Lesson Plan

After note taking during the phyla episodes of the shapeoflife.org, student pairs will randomly pick an invertebrate from the hat. After doing more in-depth research on their chosen invertebrate, student pairs will design and create a flyer that will promote the invertebrate’s special abilities. Furthermore, the students will find at least one video clip of their invertebrate from the shapeoflife.org website to present to the class as evidence of their claims. Finally the student pair will argue why their invertebrate should be crowned the “World’s Most Awesome Invertebrate.”

Lesson Plan

In this activity students explore how animals are classified. For centuries taxonomists have been classifying the diversity of animal life based on observations and measurements of animals’ body plans. And now, with DNA sequencing, scientists have for the most part confirmed the work of earlier taxonomists. Students will learn the characteristics that define five of the major invertebrate phyla by watching videos, reading and sorting animal cards. The phyla are: Cnidarians, Annelids, Arthropods, Molluscs, and Echinoderms.

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the concept of taxonomy, and categorization of organisms based on Carl Linnaeus’s system of classification.

Lesson Plan

Students learn about the microscopic world of tiny plankton drifters. They watch videos that simulate looking at live invertebrate larvae under a microscope.

Lesson Plan

Bioluminescence is a spectacular living light show common in the marine environment and especially useful in the deep sea. It provides a way for deep sea animals to communicate and survive in the darkest part of the ocean.Please explore this rich array of bioluminescence resources our colleague, Rick Reynolds, created for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). LESSON PLANS

Lesson Plan

Through cutting-edge scientific research, students are introduced to climate change’s effects on the intertidal (ocean acidification and temperature increase) and what is known about how ocean organisms are impacted.

Lesson Plan

Using this tool, students will practice and deepen their understanding of coral reef basics, what is contributing to their loss, and what is being done to preserve this resource.

Lesson Plan

In this lesson students learn about the effects of different diets and foods on our Climate Crisis and how to make positive changes

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students combine art and science to interpret and illustrate graphical art. In this way, students will build understanding of the power of data infused art to convey the "bigger picture" of climate change. 

Lesson Plan

The "Exploring Ocean Mysteries: From Dynamic Shores To the Deep Sea" curriculum consists of Lesson Plans and Resources that make it easy to teach the seven principles of Ocean Literacy.