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Curriculum
Our inquiry-based curriculum is designed to motivate and engage your students and support the California and National teaching standards through classroom or field experiences.
Select curriculum by grade level or by activity name.
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Grade Level
or
Activity Name
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
Students use salad tongs, tweezers and other tools to discover the relationship between the shape of a bird's beak, its habitat and diet.
- Grade K: 2a, c; 4a, b, e
- Grade 1: 2a, b, c, d; 4a, b
- Grade 2: 2c; 4a
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
What makes sea otters and seals unique marine mammals? Students play a game with information cards to compare and review the characteristics of seals and otters.
- Grade K: 1a; 2a, b, c; 4a, b, d, e
- Grade 1: 2a, c; 4b, e
- Grade 2: 2a; 4c, d, g
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
How do fish protect themselves in the ocean? One adaptation is camouflage. Students make a paper fish and "camouflage"
it into a magazine photo habitat.
- Grade K: 2a, c; 4a, b, e
- Grade 1: 2a, c; 4a, b, e
- Grade 2: 2c, d; 4a, d, f, g
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Physical Science
What are the differences between tides and waves? Students find out by creating a model tide pool in a plastic dishpan. They then construct clay animals and experiment with water levels and waves.
- Grade K: 1a; 3a; 4a, b, c, d, e
- Grade 1: 1a; 2a; 4a, b, c, d
- Grade 2: 1a, b; 3a; 4a, b, d, e, f, g
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Physical Science
How does the size of your hand compare to the size of a book or desk? Students estimate the size of various
objects using non-standard measurement, such as a paper “hand” or piece of yarn.
- Grade K: 1a, 4a, 4d
- Grade 2: 4a, 4b, 4c, 4g
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Science as Inquiry
How do birds stay warm? By experimenting with ice and baggies of feathers, students discover feathers are
an important adaptation for birds.
- Grade K: 1a; 2a, c; 4a, e
- Grade 1: 2a; 4b, c
- Grade 2: 2c; 4a, d, e, g
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science
What is hidden in the sand? Students uncover paper animals buried in a sand box and use them in a series of language art challenges.
- Grade K: 1a; 2a
- Grade 1: 2a
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Life Science
What do sea otters do all day? Students find out by reading about sea otters then creating a paper bag puppet to learn about sea otter behavior and body parts.
- Grade K: 1a; 2a, c; 4b,
c, e
- Grade 1: 2a, b, c; 4a, d
- Grade 2: 4d
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Life Science, Science as Inquiry
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
What rhymes with sea star? Students make observations of ocean animals and habitats in Aquarium exhibits, on web
cams or in other nonfiction resources. The students then use their findings to write and illustrate poems.
- Grade K: 2a, b, c; 4a, b, e
- Grade 1: 2a, b, c, d; 4a, b
- Grade 2: 2a, b, c, d; 4d
- Grade 3: 3a, b, c, d; 5b
- Grade 4: 2b; 3a, b; 6a
- Grade 5: 2a, b, c, d; 6a
- PreK: Head Start Framework
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
What is a seahorse? Where does it live? Students learn about seahorse adaptations then match photos of seahorses to their correct habitats.
- Grade K: 2a, c; 3a; 4a, d
- Grade 1: 2a, b, c; 4b
- Grade 2: 4a, c, d
- Grade 3: 3a, b, c, d; 5b, e
- Grade 4: 3a, b, c; 6a
- Grade 5: 6a, h
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
What do you call a baby seahorse? Students listen to a rhyme and sequence cards depicting the stages of a seahorse life cycle.
- Grade K: 2a, b; 4e
- Grade 1: 2a, b, c, d; 4a
- Grade 2: 2a, c; 4d
- Grade 3: 3a, b, d
- Grade 4: 2b; 3b
- Grade 5: 2a
- K-4: Life Science
- 5-8: Life Science
What does a seahorse have in common with a kangaroo? Student pairs use simile cards to discover seahorse adaptations and characteristics.
- Grade K: 1a; 2a, c; 4b
- Grade 1: 2a; 4b
- Grade 2: 2c; 4c
- Grade 3: 3a
- Grade 4: 3b; 6a
- Grade 5: 6g
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
How do different fish survive in their habitats? Students use a fish body part key to "decode" a fish and infer behavior and habitat.
- Grade 3: 3a, b, c, d; 5b, e
- Grade 4: 2b; 3a, b; 6a, f
- Grade 5: 2a, b; 6a, g, h
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
- 5-8: Life Science
What is seaweed? Why is it in ice cream? Students find out by exploring the characteristics of seaweed. They then make seaweed extract and use it to create ice cream.
- Grade 3: 1e, f, g; 3a; 5a, c, e, f
- Grade 4: 2a; 3a; 6b, f
- Grade 5: 1g; 2f; 6a, d, f, g, i
- K-4: Physical Science
- 5-8: Physical Science
What makes a shark a shark? What adaptations help them survive in their habitats? Students explore shark
anatomy by taking part in a debate justifying the importance of specific shark adaptations and physical
characteristics.
- Grade 3: 3a, b, c, d; 5a, b
- Grade 4: 3b, 4b, 6a
- Grade 5: 2b, c, d; 6a
- K-4: Life Science
- 5-8: Life Science
What affects the health of a watershed? By constructing a shower curtain model, students explore how human actions influence a watershed.
- Grade 3: 3b, c; 5a, d
- Grade 4: 3a; 5a, c; 6a,
c, d
- Grade 5: 3c, d, e; 6a, h
- K-4: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Earth and Space Science
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
Using a prefix and suffix chart, students "translate" a shark's scientific name to discover its meaning and create drawings based on their findings
- Grade 3: 3a, b; 5e
- Grade 4: 3a, b; 6a
- Grade 5: 6a
- Grade 6: 5d
- Grade 7: 3a, d, e; 5a; 7d
- K-4: Life Science, History and Nature of Science
- 5-8: Life Science, History and Nature of Science
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
What are the components of an ecosystem? Students assume the roles of different scientists while collecting data at an outdoor field site or aquarium.
- Grade 6: 1e, f; 2a, d; 4a; 5a, b, d; 7b, g, h
- Grade 7: 4a, c, f; 5a; 7a, c, d
- Grade 8: 2b; 8c, d
- Grades 9-12: Chemistry 2a, 4d, 5a, 5d; 7d, Biology 6b, 6d, Earth Sciences 5d, 5g, 6b, 8b, 9a, 9c, Investigation and Experimentation 1a-n
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Physical Science, History and Nature of Science
- 9-12: Science as Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science
Students use blue film glasses to observe camouflage strategies of deep sea organisms and explore the properties of light in water.
- Grade 6: 3a; 4b; 5e, 7e
- Grade 7: 5a; 6a, b, e; 7c
- Grade 9-12: Physics 4a, c, e, Biology/Life Sciences 6a, Investigation and Experimentation 1d, g
- 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science
- 9-12: Science as Inquiry, Physical Science
Activity
California Standards
National Standards
Students order seafood from a mock menu and use a scoresheet based on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program to gauge the sustainability of their selection.
- Grades 9-12: Biology/Life Sciences 6a, b, c, d; 8b; Earth Sciences 5d; Investigation & Experimentation 1c, d, g,
l, m
- 9-12: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Science and Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives, History and Nature of Science
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