickens - Paleomagnetism
- Students plot the patterns of magnetic anomalies found in the ocean floor.
- 3. The Force
- Convection currents are observed in a heated beaker of water.
- 4. Slippin' and Slidin' - Plate Tectonics
- A student reading with embedded questions summarizes the evidence supporting the theory of crustal plate movement.
- 5. Packages: 3-D Earth Model
- Students create a paper model of a crustal plate cross-section.
- 6. Hydrothermal Vent Formation
- The creation of hydrothermal vent chimneys are simulated by precipitation of salt from a saturated solution.
- 7. Chemicals or Light - Chemosynthesis/Photosynthesis
- Simple chemical equations are used to compare photosynthesis and chemosynthesis as primary production processes.
- 8. The Mating Game
- Students play a hydrothermal vent game based on the TV show "Dating Game".
- Unit 3: The Changing Shape of the Ocean Basins: Ocean Floor Topography
- 1. Deep Sounds
- An introductory reading and vocabulary puzzle emphasize the similarity between ocean floor topography and land topography.
- 2. ÔSounds Good to MeÕ
- Students transform echo sounding data into a bottom profile.
- 3. Retracing the Steps of Columbus
- Using echo sounding data, students construct a bottom profile of the Atlantic ocean basin.
- 4. The World's Smallest Ocean
- Students build an ocean floor model in a shoebox, then "sound" the depths for seamounts, etc.
- 5. Mountain Making - Topographic Maps
- Using a "mountain" of modeling clay, students cut off horizontal layers to create a topographic map of the mountain.
- 6. Contours
- Students create a bathymetric map, then use this map to create a 3-D model of the area shown on the map.
- Unit 4: Ocean Waters in Motion: Currents
- 1. Currents: Moving Water
- A student reading with embedded questions introduces the major factors that cause large-scale ocean currents.
- 2. Stormy Weather: Wind-Driven Currents
- Students calculate the impact of wind driven currents on gray whale migration.
- 3. Moving Right Along: Density Currents
- A model of the interaction of water of different densities is set up and observed by students.
- 4. Hot Air: Wind-Driven Currents
- Using a glass dish, water and food coloring, students observe the action of "wind" in current formation.
- 5. The Hydrometer
- Students construct and calibrate a hydrometer, then use it to determine the salinity of an unknown salt solution.
- 6. Heating It Up
- Using their hydrometers, students measure and observe changes in the density of water as it is heated.
- 7. Ol' Sea Salt
- Students measure the densities of solutions of varying salinities and relate their results to salinities in the ocean.
- 8. El Nino: A Current Case Study
- A student reading with embedded questions explores the causes and effects of the changes in current patterns called El Nino.
- 9. Where the Food Is: Plankton
- As they examine its importance in the ocean food web, students group and categorize common plankton.
- 10. View From Space
- Using actual satellite images, students interpret and analyze remotely gathered data.
- 11. String for Your Supper
- Student teams create a mobile representing an ocean food web.
- Unit 5: Ocean Waters in Motion: Currents Affect Global Weather
- 1. Greenhouse Earth
- Illustrations and questions teach students the role energy from the sun plays in our atmosphere and climate.
- 2. Investigating What Goes In? What Goes Out?
- Students measure temperature changes in model greenhouses and relate their models to the Earth's atmosphere.
- 3. In Search of Carbon Dioxide
- Students measure carbon dioxide from various sources, then graph real data tracking CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
- 4. What Are the Scientists Saying About Global Climate Change?
- This reading explores historical and prehistorical climate data and examines models of future climate change.
- 5. World Summit on Global Warming
- Students conduct an imaginary World Summit to discuss the greenhouse effect.
- 6. Ozone Models
- Construction of simple molecular models enables students to reproduce the steps in the breakdown of ozone.
- 7. Ozone Game
- Ozone destruction is dramatized as students role-play the parts of oxygen and chlorine atoms in the atmosphere.
- 8. Feels Like Raindrops: Weather
- Students explore the influence of the oceans on weather as they make a variety of meteorological instruments.
- Unit 6: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Fishing Resources
- 1. A Case Study in the Salmon Dilemma: Sockeye Life History
- Through reading and experimentation, students begin thinking about factors that affect salmon populations; the first of three activities focusing on salmon life cycles.
- 2. A Case Study in the Salmon Dilemma: To Be or Not to Be?
- A mathematically oriented board game provides insight into variables affecting salmon populations.
- 3. A Case Study in the Salmon Dilemma: Who Pays the Price?
- Students make policy decisions affecting salmon populations.
- 4. Fish: What's on the Outside?
- Students examine the external characteristics of market fish to learn about fish "lifestyle".
- 5. Fish: Modeling the Inside
- By creating models of a bony fish, students explore the differences and similarities among fish types.
- 6. Why Do Fish Go To School?
- Blindfolded students group themselves in a "fish" school to explore which senses might be used for schooling.
- Unit 7: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Pollution of Our Waters
- 1. What's The Point (or Nonpoint)?
- Students play a guessing game that introduces the concepts of Point and Non-Point Pollution.
- 2. Do I Live in a Watershed?
- Using topographic maps, students make a model of their local watershed, then they explore its attributes.
- 3. Wetlands Metaphors
- Students use metaphors to describe characteristics and functions of a wetland.
- 4. Marsh Models
- Using simple materials, students build a model of a marsh, then watch it function in a "rainstorm".
- 5. How Thirsty is the Ground?
- Percolation rates for various soil types are measured by groups of students first in the lab, then in the field.
- 6. Wetland Controversy
- A city council meeting is role-played in which students make decisions about wetland development.
- 7. The Bountiful Bay Game: Use vs. Abuse
- Students play an interactive game which introduces water quality issues facing estuaries.
- Unit 8: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Offshore Oil Production
- 1. Who Needs Energy? and It Came from Beneath the Sea
- A personal energy profile is created by each student to focus attention on the role of oil energy in his or her life.
- 2. Trouble in the Sound: The Exxon Valdez Spill
- Students work in groups to share what they know about oil spills, then read a background article about an Alaskan spill.
- 3. Black Tide
- Using a variety of materials, students clean up small "spills" of oil in a pie pan ocean.
- 4. Point/Counterpoint
- Students debate topics related to oil production and offshore drilling.
- Unit 9: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Mining the Ocean Floor
- 1. Mining the Ocean Floor
- A reading with embedded questions introduces students to ocean mining.
- 2. To the Bottom
- Students investigate the affect of particle size on the rate of sedimentation.
- Unit 10: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Marine Sanctuaries
- 1. Introduced Species: The Asian Clam in San Francisco Bay
- In this introduction to clam anatomy and "lifestyle", students examine the parts of clams from a fish market.
- 2. Asian Clam: Part II
- Given some of the characteristics of clam "lifestyle", students hypothesize on the impact of Asian Clams.
- 3. Marine Sanctuaries: An Introduction
- Following background and history of the Marine Sanctuary Program, students plot the location of present sanctuaries.
- 4. Sanctuary Rummy
- In this card game, students identify various facts about U.S. marine sanctuaries.
- 5. Which Will Be the Next Marine Sanctuary?
- Students become involved in the decision-making process used to select new sanctuaries from proposed sites.
- Unit 11: Issues of the Ocean Basins: Question: Can the Ocean Feed the World and Absorb our Wastes?
- 1. Can the Ocean Feed the World and Absorb our Wastes?
- Student groups review "important messages" about ocean environments, then decide on ways to those present messages.
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