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 a semester long project that is broken into 8 different sections. Each section aligns with the PowerPoint lessons and were meant to be done in 1-2 week sections. There are tables to fill out with guides and examples along with a grading rubric for each section. This encourages students to do a little research on their own and formulate a plan for their fictional aquarium. This can easily be modified as needed for those students in need and is already chunked and meant to last 1 semester.

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.

Unit 1: Lesson 1: Introduction to Aquarium Science. This lesson focus' on explaining what aquarium science is and how it is different from marine biology and oceanography. How does working on aquariums tie together environment and entertainment to be educational? A "quick history" talks about what aquariums are and how they can be simple, complex, or in between. What about public aquariums? Finally, the difference between an "open system" and a "closed system" in the aquarium world.

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 both a lesson and a classroom activity, followed by a homework assignment(s). The lesson highlights the importance of recordkeeping when working with animals and systems. At the end, there is a an example of an ideal 1 page data log that I use as an activity to walk the class through how to set it up and make it. I go over how to center things in columns, wrap text, add/delete columns/rows, etc. Then it is given to the students as homework where they have three attempts to get it as idea

How did the concept of keeping fish for fun happen? In this unit, the history of aquarium science is defined along with some interesting influencers. This PowerPoint starts with the Sumerians 4500 years ago and touches on the major contributions along the way that got us to where we are with keeping fish alive today. Any supportive videos are indicated by a yellow star on the slide. The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Chapter 1 Worksheet is a good support reading and discussion for this.

This 1 page worksheet is prefilled with 4 headings along the top and 4 down the left column with hints in the middle for students to fill out. You can add or take away what you want to modify the worksheet as needed.

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

This is a great exercise to see which students work slowly and follow the directions vs. those that tend to work fast, while still trying to follow the directions. I use this at the beginning of a semester when I'm trying to get to know the kids. It's a great icebreaker while helping me get some insight into what style of learning some kids might have. I also highlight the importance of carefully following instructions/directions when working in science or with animals.

This is a worksheet created for the Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder written by Martin A. Moe. The focus is on chapter 1 which is an introduction to the importance of selecting the correct size, shape, and material of the aquarium along with different types of construction for the DIY aquarist.