With this ocean tides activity, students generate a graph to discover the patterns in tides and how they relate to the moon. They’ll gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the moon and tides.
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Lesson Outline:
- PRACTICE using a tide chart. This familiarizes kids with reading and working with a tide chart.
- GRAPH the tide chart data for one month. We find it helpful to make groups of three, so each student only graphs one-third of the data. Students combine their graphs to make one long tide graph.
- WORK UP the graph by adding neap and spring tide labels and moon phases.
- ANSWER follow-up analysis questions.
Please note: If you would like to have your students practice reading a tide chart without the graphing part, we also off this Reading a Tide Chart Worksheet.
Provided Documents:
- Using a Tide Chart worksheet
- Daily Tide Chart (1 page – make one class set and REUSE)
- Tide Graph Analysis
- Tide Graph Blank
Teacher Notes:
- ANSWER KEY INCLUDED.
- Please note that this ocean tides activity is not editable.
- NGSS Standards Covered: MS-ESS1-2, MS-PS2-4, HS-ESS1-4
- NGSS Science & Engineering Practice: Analyzing and interpreting data
- NGSS Science & Engineering Practice: Using mathematics and computational thinking
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Related Standards:
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- NGSS MS-ESS1-2: Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
- NGSS MS-PS2-4: Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions depend on the masses of interacting objects.
