Fins. Fur. Function.

This lesson offers a more in depth dive into the Nitrogen cycle. It will address questions such as: 1. Why is the nitrogen cycle important? 2. How does nitrogen get into an aquarium? 3. How does ammonia form in an aquarium? 4. How does a cycled aquarium get rid of ammonia? Etc. This has more complicated concepts of biology and chemistry and is meant to last 2-3 days depending on the level of the classroom. Supportive videos are built-in and indicated by a yellow star on the slide. Get the suppo

This lesson focus' on pH and Alkalinity (what it is, how it effects the fish in the environment, and how to control it). These are not only important biological and chemistry concepts, but critical for the lives in a controlled environment. Come with built-in supportive videos (indicated by yellow star on the slide).

Following up on "The Gold Fish Lab", this lesson introduces and discusses options to control the temperature of the aquarium in the best interest of animal health. It will introduce a variety of heating and cooling methods along with creating some talking points for the classroom. Comes with a built-in supportive video. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow star on the slide.

This is the complete study guide with answer key, test with answer key, and my modified and PACE test versions for Unit 1 of Aquarium Science. The study guide walks student through the information covered throughout the unit. I challenge them to fill out as much as they can off the top of their head, and then use notes to fill in the rest. The test includes multiple choice, fill in the blank/short answer, and descriptive writing.

Unit 2: Lesson 1: Introduction to Water Quality. This lesson focus' on explaining why water quality is so important in an aquarium. Not all water is the same, although it looks clear and clean. This will discuss different sources of water, the chemical make-up of water and characteristics, waters relationship with oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, and desirable ranges for the aquarium.

This lesson is used to summarize and discuss the results of "The Gold Fish Lab" but then to introduce and discuss ecto(exo)/endothermic properties and why this is important for different animals. It will introduce proper and improper terminology when discussing these topics. Comes with some built-in supportive videos (indicated by yellow star on the slide).

Unit 2: Lesson 3: The Importance of Water Changes. This lesson focuses on why water changes are important for not only the life living in the water, but what it does to the water to sustain life. This will also cover different scenarios such as how much of a water change, cleaning methods to supplement the water change, and how to safely complete the water change. It includes 2 video references (indicated by yellow star on the slide).

Unit 2, Lesson 2: The Biological Environment, Cycling an aquarium. This lesson is focused on why cycling an aquarium is important and all the steps (chemical and biological) that are involved. This will discuss different cycling methods along with different types of bacteria and their purpose. Associated videos indicated by yellow star on the slide.

This is the "Gold Fish Lab" that supports the lesson labeled Unit 2: Lesson 4: Water Quality and Testing Methods with Temp Lab. I will first spend about 15-20 minutes on the lesson and then get into this lab. I tend to plan this on a longer day as the whole thing takes about 75-90 minutes depending on your preparation and ability to guide the students. You will need small gold fish bowls, GOLD FISH (no other type really works), thermometers, warmed water, ice, timers, and paper towels. This is

The physical environment lesson is broken down into 2 lessons: 1) All about the tank (material, shape, and size) and 2) Temperature control, types of lids, and lighting evolution and options. These lessons are very helpful in students being successful while working on the semester project packet. This is also supported by The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Chapter 1 worksheet. Includes embedded videos to support the lesson. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow star on the slide.

This worksheet is used to support Unit 2: Lesson 2: Cycling an Aquarium. Students are asked to name the three methods used to cycle an aquarium, draw a picture supporting each method, and then describe the main goal of cycling an aquarium. This is great for a teacher to see if students understand the concept or if you need to go back to reteach some concepts.

This is the beginning lesson that focuses on the importance of water quality. Temperature is the focus of this lesson as it's the easiest and best place to start. This is a brief lesson to discuss the importance of temperature, but the "Gold Fish Lab" that is used to support this is necessary. The "Gold Fish Lab" focuses on how temperature affects respiration rates of gold fish. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow star on the slide.

These are worksheets to support the nitrogen cycle lesson. Comes with a standard version, modified version, and the key.

This is the final lesson 4/4 focused on the physical environment: Enrichment. This lesson focus' on the environmental enrichment benefits within an aquarium and reasons they are used. Discussion topics include: decorations (natural and artificial), plants (live and artificial), location importance, and aquascaping styles. There is a list of helpful and supportive videos at the end of the lesson. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow star on the slide.

Continuing the lesson on biological environment, this is part 3: Nutrition. This lesson's focus is on the nutrition and feeding implemented for various types and sized fishes. Topics covered include: different feeding types, methods of nutrient uptake, food types, feeding methods, supplementation, and common dietary conditions. The lesson ends with three videos to support the lesson. This directly connects to section 5 in the semester project packet. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yel

This lesson is a continuation of the Biological Environment but focuses on Hygiene (filtration). This lesson will cover the three types of filtration along with highlighting examples of each and the different technology that uses them. Different types of bacteria are also introduced which will go into more depth in a later lesson. This will help students with section 4 of the semester project packet and with a short video reinforcing the lesson. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow st

This is a great exercise to use first: as an individual student, but secondly: in small groups of 2-4. The first section is to see how an individual student would rank 15 items from most important (1) to least important (15) as instructed. Once the individual portion is complete, students are placed into small groups (2-4) to complete the same task, but as a group. Follow the instructions provided. The answer key, reasoning, and ranking is provided.

This lesson focuses on cross contamination and how important it is to prevent it in the aquariums. Non-native invasive species are a major contribution to this problem in the wild, but how does cross contamination happen in controlled environments like aquariums? There are video links in the presentation along with a link to a great documentary regarding a major non-native invasive species in the US (Asian Carp). There is no worksheet to go with the documentary. Any supportive videos are indicat

This is a classroom icebreaker that can be done in small groups of 2-4 or as an individual if needed. I start with figure 2. Print out about enough copies for your class and cut them out keeping each set together. Once students are divided into groups, I give each group the stack of shapes and ask them to create a square using all the shape pieces. You can add a time limit if needed. Once Figure 2 is complete, I move onto Figure 1 doing the same thing, but keep the part marked with an "x". Once

This is a worksheet to support the lesson of fish nutrition. This can be given as homework or used as in an class worksheet.