OCEAN LITERACY FRAMEWORK FOR GRADES 6-8
Ocean Literacy Principles:
The Earth has one big ocean with many features
The ocean & life in the ocean shape the features of the earth
The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate
The ocean makes Earth habitable
The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems
The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected
The ocean is largely unexplored
Click here to download the pdf version of this framework.
Click here to learn how this framework fits the BC Curriculum Outcomes for Grades 6 - 8.
VIDEO - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, WHY IS THE OCEAN SALTY
EXPERIMENT - DENSITY OF SALTWATER
VIDEO - WHY DOES ICE FLOAT IN WATER
LESSON PLAN/EXPERIMENT - TEMPERATURE AND DENSITY (WEBLINK)
VIDEO - CANADIAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM. WATER DENSITY AND TEMPERATURE
ACTIVITY - WHAT IS IN THE WATER
ACTIVITY - DENSITY CHALLENGE: DESIGN A NEUTRALLY BUOYANT PLANKTON
VIDEO - TED-ED, HOW DO CURRENTS WORK
WEBSITE - NASA CURRENT SIMULATOR MODEL
ACTIVITY - NOAA CURRENTS AND MARINE LIFE
ACTIVITY - UPWELLING
EXPERIMENT - CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF MELTING ICE
WEBSITE - ALL ABOUT TIDES
ACTIVITY - SIMRS LOW TIDE SCAVENGER HUNT AND CHALLENGE QUESTIONS
VIDEO - WEATHERING AND EROSION EXPLAINED
ACTIVITY - WEATHERING AND EROSION
ACTIVITY - WHERE DID MY BEACH GO?
LESSON PLAN - WHERE HAVE ALL THE GLACIERS GONE?
LESSON PLAN - SEA LEVEL RISE
ACTIVITY - BEACH BUCKETS
LESSON PLAN - THE SECRETS OF SEDIMENTS
LESSON PLAN - IT'S SEDIMENTARY MY DEAR WATSON
LESSON PLAN - FOSSIL FORAMS AND THE SCIENTIFIC PROCESS
ACTIVITY - SAND INVESTIGATION
ACTIVITY - MAKE YOUR OWN SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
CRAFT - SOAP STONE WHALES & FISH (WEBLINK)
LESSON PLAN/ACTIVITY - CLIMATE ZONES AND OCEAN CURRENTS
ACTIVITY - HOW IS COASTAL TEMPERATURE INFLUENCED BY THE OCEAN
VIDEO - THE HYDROLOGIC AND CARBON CYCLES
LESSON/ACTIVITY - DRAW A SIMPLE CARBON CYCLE: "THE WHALE PUMP"
VIDEO/VIDEO WORKSHEET - WEATHER VS CLIMATE (VIDEO) (WORKSHEET)
LESSON PLAN - WHAT IS EL NIÑO?
ACTIVITY - EFFECT OF HURRICANES AND STORM SURGES
GAME - THE CARBON CYCLE
ACTIVITY - CLIMATE CHANGE METAPHORS
LESSON PLAN - SCIENCE FIRST PEOPLES UNIT 5 CLIMATE CHANGE (PG. 121)
VIDEO - OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
EXPERIMENT - THE EFFECT OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ON SHELLS (TEACHER’S GUIDE)
ACTIVITY - OCEAN HOME, SWIMMING FISHES
VIDEO - WARMING OCEANS AND MARINE SPECIES MIGRATION
VIDEO WORKSHEET - WARM WATER INVADERS (TEACHER’S GUIDE)
VIDEO - HAKAI SEA STAR WASTING
ACTIVITY/BACKGROUND INFO/WORKSHEET - SIMRS SEA STAR SURVEY
LESSON PLAN - OCEAN PRIMARY PRODUCERS
LESSON PLAN - MICROBES AND THE CLIMATE
VIDEO - CYANOBACTERIA & THE ORIGINS OF OXYGEN
VIDEO WORKSHEET - THE ORIGINS OF OXYGEN (TEACHER’S KEY)
VIDEO - PHYTOPLANKTON: THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE ON EARTH
ACTIVITY - PLANKTON LAB
VIDEO - THE IMPORTANCE OF KELP
ACTIVITY - SEAWEED SCAVENGER HUNT
VIDEO - HYDROTHERMAL VENTS AND THE ORIGINS OF LIFE
LESSON PLAN - HYDROTHERMAL VENTS
WEBSITE (WITH VIDEOS, WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIES & LESSON PLANS) - FOSSIL WHALES AND WHALE EVOLUTION
VIDEO - WHEN WHALES WALKED
VIDEO WORKSHEET - WHEN WHALES WALKED (TEACHER’S KEY)
VIDEO - NOAA KILLER WHALE ANATOMY
VIDEO PRESENTATION - BUILD-A-WHALE: EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY & ANATOMY OF KILLER WHALES
ACTIVITY - INTRODUCTION TO OCEAN ZONES
ACTIVITY - INTERTIDAL TRANSECT SURVEY
GAME - KELP FOREST CAMOUFLAGE
LESSON PLAN - MODELLING MARINE FOOD WEBS & HUMAN IMPACT ON MARINE ECOSYSTEMS
ACTIVITY - DESIGN A FOOD WEB
LESSON PLAN - JELLY CRITTERS, GELATINOUS ZOOPLANKTON
LESSON PLAN - FROZEN OUT
STORY MAP - TRACKING SHOREBIRDS IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND
LESSON PLAN - SHOUTING WHALES (WEBLINK)
EXPERIMENT - HOW DO WHALES STAY WARM?
LESSON PLAN - LIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DEEP DARK OCEAN
LESSON PLAN - DEEP SEA LIGHTS
VIDEO - OTHER WORLDLY CREATURES OF THE DEPTHS
VIDEO WORKSHEET - OTHER WORLDLY CREATURES OF THE DEPTHS (TEACHER’S KEY)
LESSON PLAN - FISHING FOR THE FUTURE
LESSON PLAN - EMPTY OCEAN
BACKGROUND WORKSHEET - SHIFTING BASELINES
LESSON PLAN - MY PLACE IN PUGET SOUND (ADAPT FOR YOUR LOCATION)
ACTIVITY - OIL, OIL EVERYWHERE
LESSON PLAN (S) - BIOACCUMULATION, A CASE STUDY OF BC KILLER WHALES (WEBLINK)
GAME - BIOACCUMULATION
STORY MAP - TESTING HYPOTHESIS FOR THE MYSTERIOUS DISTRIBUTION OF WANDERING SALAMANDERS IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND
VIDEO - A PLASTIC OCEAN (ALSO AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX)
VIDEO WORKSHEET - A PLASTIC OCEAN (TEACHER’S KEY)
LESSON PLAN - SCIENCE FIRST PEOPLES UNIT 8 OCEAN CONNECTIONS
LESSON PLAN - FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT (WEBLINK)
WEBSITE - THE SEAFOOD WATCH
STORY MAP - ASSESSING JUVENILE SALMON IN CLAYOQUOT SOUND
ACTIVITY - ECO CHALLENGE FOR ORCA RECOVERY
ACTIVITY - SURFRIDER YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP STUDENT WORKBOOK
WEBSITE - SURFRIDER VI CLEAN UP DATA
ACTIVITY - SURFRIDER SOLO BEACH CLEANUP GUIDELINES
WEBSITE - LOCAL MARINE DEBRIS ARTIST
LESSON PLAN (3 units) - OCEAN EXPLORATION COURSE
VIDEO - 7 THINGS WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE OCEAN
LESSON PLAN - WHY DO WE EXPLORE THE OCEAN?
LESSON PLAN - CALLING ALL EXPLORERS
LESSON PLAN - EXPLORING EXPLORATIONS
LESSON PLAN (9 UNITS) - LEARNING OCEAN SCIENCE THROUGH OCEAN EXPLORATION
GAME/CITIZEN SCIENCE - DIGITAL FISHERS
STORY MAP - THE KAKAWIN OF CLAYOQUOT SOUND
WEBSITE - BC CETACEAN SIGHTINGS NETWORK
WORKSHEET - BC CETACEAN SIGHTINGS NETWORK
LESSON PLAN - USING HYDROPHONES FOR RESEARCH (WEBLINK)
LESSON PLAN - A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF SOUND (WEBLINK)
ACTIVITY - EXPLORING THE OCEAN WITH ROBOTS
LESSON PLAN - I, ROBOT, CAN DO THAT
WEBSITE - WHAT IS AN ROV?
ACTIVITY - BUILD AND ROV CHALLENGE
VIDEO - MARIANA TRENCH - THE DEEPEST & MOST UNEXPLORED PLACE ON THE PLANET
VIDEO - 2019 NAUTILUS EXPEDITION HIGHLIGHTS
VIDEO WORKSHEET - MARIANA TRENCH & E/V NAUTILUS (DATASHEET)