This lesson supports students to develop the ‘societal importance of science’ component of working scientifically for GCSE. It is based on current research being conducted by Exeter University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
Having made their discovery that microplastics affect zooplankton feeding and that this could have devastating environmental consequences, the question is, what changes do they want to see, and who should make them?
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 7 How can you make sure your discoveries have an impact?
Student Sheet 7a Reducing the impacts of microplastics
Student Sheet 7b Communication ideas
Student Sheet 7c Impact plan
Student Sheet 7d SMART targets
This is Lesson 7 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
This lesson supports students to develop the ‘writing scientific conclusions’ component of working scientifically for GCSE. It is based on current research being conducted by Exeter University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
In this lesson, students return to their experiments and observe the gut contents of the brine shrimp, applying model conclusions to what they can see.
Students develop their ability to write scientific conclusions using the secondary data from the research team. The lesson ends with students considering the implications of microplastics being consumed by zooplankton on a wide scale.
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 6 Do Zooplankton eat microplastics? (Conclusions)
Student Sheet 5a Do zooplankton eat microplastics? (Practical)
Student Sheet 6a Model conclusions
Student Sheet 6b Do zooplankton eat microplastics? (conclusions)
Activity Overview/Technician Notes 5 Do zooplankton eat microplastics
Answer Sheet for Student Sheet 6b
This is Lesson 6 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
This lesson supports students to develop the ‘data handling’ component of working scientifically for GCSE. It is based on current research being conducted by Exeter University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
This lesson develops students’ skills in data handling and presentation.
Having learnt about microplastics and zooplankton separately, the next two lessons sees students test the hypothesis that zooplankton eat microplastics.
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 5 Do zooplankton eat microplastics?
Student Sheet 5a Do zooplankton eat microplastics? (Practical)
Student Sheet 5b Do zooplankton eat microplastics? (Data analysis)
Activity Overview 5 Do zooplankton eat microplastics ?
Answer Sheet for Student Sheet 5b
This is Lesson 5 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
This Key Stage 4 (KS4) science lesson supports students to develop the ‘sampling techniques’ component of working scientifically for GCSE. It is based on current research being conducted by Exeter University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
Students work scientifically to discover if zooplankton and microplastic occur together.
In this lesson students learn how to apply sampling techniques, using real field data collected by Dr Lewis’ team. The context of this lesson is the voyage the team took to the Gulf of Maine to investigate if zooplankton and microplastics co-occur.
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 4 Do zooplankton and microplastics occur together?
Student Sheet 4a Do zooplankton and microplastics occur together?
Student Sheet 4b Do zooplankton and microplastics occur together? (higher)
Answer Sheet for Student Sheet 4a & 4b
This is Lesson 4 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
These Key Stage 4 (KS4) Science lessons allow students to investigate water pollution. Students work scientifically to explain what microplastics are and where they come from.
In this lesson, students develop their understanding of how human actions can have a negative impact on the marine environment. The context of this lesson is investigating the amount of microplastics that students use every day in personal hygiene products.
This full lesson includes:
Lesson overview and teacher guidance
Student Sheet 3a How much microplastic?
Student Sheet 3b Microplastics summary worksheet
Student Sheet 3c Hunting microplastic home learning
Slideshow 3 How much microplastic
Activity Overview How much microplastic?
Subject Update 4 Marine plastics
Subject Update 5 Marine plastics facts and figures
This is Lesson 3 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
In this Key Stage 4 (KS4) lesson, students work scientifically to explain how humans affect the marine environment.
The ocean is worth $49.7 trillion per year to the global economy and its beauty is priceless. People, every day, all over the world, use the ocean for a whole variety of purposes: but what impact does this human activity have on the ocean, the organisms that live there and on us?
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 2 Human impact on the marine environment
Student Sheet 2a Card sort for bioaccumulation
Student Sheet 2b Human impacts summary
Student Sheet 2c Human impacts summary (higher)
Subject Update The marine carbon cycle
Answer Sheet for Student Sheet 2b & 2c
Subject Update 3 Trophic cascades
This is Lesson 2 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
This lesson is part of the Key Stage 4 (KS4) science unit, Plastic, Plankton and Poo.
In this lesson students work scientifically to explain the importance of zooplankton in the marine carbon cycle. Students will learn the importance of zooplankton as primary consumers in the community and as part of the marine biological pump in the global carbon cycle.
This full lesson includes:
Lesson Overview & Teacher Guidance
Slideshow 1 Why should we care about zooplankton?
Student Sheet 1a The importance of zooplankton
Mark scheme for Student Sheet 1a
Subject Update Copepods
Subject Update The marine carbon cycle
This is Lesson 1 of 7 in the Plankton, Plastics and Poo unit of work, which is based on current research being conducted at the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. The unit consists of enquiry-based lessons which support students to work scientifically by simulating the researchers’ investigations, and encourages students to the use their findings to have a wider impact.
The resource uses innovative methods to bring cutting edge science to the classroom, including:
- Using real field and laboratory data.
- Practical investigations that replicate the work of the scientists.
- Using social media to connect with the scientists.
- The opportunity to connect with scientists through Skype in the classroom events.
Students work scientifically using models to explain the impacts of Arctic ice melting.
Polar explorer, Ann Daniels puts this lesson into context, sharing her experiences of supporting Arctic fieldwork.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 6 Can ice melting in the Arctic really cause sea level rise?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 6 Sea level rise
Student Sheet 6a Is all ice equal?
Student Sheet 6b Storyboard
Subject Update 4 A melting Arctic
Subject Update 5 All about ice
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Discovery Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
Students work scientifically by using analytical techniques in a systematic way to identify mixed up samples of ocean water.
The context of the lesson is a mix up in a lab which students have to use their skills to solve.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 5: Ocean detectives
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 5: Ocean detectives
Student Sheet 5a: Ocean detectives
Subject Update 2: Thermohaline circulation
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Media Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
Students work scientifically by assessing the risks of working in a lab and the more extreme environment of the Arctic.
The context of the lesson is Dr Victoria Hill’s work into how algal growth is affected by the changing photoperiod in the Arctic.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 4: How do we investigate photosynthesis in the Arctic safely?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 4: How do we investigate photosynthesis in the Arctic safely?
Student Sheet 4a: How do we investigate photosynthesis in the Arctic safely?
Student Sheet 4b: Hazards of working in the Arctic
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Media Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
Students work scientifically by developing and using a model (a food web) to formulate hypotheses.
The context of the lesson is Dr Ceri Lewis’ investigating how ocean acidification might affect the plankton at low trophic levels and the cascade effects at higher levels. The lesson builds on students’ prior knowledge of interdependence.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 3: How does ocean acidification affect communities?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Student Sheet 3a: Arctic food webs
Student Sheet 3b: Arctic organisms
Subject Update 1: Ocean acidification
Subject Update 3: Trophic cascades
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Discovery Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
Students work scientifically by writing a method to test a hypothesis and then practise this in an exam setting.
The context of the lesson is Dr Ceri Lewis’ work into the impact of ocean acidification on copepods; a type of zooplankton with calcium carbonate shells.
The lesson builds on students’ prior knowledge of the environmental impact of anthropogenic CO2 production.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 2 How does ocean acidification affect organisms?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 2 Investigating how ocean acidification affects organisms with shells
Student Sheet 2a Investigating how ocean acidification affects organisms with shells
Subject Update 1 Ocean acidification
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Discovery Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
A practical lesson where students work scientifically and develop their literacy skills by writing a conclusion using the ‘Point Evidence Explain’ technique from English.
The context of the lesson is the work of Dr Helen Findlay who is investigating ocean acidification: ‘the other carbon problem’.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 1: Are humans causing ocean acidification?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 1: Are humans causing ocean acidification?
Student Sheet 1a: Are humans causing ocean acidification?
Student Sheet 1b: Practical instructions
Subject Update 1: Ocean acidification
Six enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Digital Explorer Media Zone. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
In this lesson students learn about the impacts of ice in the Arctic melting by watching a series of demonstrations.
The context of the lesson is the work of Dr Helen Findlay who was investigating the effect of environmental change on the Arctic ecosystem.
This full lesson contains:
Slideshow 5: How is the Arctic changing?
Lesson Overview and Teacher Guidance
Activity Overview 5a: The albedo effect
Activity Overview 5b: Sea level rise
Activity Overview 5c: Ocean circulation demonstration
Student Sheet 5a: Sentences card sort
Student Sheet 5b: Arctic issues storyboard
It forms Lesson 5 of 5 from the Frozen Oceans 7-11 unit of work. Take your class to the North Pole with this cross-curricular investigation of the Arctic Ocean. The lessons progress to cover varied topics and skills needed for a science research expedition in the polar regions. Themes include Arctic food webs, training like an explorer, expedition food, insulation and clothing, the impacts of melting ice and conducting a press conference. The lessons can also be combined into a Polar Challenge Day. All lessons and resources are available from Encounter Edu’s TES profile.
Five enquiry-based lessons introducing ocean science concepts for ages 11-14.
These lessons and activities are full of practical ideas to bring carbonate chemistry and marine biology to the science classroom. All lessons demonstrate science at work and are based on recent research conducted in the Arctic. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Discovery Zone.
The enquiry-based resources incorporate the scientists’ experiences and research, and include booklets with structured lesson plans, activity and experiment sheets, an interactive Media Player with videos and images from the expeditions, along with posters and other related resources.
An in-depth introduction to the themes of extreme environments and how science is conducted in remote regions, for schools internationally.
The booklet includes lesson plans and activities about current research on snow and ice extent, ocean currents, ocean acidification and marine biology. Designed to be used in conjunction with the Encounter Edu Discovery Zone.
The enquiry-based resources incorporate the scientists’ experiences and research, and include booklets with structured lesson plans, activity and experiment sheets, an interactive Media Player with videos and images from the expeditions, along with posters and other related resources.
These resources for ages 7-11 are based on the journeys undertaken by science teams taking part in the Catlin Seaview Survey expeditions. These resources present a complete scheme of work for the science classroom, covering core science and sustainability curriculum areas as well as enhancing students’ creative and communications skills.
Science curriculum topics include:
- habitats and how they provide the basic needs of plants and animals
- identification, classification and the use of keys
- life cycles, anatomy and sexual reproduction
- how animals obtain their food using the idea of food chains
- how animals and plants are adapted to their environment
- human impact on the environment
This project-based learning resource incorporates stunning multimedia resources and is based on recent expeditions to enable students to explore marine life on the reef and the threats facing it.
These resources for ages 11-14 are based on the journeys undertaken by science teams taking part in the Catlin Seaview Survey expeditions. Starting with the Great Barrier Reef, these expeditions seek to create a baseline survey of the world’s reefs as well as more in-depth research on the deep reef lying between 30m and 100m.
The lesson plans and accompanying activities are designed to introduce classes to what it is like to be an ocean explorer. Each lesson is designed around a ‘dive’ to investigate a particular science topic. These include identification, classification, food webs and symbiosis, adaptation and human impacts on the environment.
The enquiry-based resources incorporate the scientists’ experiences and research, and enable students to explore marine life on the reef and the threats facing it.
This Frozen Oceans booklet outlines the research carried out by the Catlin Arctic Surveys between 2009 and 2011 and can be used in teaching the carbon cycle, ocean acidification and its impact on the Arctic ecosystem for Science GCSE.
Two data activities have been prepared. The first uses a widely referenced longitudinal study on the relation between dissolved carbon dioxide in the ocean and ocean pH. The second uses data collected in the Arctic that looks at the potential impact of ocean acidification on the Arctic ecosystem.
This resource also focuses on the work of real scientists, addressing much of the How Science Works content in GCSE Science specifications including learning from a field research programme, the use of data, the peer review process and how science and society are linked.
Encounter Edu links curriculum aligned education with global burning issues to inspire STEM careers and encourage environmental stewardship. Learn more about what we do at www.encounteredu.com or by visiting our TES Shop, filled with quality, free of charge resources.
The Frozen Oceans education programme is based on the research expeditions of the Catlin Arctic Survey 2009-11. Braving temperatures of -40°C, marine biologists, oceanographers and explorers camped on the frozen sea ice and undertook transect surveys to collect data on the changes occurring in the region.
Have your class become ocean detectives with these experiments suitable for ages 11-14 and 14-16 (KS3/4).