Lesson Plans
Educators and scientists working with NOAA developed a series of lessons for students in Grades 5 - 12 that are specifically tied to the science behind the PHAEDRA 2006 Expedition. These lessons focus on cutting-edge ocean exploration and research using state-of-the-art technologies.
The lessons are grouped into the following categories:
Grades 5-6
Grades 7-8
Grades 9-12 (Chemical, Biological, Earth, and Physical Science)
In addition to being tied to the National Science Education Standards and the Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts, the hands-on, inquiry-based activities include focus questions, background information for teachers, links to interesting Internet sites, and extensions. Web logs that document the latest discoveries and complement the lessons, complete with compelling images and video, will be sent back each day from sea. Teachers are encouraged to use the daily logs from the PHAEDRA 2006 Expedition, which are posted on this site, to supplement the lessons.
Read a description of each lesson and/or download them to your computer. All of the lessons are available in a PDF format, and may be viewed and printed with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download a lesson, click on its title from the listing below. (Note: if you have problems downloading one of these lessons, right-click on the link and save the lesson to your desktop.)
Looking for Clues (10 pages, 292 kb)
(adapted from the Titanic 2004 Expedition)
Focus: Marine archaeology
In this activity, students will be able to draw inferences about a shipwreck given information on the location and characteristics of artifacts from the wreck, and will be able to explain at least three types of evidence that could support inferences about the use of maritime technology in ancient cultures.
This Old Ship (9 pages, 272 kb)
Focus: Ancient and Prehistoric Shipwrecks
In this activity, students will be able to describe at least three types of artifacts that are typically recovered from ancient shipwrecks, explain the types of information that may be obtained from at least three types of artifacts that are typically recovered from ancient shipwrecks, and compare and contrast, in general terms, technological features of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and Byzantine period ships.
Mapping the Aegean Seafloor
(8 pages, 288 kb)
(adapted from the 2002 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Expedition)
Focus: Bathymetric mapping of deep-sea habitats
In this activity, students will be able to create a two-dimensional topographic map given bathymetric survey data, create a three-dimensional model of landforms from a two-dimensional topographic map, and interpret two- and three-dimensional topographic data.
My Wet Robot (7 pages, 260 kb)
Focus: Underwater Robotic Vehicles
In this activity, students will be able to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using underwater robots in scientific explorations, identify key design requirements for a robotic vehicle that is capable of carrying out specific exploration tasks, describe practical approaches to meet identified design requirements, and (optionally) construct a robotic vehicle capable of carrying out an assigned task.
The Roving Robotic Chemist (14 pages, 440 kb)
Focus: Mass Spectrometry
In this lesson, students will be able to explain the basic principles underlying mass spectrometry, discuss the advantages of in-situ mass spectrometry, explain the concept of dynamic re-tasking as it applies to an autonomous underwater vehicle, and develop and justify a sampling strategy that could be incorporated into a program to guide an AUV searching for chemical clues to specific geologic features.
Where Am I?
(7 pages, 264 kb)
(adapted from the 2003 Steamship Portland Expedition)
Focus: Marine navigation and position-finding
In this activity students will be able to identify and explain at least seven different techniques that have been used for marine navigation and position finding, explain the purpose of a marine sextant, and use an astrolabe to solve practical trigonometric problems.
Other Relevant Lessons from NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Program
Grades 5-6
The Volcano Factory
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Volcanism at tectonic plate boundaries (Earth Science)
Students will be able to explain the processes that result in the formation of volcanoes at tectonic plate boundaries.
Wreck Detectives
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Marine archaeology (Physical Science)
In this activity, students create a model of a Bronze Age shipwreck site, use a grid system to document the location of artifacts recovered from a model shipwreck site, use data about the location and types of artifacts recovered from a model shipwreck site to draw inferences about the sunken ship and the people who were aboard, and identify and explain types of evidence and expertise that can help verify the nature and historical context of artifacts recovered from shipwrecks.
Entering the Twilight Zone (6 pages, 468k)
(from the Gulf of Mexico 2002 Expedition)
Focus: Deep-sea habitats (Life Science)
In this activity, students will be able to describe major features of cold seep communities, and list at least five organisms typical of these communities and will infer probable trophic relationships within and between major deep-sea habitats. Students will also be able to describe the process of chemosynthesis in general terms, contrast chemosynthesis and photosynthesis, and describe major deep-sea habitats and list at least three organisms typical of each habitat.
Grades 7-8
Ping!
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Sidescan sonar (Earth Science/Physical Science)
In this activity, students will describe sidescan sonar, compare and contrast sidescan sonar with other methods used to search for underwater objects, and make inferences about the topography of an unknown and invisible landscape based on systematic discontinuous measurements of surface relief.
My Friend, The Volcano
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Ecological impacts of volcanism (Life Science/Earth Science)
In this lesson, students will be able to describe at least three beneficial impacts of volcanic activity on marine ecosystems, and explain the overall tectonic processes that cause volcanic activity.
Come on Down! (6 pages, 464k)
(from the 2002 Galapagos Rift Expedition)
Focus: Ocean Exploration In this activity, students will research the development and use of research vessels/vehicles used for deep ocean exploration; calculate the density of objects by determining the mass and volume; and construct a device that exhibits neutral buoyancy.
It's Going to Blow Up! (10 pages, 1.6Mb)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 Expedition)
Focus: Volcanism on the Pacific Ring of Fire (Earth Science)
In this lesson, students will be able to describe the processes that produce the Submarine Ring of Fire, explain the factors that contribute to explosive volcanic eruptions, identify at least three benefits that humans derive from volcanism, describe the primary risks posed by volcanic activity in the United States, and identify the volcano within the continental U.S. that is considered most dangerous.
How Does Your Magma Grow? (6 pages, 224k)
(from the 2005 Galapagos: Where Ridge Meets Hotspot Expedition)
Focus: Hot spots and midocean ridges (Physical Science) In this activity, students will identify types of plate boundaries associated with movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates, compare and contrast volcanic activity associated with spreading centers and hot spots, describe processes which resulted in the formation of the Galapagos Islands, and describe processes that produce hydrothermal vents.
Grades 9-12
Lost City Chemistry Detectives (6 pages, 411k)
(from the Lost City 2005 Expedition)
Focus (Chemistry/Earth Science) - Chemistry of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field
In this activity, students will be able to compare and contrast the formation processes that produce black smokers and the Lost City hydrothermal field, describe the process of serpentinization and how this process contributes to formation of chimneys at the Lost City hydrothermal field, and describe and explain the chemical reactions that produce hydrogen and methane in Lost City hydrothermal vent fluids.
The Big Balancing Act (9 pages, 1.3Mb)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 Expedition)
Focus: Hydrothermal vent chemistry at subduction volcanoes (Chemistry/Earth Science)
In this lesson, students will be able to define and describe hydrothermal circulation systems, explain the overall sequence of chemical reactions that occur in hydrothermal circulation systems, compare and contrast black smokers and white smokers, and use data on chemical enrichment in hydrothermal circulation systems to make inferences about the relative significance of these systems to ocean chemical balance compared to terrestrial runoff.
Where There's Smoke, There's ...(6 pages, 680k)
(from the New Zealand American Submarine Ring of Fire 2005 Expedition)
Focus: Hydrothermal vent chemistry at subduction volcanoes (Chemistry)
In this lesson, students will be able to use fundamental relationships between melting points, boiling points, solubility, temperature, and pressure to develop plausible explanations for observed chemical phenomena in the vicinity of subduction volcanoes.
Do You Have a Sinking Feeling?
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Marine archaeology (Earth Science/Mathematics)
In this activity, students plot the position of a vessel given two bearings on appropriate landmarks, draw inferences about a shipwreck given information on the location and characteristics of artifacts from the wreck, and explain how the debris field associated with a shipwreck gives clues about the circumstances of the sinking ship.
What’s the Difference?
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Volcanic processes at convergent and divergent tectonic plate boundaries (Earth Science)
Students will be able to compare and contrast volcanoes at convergent and divergent plate boundaries; identify three geological features that are associated with most volcanoes on Earth; and explain why some volcanoes erupt explosively while others do not.
I, Robot, Can Do That!
(from the Aegean and Black Sea 2006 Expedition)
Focus: Underwater Robotic Vehicles for Scientific Exploration (Physical Science/Life Science)
In this activity, students will be able to describe and contrast at least three types of underwater robots used for scientific explorations, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using underwater robots in scientific explorations, and identify robotic vehicles best suited to carry out certain tasks.
Designing Tools for Ocean Exploration(13 pages, 496k)
(from the 2002 Galapagos Rift Expedition)
Focus: Ocean Exploration
In this activity, students will understand the complexity of ocean exploration, learn about the technological applications and capabilities required for ocean exploration; discover the importance of teamwork in scientific research projects; and develop the abilities necessary for scientific inquiry.
The Puzzle of the Ice Age Americans (8 pages, 100k)
(from the 2002 Submarine Ring of Fire Expedition)
Focus: Anthropology, Earth Science - Origin of the first humans in the America
In this activity, students will be able to describe alternative theories for how the first humans came to the Americas and explain the evidence that supports or contradicts these theories, explain how exploration of a submerged portion of the North American west coast may provide additional insights about the origin of the first Americans, and describe the role of skepticism in scientific inquiry.
