Hudson Canyon Cruise Lesson Plans
Below are descriptions of the lesson plans have been developed for students in Grades 5 – 12 and are specifically tied to the Hudson Canyon Cruise. The lesson plans are grouped into the following categories:
Grades 5-6
Grades 7-8
Grades 9-12 (chemical, biological, earth, and physical science).
All of the lesson plans are available in pdf format, and may be viewed and printed with the free Adobe Acrobat reader. To download a lesson plan, click on its title from the listing below.
Contact Paula Keener-Chavis, National Education Coordinator for the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration at paula.keener-chavis@noaa.gov if you have questions about the lesson plans or if you need additional information about their development.
Grades 5-6
Is There Sewage in my Sample? (8 pages, 177k)
Focus: Sediment sampling and ocean pollution
In this activity, students will learn about the proximity of the Hudson Shelf Valley and the Hudson Canyon to one of the Nation’s most populated areas; and will learn that from 1987 to 1992, two dumpsites in the Hudson Shelf Valley and Hudson Canyon, were used to dispose of sewage. Students will also learn how scientists collect and use core samples to study seafloor sediments and will learn about some of the impacts of dumping sewage in the ocean.
What’s Bright Red and Invisible? (6 pages, 73k)
Focus: The diversity and predominance of red deep sea organisms
In this activity, students will learn about sunlight penetration in the deep ocean, and that many different types of organisms have a red body color as an adaptation for survival in the deep sea.
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Grades 7-8
Fishy Deep-sea Designs! (10 pages, 109k)
Focus: Adaptations of fishes living in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of the deep ocean
In this activity, students will learn about the physical location of deep water habitats along the Hudson Shelf Valley and in Hudson Canyon; the basic characteristics of the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zone with regard to depth, temperature, pressure, light level and food availability; and how fishes living in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones have adapted to survive in each respective habitat. Students will also learn that many fishes are bioluminescent; why fishes bioluminescence; and will predict where scientists will find certain species of fish living along the Hudson Shelf Valley and in Hudson Canyon.
An Underwater Sediment Slide? (8 pages, 175k)
Focus: Sediment transport in an underwater canyon
In this activity, students will learn about the proximity of the Hudson Shelf Valley and the Hudson Canyon to one of the Nation’s most populated areas, will learn that from 1987 to 1992, two dumpsites in the Hudson Shelf Valley and Hudson Canyon were used to dispose of sewage, and will learn that canyons transport contaminants from nearshore areas to the deep sea.
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Grades 9-12
Mapping the Canyon (4 pages, 64k)
Focus: Hudson Canyon Bathymetry (Earth Science)
In this activity, students will be able to compare and contrast a topographic map to a bathymetric map; students will investigate the various ways in which bathymetric maps are made; students will learn how to interpret a bathymetric map.
Let’s Bet on Sediments (6 pages, 64k)
Focus: Hudson Canyon Sediments (Earth Science)
In this activity, students will investigate and analyze the patterns of sedimentation in the Hudson Canyon; students will observe how heavier particles sink faster than finer particles; students will learn that submarine landslides (trench slope failures) are sediment "avalanches" that occur in deep-ocean canyons; and students will infer that the passive side of a continental margin is not as geologically static as scientists previously believed.
It’s a Gas! (14 pages, 165k)
Focus: Gas Hydrates (Chemistry)
In this activity, students will discover the importance of carbon, where carbon is stored on Earth, and that the largest reservoir of carbon is gas hydrates; students will comprehend that Earth’s climate changes, and how the greenhouse effect works; students will learn about the potential of hydrates as a major new energy resource; students will understand the use of acoustics for mapping the sea floor and sub-sea floor; and students will explore the conditions under which hydrates form.
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