In this lesson, students will play the role of a member of an International Team of Marine Biologists tasked with predicting and monitoring possible harmful algae blooms. They will evaluate changes in the ocean's chlorophyll counts from 1997-2007 using data sets from MyNASAData website, draw conclusions about how the chlorophyll-a levels in the ocean may effect its ecological characteristics and infer ... Full description.

This site presents two case studies regarding the Wheeling Creek area of West Virginia. The scenario asks students to research problems and come up with answers to a ficticious local water board's concerns over water quality in the watershed. The site provides students with extensive, yet easy to understand background information on the following topics: Importance of Water, Water Cycle, Hydrosphere, ... Full description.

This site is designed to engage students in grades 7-12 in activities that focus on collaboration and communication strategies. These activities will strengthen student understanding of and ability to use collaborative processes and communication practices to clarify, conceptualize, and make decisions. Students will compare the risks of varying courses of action that confront scientists and engineers. ... Full description.

In this activity students construct a sundial and use it to observe the movement of the sun through the sky over the course of a day by marking changes in the position of a shadow once each hour. Students determine the approximate time of solar noon at their school as indicated by the time of the shortest shadow. They revisit the site on a subsequent day to estimate the time of day using their sundial. ... Full description.

This web site contains illustrated information and classroom-ready activities for teachers, students, and anyone who want to learn about aquatic environments. The site is divided into seven topical sites, either by habitat or species. "Space Available" focuses on using satellite imagery to study the oceans and includes sections on the human impact on oceans, weather, remote sensing, and how satellites ... Full description.

This resource is designed to educate students, through activities teachers can use, about the environmental importance of Lake Ponchartrain. The main goal is to foster a sense of stewardship in students through learning to identify environmental issues that affect the lake, offer changes, and develop solutions. Although the resource deals with the Lake Ponchartrain Basin, the activities are applicable ... Full description.

Users can read and view pictures as part of a discussion of the positive and negative impacts of dam building on the streams, rivers, and watersheds in the United States and in Egypt. Conservation measures intended to increase the availability of water for fish and wildlife are outlined, and a link to the Dam and Reservoir Impact and Information Archive is provided. This archive is an extensive collection ... Full description.

This is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) sponsored website that includes a variety of resources for educators and students. Oil spills are defined by scientists and further explained using photographs and questions previously submitted by students and teachers. Experiments for students and teachers are categorized by grade level and information on how to obtain instructional kits ... Full description.

These three lessons focus on the effect of fluctuations of temperature on aquatic life. Topics include effects on the growth and survival rate of aquatic plants, how the metabolic rate of clams is affected by a change in temperature, and the optimal temperature for the hatching and development of brine shrimp eggs. Full description.

This portal offers an alphabetical selection of links to materials on a variety of sea creatures, especially whales. Topics include research reports, expedition records, maps, datasets, movies, and sound recordings for several species of whales, seals, porpoises, and turtles. Full description.