Ocean links, lessons, and resources

National Oceans Week

By Alan Haskvitz, Reader’ Digest Hero in Education

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Haskvitz

With all the television programming on the importance of oceans it is a great theme to use when creating some new lessons in science, math, English, and social studies. Students are easily motivated by the speed and size of ocean dwellers as well as the impact the seas have on our environment. Here are some quality sites and lessons:

Oceanography

http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/environment/oceanography.html

Marine organizations

http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/environment/marine.html

Zoology links

http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/zoology/zoology2.html

Simple lesson plans

Not much research necessary, but a variety of interesting slants on the ocean theme.

http://atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Ocean/

http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/science/environment/oceans/

Superior variety of lesson plans by grade level.

Spend a while here. Plenty of learning levels and ideas.

http://www.vims.edu/bridge/lesson.html

Integrated primary level plan

http://homepage.mac.com/gaylejb/Ocean/Ocean_Lesson_Plans.html

http://www.kinderplans.com/content.cfm?pageid=140

Integrated lesson plans for upper elementary

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson060.shtml

Web quests, lesson, and even lessons about lobsters

http://www.proteacher.com/110054.shtml

NOAA Lessons

From the government for grades 5 to 12 with search engine

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/lessonplans/lessonplans.html

From the Smithsonian

Search results for ocean including squid lessons,

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/db/search/detail.aspx?museumid=-1&supplierid=-1&pamphletcategoryid=-1&statusid=-1&mediaid=-1&KEYWORD=ocean+&gradeid=-1&categoryid=-1

Ocean Careers

http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/educators/oceancareers/

Thematic units on the ocean

An excellent selection that includes a reading list.

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/ocean.htm

Oceans for Life

Videos and lessons for older students

http://www.oceanslive.org/portal/

Read, Write, Think lesson on eels

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=832

Health and nutrition in schools for students

Building Healthy Kids:
Lessons, Links, and Resources

By Alan Haskvitz, national motivational speaker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Haskvitz

How to Build Healthy Kids
http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/food_choice.html

Food related links for building integrated lessons
http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/veggies.html

Food safety
http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/agriculture/safety.html

Agriculture and food
http://www.eeweek.org/

Agriculture lessons and free resources
http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/agriculture/index.html

Conservation links
http://www.reacheverychild.com/science/agriculture/conservation.html

California Women in Agriculture
http://www.cawomen4ag.com/

Food and Nutrition Information Center, National Agriculture Library, USDA
www.nalusda.gov/fnic

The following organizations are agriculture related.
Financial assistance for garden projects

Gardens for Growing People
http://www.svn.net/growpepl/

Nutrition Fact Game
www.freshstarts.com

USDA for Kids
http://www.usda.gov/news/usdakids/index.html

California Women in AgricultureMy Farm Book is interesting.
Write for additionalsources.
http://www.cawomen4ag.com/

CyberFarm GardenEverything you need for your garden.
http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~farm/garden.html

Agriculture Heritage from colonial days
http://www.campsilos.org/

Cream of the CropNewsletter plus a resource guide toeducational materials about agriculture. Just aboutthe best resource for all grade levels. GreatMaterials.
http://www.cfaitc.org

Food and Nutrition Information Center, NationalAgriculture Library, USDA
www.nalusda.gov/fnic

Organization listNot all are linked, but using name provided and searchengine can be quite rewarding for student samples andlesson ideas.
http://www.farmworld.com/assn/index.html

AgNIC is a guide to quality agricultural informationon the Internet as selected by the NationalAgricultural Library, Land-Grant Universities, andother institutions.
http://www.agnic.org/

Just for kids recopies
http://www.justkidsrecipes.com/index.shtml

Home Economics lessons
http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexHomeEc.html

You are What You EatHave them take the Healthy Fridge test and others andthan decide what to do.
http://www.healthyfridge.org/

Food safety
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/agentinfo/

Nutrition
http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/nutrition/nutritn.htm

Food and Nutrition Information Center, NationalAgriculture Library, USDA
http://www.nalusda.gov/fnic

American Horticultural Society
http://www.ahs.org/youth_gardening/index.htm

List of master gardeners
http://www.mastergardeners.org/

United States Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov

California Strawberry Commission
http://www.calstrawberry.com/

The ALACA Company They have a kit about cotton that may be of value.
http://www.cottonsjourney.com/

National Cotton Council of America
http://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/resources.cfm

Grains Nutrition Information Center
www.wheatfoods.org/

An excellent bibliography of gardening books and recipes and a seed catalog.
www.cooksgarden.com

International Fertilizer Association
www.fertilizer.org

Botany Links
www.lerc.nasa.gov/Other_Groups/K-12/John/botany.htm

Botanical Gardens
www.bbg.org

Earth Garden Sources
www.bonus.com/bonus/list/Spring_99.html?referrer=90331A

4-H Youth
Department of Agriculture
http://www.4-h.org/resources/

United States Department of Agriculture.
www.usda.gov

National Corn Growers
www.ncga.com

Peanut Butter Lovers
http://www.peanutbutterlovers.com/

Peanut Butter Recipes
http://www.brownielocks.com/peanutbutter.html

How does a Peanut Grow?
http://www.chinapeanutseller.com/faq_1.htm

History of Peanut
http://www.texomapeanut.com/inn/peanut%20history.htm

American Peanut Council
http://www.aboutpeanuts.com/educ.html

Peanut Butter Institute
Education materials mainly about diet
http://www.peanut-institute.org/EducationalMaterials.html

Peanut Butter and Jelly Archeology
An interesting lesson on layering.
http://www.nps.gov/hocu/html/peanut_butter.htm

National Peanut Board
http://www.nationalpeanutboard.com/document_325.asp

For more free educational materials go to
http://www.reachverychild.com/

Titanic Lessons and Links and Resources for May 31 Anniversary
By Alan Haskvitz

National Curriculum Expert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Haskvitz

Fun resources including a mock trial, first hand accounts, technical questions, books, and lessons for most grade levels are posted here

http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/titanic.html
There is also a worksheet, an artifact activity, and economics lessons.

End of the school year activities for teachers

End of Year Classroom Activities
By National Hall of Fame Teacher Alan Haskvitz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Haskvitz

Keep ‘em learning with end-of-the-year activities go to http://www.reacheverychild
and use the search engine for those areas you need more ideas.

Veteran teachers know well the difficulties of school’s final weeks. Students’ minds are on vacation, grades have been earned and recorded, the summer heat distracts, books must be collected, and supplies ordered. Adding to those problems is the fact many schools want you packed and ready to vacate your room for cleaning or moving. Plus, attending retirement parties and looking for summer employment create a high level of stress.

To ease this, Alan Haskvitz recommends the sites below for end-of-the- year activities. In addition, visit his selected employment sites for job opportunities oversees or around the United States.

Remembering closure is a learning experience, so consider having students organize their notes and review what they’ve learned in the form of a play or scrapbook. In addition, have them predict their future and place their prediction in a self-addressed envelope. Mail it to them a few years later. Some students may have moved, but many find the letters a great way to rekindle memories and motivate themselves.

Although some of the following ideas may be young for high school, they can be modified by adjusting the materials. For example, a high school English student could write a poem about their future in the style of an individual studied. A history student could write a fictional account of a future leader based on character traits of those studied. Even physical education classes could find the students developing futuristic dances for a planet with limited gravity. In other words, if students are motivated, the end of the year can be a large, organized and relaxed time.

Other ideas include:
Create a summer safety poster.
Make autograph books.
Write an ode to the classroom.
Write a letter to next year’s class.
Make a memory or scrapbook to use next year.
Create a words-of-wisdom poster for next year’s students.
Write a letter to next year’s teacher.
Have students use a large sheet of butcher paper or bulletin board paper to create a timeline listing what they learned this year.
Create a play that tells the story of the year.
Finally, make sure you use all that student energy to help you clean and prepare the classroom for next year.

Activities to keep students interested

End-of-year resources

Information for teachers