Dive Into the Blue with this collection of free ocean-themed teaching plans, activities and resources
Remember the first time you spotted a fish swimming in the ocean? Or the fun of jumping waves? Or that full-body shiver as you plunge into the chilly, salty sea? A child’s emotional connection to nature is a vital and revitalising superpower – and I want to grow it whenever I can.
Our oceans are home to incredibly wonderous life and beauty; plus they’re the lungs and lunchbox of our planet. They’re also a wild place where kids can encounter risk and experience nature’s power and beauty. As an author, I want to share my love for our oceans – and all our wild places – with the next generation. That’s why I’ve set my next junior fiction adventure, Into the Blue, on the wreck of the Omeo, on Perth’s Coogee Beach.
To help spread the ocean love (after all, it’s a planet-wide affair!), I’ve collected some free, ocean-themed resources produced by awesome, ocean-loving organisations. Check them out for activities linked to curriculum, including teaching plans, classroom resources, videos, games, crafts and more.
Maybe there’ll be something you can use to celebrate SeaWeek https://www.facebook.com/seaweekaustralia (in 2024, SeaWeek is 2-10 March), or perhaps there’s an idea for World Ocean Day (8 June), or maybe you can talk to your school about Adopting A Beach https://www.perthnrm.com/project/adopt-a-beach/.
Here are some of my favourite (and free) resources:
- The Marine Stewardship Council are behind the blue sustainability tick you see on seafood at the supermarket. They also have loads of excellent educational resources, all focused on our oceans. Try their Saltwater Schools lesson plans for Years 3–10, all aligned with the Australian curriculum and divided by subject: geography, science, First Nations fishing and more. https://www.msc.org/en-au/for-teachers/ocean-literacy/saltwater-schools-ocean-lesson-plans-Australia Plus, there are teaching plans aligned to the Kiwi curriculum https://www.msc.org/en-au/for-teachers/ocean-literacy/ocean-lesson-plans-New-Zealand and special activities for under-8s: be a fish detective in your supermarket, work out what makes a fish a fish, and try cooking (and eating) some sustainable seafood recipes. https://www.msc.org/en-au/for-teachers/ocean-literacy/fish-and-kids.
- Perth NRM (Natural Resource Management) offers educational resources https://www.perthnrm.com/resource/educational/ tailored to their Adopt a Beach program (schools can get involved here https://www.perthnrm.com/project/adopt-a-beach/) and videos about Noongar language and culture.
- The Great Southern Reef spans 8,000 kilometres from Kalbarri down to Bremer Bay and Esperance, as well as across southern Australia and up to the New South Wales/Queensland border. You can find out more about this iconic reef thanks to a huge variety of resources available at https://greatsouthernreef.com/resources. Find everything from an entire Year 9 Science + Sustainability and Aboriginal History & Culture unit, to a deck of Pokémon-inspired marine life cards for use in food webs and classification activities.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium have a whole lot of awesome activities – they’re aligned to the US curriculum, but there’s tons here to use in any classroom: downloadable games and crafts, free online courses, videos and even parent-led activities to try at home. Bonus: lots of the material is also available in Spanish. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/for-educators/learning-at-home
- Take 3 for the Sea began in 2009 as a simple, satisfying way to make a difference to plastic in our oceans: just pick up three bits of rubbish each time you visit a waterway. They now run a free Oceans Classroom initiative (find out more here https://www.take3.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ocean-Classroom-Initiative-Program-Guide-Take-3-for-the-Sea.pdf) available for early childhood educators, primary school and high school classrooms. Plus, there are loads of lesson plans linked to curriculum outcomes (Year 3–6 and Year 7–10) https://cool.org/take-3-for-the-sea
- Into the Blue and my other books also come with free cross-curricula teaching resources. You can find teaching notes https://fremantlepress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/TN_IntoTheBlue_20240215.pdf specifically tailored to Into the Blue. Set on the Omeo wreck on Perth’s Coogee Beach, the story is about responsibility, procrastination and the power of owning your mistakes. I love this little book and you can read more about it here: https://fremantlepress.com.au/books/into-the-blue/
- Want more, more, more? Check out Cool.org (https://cool.org/) for more free and searchable lesson plans on everything you can imagine. Love it!
I hope these ideas have been helpful – and I’d love to see what you do with them. Please share your work and your students’ work with us on socials. It’s exciting and inspiring to see what you create!
