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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Subject
All Subjects- Art
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Technology
Level
- All Levels
- Early Learning
- Elementary School
- Middle School
- High School
Type
Alignment
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
- land use
- litter, trash and recycling
- Native American
- nitrogen and carbon cycle
- non-point source
- Nutrients and Eutorphication
- orienteering
- Outdoor Activity
- oyster
- photosynthesis
- point source
- pollution
- population growth
- predator prey relationships
- renewable resource
- restoration
- salinity
- schoolyard habitat
- sediment, soil and rocks
- smart growth
- stormwater
- stream study
- student action
- Temperature
- tides
- transportation
- Underground Railroad
- water and energy conservation
- water cycle and movement
- water quality
- water testing
- watershed
- weather
- wetland
- wildlife
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
Macroinbertebrate Identification
An interactive lesson that helps students identify benthic macroinvertebrates using key characteristics. It also emphasizes the special adaptations each has to its aquatic habitat and demonstrates how macroinvertebrates can be indicators of the health of the stream.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
adaptation, identification, water quality
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
Squid Dissection Lesson
The students will dissect a squid to study this amazing animals adaptation so they can have a better understanding of living creatures.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
adaptation, experiments and investigations, wildlife
Gateways to Conservation II Curriculum Guide (Grades 6-8)
Pickering Creek published this guide with the help of the National Park Service's Chesapeake Bay Gateways. Explore 134 pages full of hands-on learning activities and background information to help students and teachers explore the outdoors in conjunction with a nearby nature center, while gaining an understanding of their relationship with the Chesapeake Bay.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
pollution, wetland, adaptation, watershed, biodiversity, ecosystem and biomes, erosion, experiments and investigations, habitat and niche, restoration, sediment, soil and rocks, water quality, water testing, wildlife
Feathered Feeders Lesson
This "bird brained" lesson requires students to think like hungry birds, who must find food at the park. Students will investigate variation in bird beaks and the interrelationships of form and function.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
adaptation, wildlife
Amazing Oysters - Build an Oyster Reef Activity
In this activity, students will construct a paper oyster reef habitat and learn about the critters that call the reef home. Background information is provided, and the lesson plan is designed to teach students about adaptations, tides, food chains, habitats, and predator-prey relationships.
Subject(s):
Art, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
food web, adaptation, oyster, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships
Lesson Plan: What Do You Know About Horseshoe Crabs?
The goal for this lesson is for students to learn more about the horseshoe crab as a valuable resource in an estuary. This lesson will require two 45-minute class periods to create the learning tool and one period to evaluate another group's tool. This lesson plan was developed by NSTA master teacher Laura Elkins through NSTA's partnership with NOAA.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
adaptation, wildlife
What's the Deal? What Eats What in the Bay, and Why is This Important?
In this activity, students are responsible for determining the importance of organisms within the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem, focusing on what would happen to the Bay if certain plants or animals suddenly appeared or disappeared.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
invasive species, food web, adaptation, blue crab, aquatic grass SAV, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, fish
BayQuest: Exploring Ecosystems
Students will explore plants and animals in the Bay’s eight main habitats and determine the importance of various organisms on the Bay’s eight ecosystems.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
invasive species, food web, adaptation, biodiversity, ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, identification
Introduction to the Biotic Water Quality of a Stream
This lesson allows students to learn the Biotic Water Quality Score (BWQS) method for collecting
macroinvertebrates. Organisms with a high sensitivity to reduced oxygen levels are given a high numerical value. Organisms that can thrive in low oxygen levels are given a low numerical value.
Factors that promote high oxygen content will also promote a diversity of macroinvertebrates. The
central idea behind quantification is that macroinvertebrates have a wide range of oxygen
requirements.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
New York
Keywords:
adaptation, biodiversity, identification, water testing
Predators in Action: Rapa whelks vs. Hard clams
This booklet gives information and data-based exercises describing ecological and economic connections between introduced rapa whelk Rapana venosa predators and local hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The information is focused to answer the question: "How many hard clams could a rapa whelk eat in one year?"
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, economics
Veined Rapa Whelks: Aliens in the Chesapeake (multimedia CD-ROM)
Veined Rapa Whelks: Aliens in the Chesapeake is an educational CD-ROM based application available for Macintosh and IBM-compatible computers. The rapa whelk CD includes three main sections; Meet the Rapa Whelk, Rapa Whelks in the Neighborhood and Response to an Invader.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, habitat and niche
Rapa Watch Activity Booklet
This booklet contains background information, graphs and student worksheet for classroom activities that focus on the Asian invasive rapa whelk. Students will evaluate four hypothetical habitats for risk of invasion by rapa whelks using data describing biology and environmental tolerance of rapa whelks.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, experiments and investigations, habitat and niche
Shell Detective Lesson
Students will compare and contrast non-native rapa whelk shells with native channeled and knobbed whelk shells. They build their observation, communication and graphing skills
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, habitat and niche
Wildlife Habitat Lesson
Students will look at the elements that make up an animal's habitat and how they relate to the animals that live there. Students will also look at why some habitats suit some animals and not others.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
adaptation, habitat and niche, wildlife
Animal Camouflage Lesson
Students will understand why animals need to adapt to their environments. Then see how coloring, markings, and physical actions can make an animal better adapted to its environment.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
adaptation, predator prey relationships, wildlife
Seed Plants: Angiosperms Lesson
In this lesson students describe the flowering plants and point out why angiosperms are the most successful plants. Then describe the three life patterns of angiosperms.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
adaptation, forest, identification
Is there a Doctor in the Treehouse Lesson
Students compare tree diseases to human diseases.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, forest
Please the Trees, But not These, Please Lesson
Students will investigate trees ecological balance and the effect of human introduced invasive species. Students will explain that adaptations can determine a tree's ability to compete for basic survival needs.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
invasive species, adaptation, forest
Ecology of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation PowerPoint Presentation
This PowerPoint presentation outlines the ecology, importance, and global decline of seagrass.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
pollution, adaptation, aquatic grass SAV, erosion, habitat and niche, fish
Particulate Matters Lesson
Perform a live filtering experiment and watch how the oyster is able to filter materials from the environment and selectively process them as food or pseudofeces. Requires a live oyster.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
adaptation, oyster, experiments and investigations
Project WILD Curriculum Guide
The Project WILD Curriculum Guide emphasizes aquatic wildlife and aquatic ecosystems. Each Project WILD Aquatic activity contains all the information needed to conduct that activity including objectives, method, background information, a list of materials needed, procedures, evaluation suggestions, recommended grade levels, subject areas, duration, group size, setting, and key terms.
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:
adaptation, biodiversity, water and energy conservation, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, schoolyard habitat, wildlife
Learning About Acid Rain - A Teacher's Guide
This guide is written at a 6th grade level and the language, concepts and experiments may need to be adapted for other grades accordingly. After reading the guide and doing some of the experiments and activities, students will have a better understanding of acid rain and the problems it causes, as well as a greater interest in its resolution and in applied environmental science.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School
Keywords:
acid rain, adaptation, air pollution and fossil fuels
How a Blue Crab Changes as It Grows Lesson
The purpose of this Science NetLinks lesson is to understand the changes that a blue crab goes through during molting, and why it is important for scientists to understand these changes.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
adaptation, blue crab
