Reading and video on deep ocean exploration. The students then write a summary according to the directions.

These are the guided notes that follow along with the Oceans slideshow for 8th grade science.

This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 8th grade Science content.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 8th Grade Science course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

Students investigate conditions in the deepest parts of the ocean, make inferences about ocean creatures based on their physical characteristics, and design creatures that could survive in the Mariana Trench.

Students review what animal adaptations are, identify marine animal adaptations in a photo gallery, and predict how types of adaptations vary with ocean habitats.

Students learn about methane hydrate ice worms and hydrate shrimp, including how they obtain their food and interact with other species in deep sea ecosystems. Students will work in collaborative groups to research these organisms to develop hypotheses about the relationship between methane hydrates, ice worms, and hydrate shrimp and present their hypotheses to the class. In an extension activity, students will construct models of methane hydrate molecules.

This webpage defines an estuary and provides information about why they are important and how they are being threatened.

Students conduct research about how studying ocean currents is helpful to people in specific jobs or professions. Then they present their findings to the class.

Students take on the role of migrating birds. By participating in a physically active simulation, they experience the journey from summer breeding grounds to winter feeding grounds. As the activity progresses different scenarios affect these areas and the ability to successfully migrate.

Students work collaboratively to design a plan or device to clean up the oceans. Students will individually write 2 short essays on topics of their choice while making a mock schedule to implement their plan/device. They will research a government official to explain their plan/device. Finally, they will create a video to explain the cause, solution, and how the process will be carried out.

Students will create a model aquatic ecosystem and make regular observations over a period of time. They will also work collaboratively to conduct research on common ocean health issues and summarize their findings in a written report.

Students build their own food web using images of organisms from the marine ecosystem. This activity can be done indoors on paper or outdoors on a tarmac surface using chalk.

Students will conduct research via a webquest and then write about what it means to be an ocean explorer, both modern and historic.

This video provides information about the causes and effects of Earth's changing climate, specifically focusing on wildlife populations and the impact global warming has on habitats.

One of Earth's vital signs, the extent of sea ice cover in the Arctic, is examined. An image and accompanying text describe the extent and consequences of the reduction in that sea ice. This article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This article examines the ocean's role in heat absorption and carbon dioxide absorption. The consequences of changes in those, as well as in ocean water salinity, are discussed. The article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

This series of lessons focuses on two biological ocean communities - hydrothermal vents and seamounts. Students will learn about the organisms within these communities, the ecological relationships among them, and the impact of physical factors on distribution and abundance. In Lesson Plan 22, "Who Promised You a Rose Garden," students will conduct research to discover what types of organisms live near hydrothermal vents. In Lesson Plan 23, "Biological Communities of Alaska Seamounts," students will infer why biological communities on seamounts are likely to contain unique or endemic species and will use species occurrence data to calculate and index of similarity between two biological seamount communities. In Lesson Plan 24, "Would You Like a Sample?" students will test the advantages and limitations of several sampling techniques to study biological communities.

In this simulation activity, students take virtual coral samples and use radiometirc dating techniques to calculate the age of the living and dead corals in the sample area. They will then use this information to determine the environmental conditions on the seamount.