Oceans - Teacher Resources
Teach your students about ocean life with our most popular oceans printables for kindergarten through 12th grade. Students will enjoy learning about oceanography with fun, hands-on science activities. You'll find handouts on ocean tides, hurricanes, marine biologists, and much more! There are plenty of resources appropriate for elementary, intermediate, and secondary school students.
Whiteboard Compatible Mini-Lessons
Enhance your teaching strategies and students' knowledge with these mini-lessons and slideshows on the oceans. Use for introductory lessons or to extend current learning.
Printables
Teach your students about the oceans with these printables. Choose from our list to help your students understand how hurricanes form or how the moon influences the tides, and identifying ocean floor landforms.
- Hurricanes
- Life in the Sea
- Ocean Food Chain Reading Warm-Up
- What's Wrong with This Picture?
- Animal Habitat Crossword Puzzle
- The Ocean Floor
- Earth's Oceans
- Explanation of the Tides
- Under the Sea Theme
- What Are Ocean Currents?
Lesson Plans
Our Lesson Plans will help students understand the oceans with activities such as creating wave bottles, predicting and measuring, sand art, and much more.
- How Big Is a Blue Whale?
- Wave Bottle
- Camouflage
- The Density of Saltwater
- Making Sand Art
- Sea Horses: Father Knows Best
References
Refer to our resources on the oceans to enhance your lessons and add to student learning. Some activities included in the reference information.
- Oceans and Seas
- Ten Largest Oil Spills in the U.S.
- The Effects of Global Warming on Sea Level
- Length of the U.S. Coastline by State
- Hurricane Resource: Storm Surge
- Oil Spills & Disasters
- Hurricane Resource: High Winds
- Hurricane History
Digital Books
Expand your lessons with these Digital Books about the oceans and increase your students' knowledge. Add your own activities for the ocean to extend the learning.
- Eyewitness: Ocean
- Eyewitness: Water
- Eyewitness: Submarine
- Gallery of DK Digital Books for Earth Science
Oceans & Art Connected
Incorporate art activities into your oceans lesson by creating sand art, practicing math skills with color by number, helping students develop science processing skills, and more.
- Making Sand Art
- Ralph Masiello's Ocean Drawing Book Coloring Page
- The Fin Art of Science
- Science and Technology: Seeing What the Seal Sees
- Sailboat Fun Color by Number
Earth Day Activities
Add to your Earth Day Activities and lessons with our resources and help your students connect Earth Day to helping the oceans. Activities include estimation, problem solving, measuring, and calculating.
Oceans Activities for History Class
Keep students engaged with your lessons on the oceans by using our resources. Includes using underwater technology to find artifacts at the bottom of the sea, and a research project with writing prompts.
Social Studies & Oceans Connected
Students will enjoy your lessons on oceans when you interconnect them with social studies printables about the oceans or the Bermuda Triangle, as well as, a printable exam on plate tectonics.
- Earth's Oceans
- An Ocean Adventure Sub Kit (Grades 3-4)
- Plate Tectonics Test
- The Oceans of the World
- The Mysterious Bermuda Triangle
- Science and Social Studies: Jacques Cousteau
- First Swimmer to Cross the English Channel
Oceans Resources for Reading & Language Arts
Increase students' reading and writing skills as they learn about the oceans. Includes printables with vocabulary used in student-created sentences, STEM activities practicing writing and creativity skills, and more.
- Ocean Zones Word Power
- Exploring the Oceans: Vocabulary
- STEM Activities for Stink and the Shark Sleepover
- Poke & Look Learning Books
- Exploring the Oceans: Family Activity
- Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up: Squid
- Kingfisher Young Knowledge: Oceans and Seas Teacher's Guide
Science Activities on Oceans
Choose from these science activities to enhance your lessons on the oceans. Includes internet research and learning vocabulary, creating models for rain drops or currents and waves, along with creating a classroom museum.
- Wave Bottle
- The Density of Saltwater
- Water on Planet Earth
- Sea Horses: Father Knows Best
- Making Drops of Rain
- Investigate Activity: Investigating Currents and Waves
- Out of the Ocean Activity Kit
Aquatic Animal Resources
Interesting facts and fun activities related to aquatic animals will extend students' knowledge. Includes printables on habitats and how animals use camouflage, a shark matching activity, and writing about the over-harvesting of fishing grounds.
- Animal Habitat Crossword Puzzle
- Camouflage
- Sea Horses: Father Knows Best
- Name That Shark
- Wetlands Life Worksheet
- Science, Technology and Society: Fish Story
- Giant Squid Attack!
- More Popular Aquatic Animal Resources
Natural Disaster Resources
Grab students' attention and expand their learning with these resources about the history and science behind tsunamis, a cross-curricular printable about tracking a hurricane, and more.
- Frequently Asked Questions about Tsunamis
- How a Tsunami Occurs
- What Is a Tsunami?
- Dangerous Wave
- Storm Trackers
- Fact Sheet: Tsunamis
- More Resources on Natural Disasters
Ecology Activities for Oceanography
Teach your students the importance of ecology using these activities such as printable warm-ups that help students practice reading skills, learning about animal habitats and how they use camouflage, and a reading passage about a well-known ecologist.
Browse Oceans Resources
-
WORKSHEETS
Life in the Sea
Use writing prompts to get children's imaginations and writing skills flowing. This is a sample page from the Gr. 1-4 Da... -
TEACHING RESOURCE
Frequently Asked Questions about Tsunamis
-
WORKSHEETS
What's Wrong with This Picture?
This compare and contrast activity has students make checkmarks for each plant and animal that does not live in the ocea... -
TEACHING RESOURCE
Instant Expert
Become an instant expert on science and social studies topics featured in DK's award-winning reference series. Find whit... -
GAMES AND APPS
Animal Habitat Crossword Puzzle
-
LESSON PLANS
How Big Is a Blue Whale?
-
DAILY WARM-UPS
Penguins Reading Warm-Up
Introduce facts about penguins with this science reading passage. Use the reading comprehension questions in this printa... -
WORKSHEETS
Exploring the Oceans: Vocabulary
-
DAILY WARM-UPS
Science Reading Warm-Up: Oceans
Develop students' nonfiction reading skills as they learn about the ocean. This printable warm-up includes a science rea... -
DAILY WARM-UPS
Killer Whales Reading Warm-Up
Develop students' reading skills with a passage about killer whales and reading comprehension questions, in this printab... -
WORKSHEETS
Nonfiction Reading Warm-Up: Squid
Students learn about squid and develop their nonfiction reading skills in this reading warm-up. This printable includes ... -
LESSON PLANS
Sea Horses: Father Knows Best
Students learn about the unusual world of the sea horse -- in which the father fish carries and gives birth to the babie... -
WORKSHEETS
Math in Science: Sorting Fish
-
WORKSHEETS
Sailboat Fun Color by Number
-
WORKSHEETS
Seashell Connect the Dots
-
WORKSHEETS
Colorful Crab Color by Letter
-
WORKSHEETS
Silly Sea Horse Color by Letter
-
REFERENCE
Gallery of DK Digital Books for Earth Science
Use these beautifully illustrated earth science books from DK's award-winning reference series to brush up on your knowl... -
WORKSHEETS
Kingfisher Young Knowledge: Oceans and Seas Teacher's Guide
Utilize the discussion questions and activities in this printable teacher's guide before, during, and after reading Ocea... -
TEACHING RESOURCE
Fact Sheet: Tsunamis
-
MAPS
Oceans and Seas
-
WORKSHEETS
Friendly Dolphins: A Character Education Story for Kids
This story about friendly and helpful dolphins presents character education concepts like helpfulness, service, kindness... -
REFERENCE
The Effects of Global Warming on Sea Level
-
WORKSHEETS
Going Fishing: Counting Activity