Tides Lesson Plan: Earth’s Systems

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Tides, and supports the standard of developing a model to describe ways the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Display images showing high and low tide, such as those shown below:

Ask students:

  • What do you notice about the water level in each image? 
  • What do you think may have caused this change?

Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE

  • Read the description on the Tides topic page.
  • Play the Movie, pausing to check for understanding. 
  • Have students read one of the Related Reading articles. Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS 

Students take the Tides Challenge and Quiz, applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Step 4: EXTEND and DEEPEN

Students express what they learned about tides while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

  • Make-a-Movie: Produce a tutorial that answers this question: How can tides be an energy source?
  • Make-a-Map: Create a concept map identifying the process that causes ocean levels to rise and fall.
  • Creative Coding: Code a comic showing how types of tides can affect people visiting a beach.

More to Explore 

Related BrainPOP Topics: Deepen understanding of tides and related Earth systems with these topics: Gravity, Ocean Currents, Moon.

Teacher Support Resources:

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Lesson Plan Next Generation Science Standards Alignments

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7