Students investigate the essential question, “How has our coastal environment changed over time, and how can we help protect it for the future?” A boat ride and fossil hunt launch their study of megalodons, fossil evidence, and the diversity of ancient and modern coastal habitats. Working with Charleston Outdoor Adventures, a local paleontologist, and Seeds to Shoreline, students compare living things across habitats and investigate how Spartina supports marsh ecosystems and protects coastal resources. Collaborative research, field observations, stewardship action, and a student-led exhibition build science knowledge, critical thinking, communication, reflection, and shared decision-making.
Learning goals
Students will investigate the essential question, “How has our coastal environment changed over time, and how can we help protect it for the future?” During a boat ride and fossil hunt with Charleston Outdoor Adventures and a local paleontologist, they will use observations and fossil evidence to describe ancient coastal life. Students will compare biodiversity in ancient-ocean and modern salt-marsh habitats, explaining how organisms depend on natural resources and how Spartina supports a resilient ecosystem. In teams, students will use feedback to design and present a marsh-protection solution informed by their investigation and work with Seeds to Shoreline.
Standards
[Next Generation Science Standards] 2-LS4-1 - Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.
[Next Generation Science Standards] LS.4.D - Biodiversity and Humans
Competencies
Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
Products
Students will begin with a Charleston Outdoor Adventures boat fossil hunt, creating field-journal entries with labeled sketches, observations, and fossil evidence supported by a local paleontologist. Teams will then produce a habitat comparison, a marsh food-web model, and an erosion investigation record showing how Spartina supports biodiversity and protects shorelines. With Seeds to Shoreline, students will document Spartina planting through a site map, predictions, and stewardship commitments. For the final product, teams will co-design and present a “Megalodon to Marsh” museum exhibit that answers, “How has our coastal environment changed over time, and how can we help protect it for the future?”
Launch
Launch with a modified, age-appropriate boat ride and shoreline fossil hunt led by Charleston Outdoor Adventures, with clear safety, accessibility, and surface-collection procedures. A local paleontologist helps students examine shark teeth, distinguish observations from inferences, and recognize that megalodons were prehistoric sharks—not dinosaurs. Seeds to Shoreline introduces the class challenge: “How has our coastal environment changed over time, and how can we help protect it for the future?” Students sketch one fossil and one living marsh feature, record questions, and share their first ideas about connections between ancient oceans and today’s coast.
Exhibition
Host a “Megalodon to Marsh Museum” for families, another class, Charleston Outdoor Adventures, a local paleontologist, and Seeds to Shoreline. Student teams co-design exhibits featuring evidence from the boat-ride fossil hunt, habitat comparisons, Spartina erosion models, and practical ideas for protecting the coast. As museum guides, students answer, “How has our coastal environment changed over time, and how can we help protect it for the future?” Visitors leave feedback and choose one stewardship action, while students reflect on their teamwork, scientific evidence, and communication.
