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
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
- 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
- transportation
- Underground Railroad
- water and energy conservation
- water cycle and movement
- water quality
- water testing
- watershed
- weather
- wetland
- wildlife
> predator prey relationships CSI Clamshell Investigation Lesson
Students will learn about the predator/prey relationship that exists between moon snails and clams. Following completion of this lesson, the students will be able to: 1) Explain how moon snails eat and where the holes in clamshells come from 2) Draw conclusions from data collected 3)Use math and graphing to determine if there is a relationship to a clam's size and its likelihood tobe eaten by a moon snail.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
New York
Keywords:
food web, identification, predator prey relationships, wildlife
Counting Critters Lesson
Students inventory wildlife and investigate their neighborhoods for cause and effect relationships affecting wildlife; develop and use Wildlife Observation Record sheets and recommend actions to improve and/or maintain the quality of wildlife habitat in their community. Keywords: critters, habitat, wildlife
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
food web, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, wildlife
Beaver Tales Lesson
Students will investigate changes in beaver habitat and the interrelationships between beavers and the environment. The lesson explores the ecological role of beavers through observing beavers' life history, modeling beaver-predator relationships and learning the protective importance of hearing and smelling.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
beaver, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, 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
Green Eggs and Sand
Green Eggs and Sand is a Tri-State Horseshoe Crab/Shorebird Education Program. The curriculum, designed for middle and high schools students, was developed by coastal managers and teachers from Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware. Teacher workshops are held on the spawning of the horseshoe crab, the interrelationships with other species and how management decisions are made. The first three curricular modules were designed so you can introduce your students to the lives of horseshoe crabs, their extraordinary history, ecological niche, and interrelationships with other species. The fourth and culminating module integrates all this information to prepare students to confront the multi-faceted challenge of managing horseshoe crabs, a natural resource. Parts of this curriculum may be used independently. Optional extension activities are included to increase your flexibility. The curriculum interdisciplinary with lessons that integrate one or more of the following subjects: history, science, language arts, reading, and math.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland,
National Science Education
Keywords:
food web, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, restoration, wildlife
TEAM DNR
TEAM DNR is a volunteer program, organized by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, that is dedicated to educating elementary and middle school students about the Chesapeake Bay and other natural resource issues in Maryland. TEAM DNR currently offers schools four different classroom programs and one outdoor program. Each program has pre and post visit activities to enhance the experience of your students. These programs are available upon request of the classroom teacher or school administrator.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
pollution, point source, non-point source, population growth, land use, watershed, oyster, culture and watermen, experiments and investigations, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, restoration, stream study, water quality, water testing, wildlife, fish
Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom
The Raising Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom program was developed and is implemented by MD DNR's Environmental Stewardship Division and Fisheries Service to educate students about horseshoe crabs and the management of this important species. This project provides equipment, Teachers' Guide and horseshoe crab eggs to schools for students to learn the ecological, medical and historical importance of the vanishing species.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Supplies
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
watershed, experiments and investigations, predator prey relationships, restoration, wildlife
Chesapeake Bay Field Guide
One of the most comprehensive informational resources on the plants and critters that call the Chesapeake home. Just click on a critter for details about the organism you're interested in.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia, Books and Publications
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
invasive species, oyster, blue crab, beaver, biodiversity, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, wildlife
Meal Deal Teachers Guide
In this interactive, students play a card game that simulates food chains that exist within the Chesapeake Bay ecosystems. In doing so, they learn about the interconnectedness of the various creatures living in the Bay. Finally, they extrapolate their knowledge to answer the questions: Are all creatures in the Bay equally important? What difference does it make if one organism disappears from the ecosystem? And what difference does it make if an invasive species enters the food chain?
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
oyster, blue crab, predator prey relationships, fish
Food Webs in the Bay
The goal of this activity is to acquaint students with a type of ecosystem, the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) of a bay, and how different organisms of that ecosystem compete with one another for resources. This lesson makes use of the Chesapeake Bay as an example, but could be adapted as necessary to make use of another bay area of interest. The lesson includes several components (research, oral reports, creation of a food web, and discussion), and will most likely take 3-4 class periods to complete.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Middle School
Keywords:
food web, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships
Chewin' in the Chesapeake: Food Webs & the Chesapeake Bay
This activity guides users in developing a project that can be used to educate themselves and others on the effects of technological change (human-caused stress) and development on the food webs in the Chesapeake Bay.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Multimedia
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Keywords:
food web, culture and watermen, predator prey relationships, renewable resource, fish
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
Sea Grasses: Predator Prey Interaction Activity
This activity will show students the role of seagrass in the protection of small fish.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
food web, aquatic grass SAV, predator prey relationships, fish
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
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
What Animals Need to Live Lesson
In this lesson you will discuss what animals need to survive. You will also learn the classification for animals according to what they eat.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
food web, habitat and niche, predator prey relationships, wildlife
Osprey Adventure Book
The heartwarming Osprey Adventure relays the way in which a boy and his biologist father save a large bird of prey from certain death. The tale is based on the work of real Bay hero, biologist Pete McGowan, who has studied these fish hawks for years and believes that most osprey nests unfortunately contain human trash that can be hazardous to the birds.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Books and Publications
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School
Keywords:
habitat and niche, litter, trash and recycling, predator prey relationships, restoration, wildlife
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
Interactive Food Web Website
This website contains an interactive food web that explores the interconnections of important species in the mid-Chesapeake Bay.
Subject(s):
Science
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
food web, predator prey relationships
