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How Can Growing Seaweed Help Mussels?

Provided by: National Science Teaching Association |Published on: May 7, 2026

Lesson Plans

78910

Synopsis

In this lesson, students will watch part of a 9-minute video to understand the issue of ocean acidification and shellfish, then design a solution.
Students will understand why ocean acidification is a problem, consider the options for solutions, and discuss solutions as a class.

Subjects: Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: National Science Teaching Association

Region: Global, Maine

Languages: English

Preparation:

Gather different types of shells or images of shells.
Consider having the video ready to go and in full screen to avoid sharing the title with students and giving away a solution.

Prerequisites:

Activate students’ prior knowledge of how humans emit carbon dioxide.
Review the engineering process, defining the terms criteria and constraints, if necessary.

Differentiation:

Refer to the lesson instructions for how to cater this lesson to either middle school or high school students.

Related Resources:

Use this experiment with middle school students for a hands-on demonstration of ocean acidification.
Learn more about the impacts of climate change on the Gulf of Maine using this module.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.