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NOAA Science Module Development

Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay

Introduction

The conceptual ideas presented in “A Framework for K-12 Science Education” from the 

National Research Council articulates a vision of the scope and nature of education in 

science, engineering, and technology in which students, over multiple years of school, 

actively engage in scientific and engineering practices, and apply crosscutting concepts to 

deepen their understanding of the core ideas in these fields. The learning experience 

provided for students should engage them with fundamental questions about the world and 

with how scientists have investigated and found answers to those questions.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

This Oyster curriculum project represents a collaborative effort to identify and build 

an engaging set of K-12 education resources that comprehensively support the vision 

for science education using the Eastern Oyster in Chesapeake Bay as the organizing 

theme. 

Important shifts in science education include: 

1. K-12 Science Education should reflect the interconnected nature of science as it is practiced 

and experienced in the real world. 

2. Students must be engaged in learning that incorporates all of three dimensions: 

• Science and Engineering Practices 

• Crosscutting Concepts 

 

K-12 Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay
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• Disciplinary Core Ideas 

3. Three Dimensional Learning provides a more seamless blending of practices with core ideas 

and crosscutting concepts.

4. There is a coherent investigation of core ideas across multiple years of school. 

5. Foundational understanding of science supports ALL students. 

NOAA recognized that few science education materials were available within the NOAA collections 

that thoroughly reflected these shifts in pedagogy to support Three-Dimensional education 

thinking. This project was developed to address this gap and support the development of a model 

for the identification and development of education resources supportive of Three-Dimensional 

learning. 

In order to increase the number of science education materials within the NOAA collections that 

reflect current science education research, the NOAA Education Council formed a working group 

to increase the capacity of NOAA educators to understand and use three dimensional learning in 

future product development. 

A small team of NOAA educators volunteered to develop a sample module using NOAA science in 

elementary through secondary classrooms. Professional development of other educators would 

follow the review, revision, and field testing of these materials. 

Why Oysters? 

Overfishing, disease, and pollution have left the Chesapeake Bay with less than one percent of 

the oysters it once had. NOAA and its partners are working to restore 10 Bay tributaries by 2025 

with healthy oysters and viable habitat starting with Harris Creek, a tributary off of the 

Choptank River on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Additional tributaries in both Maryland and 

Virginia have since begun oyster restoration projects, including the Tred Avon and Little 

Choptank rivers in Maryland, and the Lynnhaven, Lafayette, and Piankatank Rivers in Virginia. 

Restoring oysters and the habitat they provide for a multitude of other fish and animals is 

essential to improving the health of the Bay. The topics of the K-12 learning sequence modules 

target Chesapeake Bay-based Oyster Restoration. 
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Education specialists from NOAA’s National Ocean Service and the National Marine 

Fisheries Service identified both formal and non-formal educators to bring their 

classroom expertise to develop a K-12 learning sequence of classroom materials about 

the factors influencing oyster habitats, and develop classroom-based and field-based 

experiences that incorporated appropriate science and stewardship activities. 

Project Goal 

Incorporate three dimensional learning in a NOAArelated science as a demonstration for others within the 

agency:

• Use oyster science as a context for science 

learning in the Chesapeake Region

• Oyster science is of economic, ecological, and 

cultural significance 

• Learning sequence give teachers the latitude to make learning locally relevant by 

connecting to things happening in students’ own communities 

Partnership support 

Annapolis Maritime Museum 

Chesapeake Maritime Museum 

Maryland Sea Grant 

NOAA Educators 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

• Classroom teachers from Anne 

Arundel, Montgomery, Somerset, 

and Wicomico Counties, MD; 
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Washington, DC; and Virginia 

Process – 3-Day Interactive Workshop 

I. Science content - Science, Habitat, or Restoration Experts 

• NOAA Fisheries, Habitat Conservation

• University of MD Sea Grant 

• MD Department of Natural Resources

• University of MD Horn Point Laboratory 

 

II. Evaluate existing resources

Identify connections (Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science & Engineering Practices, 

and Crosscutting Concepts) through grades K-12. 

III. Organize and modify existing activities, and develop new activities to fill in the gaps

Teachers and NOAA education staff compiled existing oyster-related lessons and activities 

that targeted one primary Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI), LS2.A, Interdependent Relationships 

in Ecosystems, and followed it through from kindergarten to the high school level. Where 

gaps were identified, teachers developed new activities or adapted existing activities to 

better meet the goals of the Disciplinary Core Ideas. In addition, Crosscutting Concepts, 

and Science and Engineering Practices were identified throughout the K-12 learning 

sequence.

Disciplinary Core Ideas in Life Science 

A core idea for K-12 science instruction is a scientific idea that: 

• Has broad importance across multiple science disciplines, or is a key organizing concept 

of a single discipline;

• Provides a key tool for understanding/investigating more complex ideas and solving 

problems;

• Relates to the interests and life experiences of students;

• Is teachable and learnable over multiple grades, increasing levels of depth and 

sophistication.

The primary Disciplinary Core Ideas (content) that the team of educators chose to use as an 

example for developing a K-12 Learning Sequence was best connected within the realm of the 
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Life Sciences (LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships) to illustrate how the learning sequence 

advances content and skills over the K-12 education career of a student. 

The following DCI’s were also included in the sequence: 

LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

LS1.A: Structure and Function

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms 

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans

LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics 

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems 

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience 

LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior 

LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity 

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans 

ESS2: Earth’s Systems 

ESS2.E: Biogeology 

ESS3.A: Natural Resources 

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth’s Systems

ETS1: Engineering, Technology and Applications of Science 

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem 

ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions 

ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution 

Photo Credits: NOAA Library