NOAA offers teachers new virtual estuaries science curriculum for middle
school students
May 30, 2012
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/images/101_nerrs_curriculum.jpg>
NOAA offers new estuaries 101 curriculum for middle school students.
Download here
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/images/101_nerrs_curriculum.jpg> .
(Credit: NOAA)
Estuaries 101 <http://estuaries.noaa.gov/Teachers/Home.aspx> , the newest
multi-media, online science curriculum for middle school students developed
for teachers by NOAA, offers students a virtual field trip to one of 28
estuaries around the country.
The Estuaries 101 curriculum, now available online
<http://estuaries.noaa.gov> , provides new interactive learning tools that
teach fundamental concepts in science and develop scientific thinking skills
while helping students discover and explore the nation's biologically rich
estuaries.
Available free online through NOAA <http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov> 's National
Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Estuary Education website
<http://estuaries.noaa.gov> , the curriculum offers videos, access to user
friendly real-time water quality and weather data, teacher activity
downloads, and interactive maps to help students better visualize the inner
workings of an estuary. The curriculum also meets National Science Education
Standards for grades 5-8 and can be readily aligned to meet all state
standards.
"What is special about this new curriculum is that it uses our nation's
estuaries as an interactive classroom. Students can explore and discover the
estuary while learning how to analyze data and apply this knowledge to their
lives," said Atziri Ibanez, the system's national education coordinator.
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/images/sunfish_smile.jpg> NOAA
offers new estuaries 101 curriculum for middle school students.
NOAA offers new estuaries 101 curriculum for middle school students.
Download here
<http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/images/sunfish_smile.jpg> .
(Credit: NOAA)
The curriculum is divided into six units based on six estuary literacy
principles - earth science, physical science, life science, the need for
research and monitoring, human interaction, and stewardship. Some of the
fifteen activities in the curriculum focus on topics such as sharks in the
estuary, oil spills, mangroves, and oysters. A number of activities also
help students understand how climate change is affecting estuaries.
NERRS is a network of 28 areas representing different biogeographic regions
of the United States that are protected for long-term research,
water-quality monitoring, education and coastal stewardship. Established by
the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the reserve system is a partnership
program between NOAA and the coastal states and is part of the NOAA Office
of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
<http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/> .
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