Jean-Michel Cousteau, his son, Fabien, his daughter, Celine, and his team of expert divers set out to investigate, for the first time, all 13 of our National Marine Sanctuaries and their distinct ecosystems. While discovering what makes each of them unique, the team also explores what threatens these sites and what is being done. Traversing thousands of miles in this two-hour episode, the Ocean Adventures team goes below and above the sea off the coasts of Michigan, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Massachusetts, California, Washington, Hawai'i and American Samoa on a mission to introduce Americans to these vibrant but fragile marine sanctuaries.

America's Underwater Treasures Viewing Guide: Introduce your students to the diverse ecosystems surrounding the United States, practice data collection techniques, and discover the many issues involved in managing a National Marine Sanctuary. Hands-on and critical-thinking exercises extend the value of this Ocean Adventures episode. Also included are viewing questions to engage students while they watch the program, clips recommended for classroom use and specially selected lesson plans developed by ocean experts.

Ocean Adventures Lesson Plans: Extend the learning of your students with these lesson plans that accompany Web-original videos.

• Spectacular Squid: Investigate the habitats and adaptations of squid and their relatives after viewing the video Squid Spawning.
• Imagine a Kelp Forest: Explore the kelp forest ecosystem by watching the video Secrets of the Kelp Forest, conducting research and writing imaginary narratives.
• Inside-Out Adaptations: View the video The Two-Stomached Wonder to learn about the unique adaptations of sea stars and then develop a presentation on the adaptations of other organisms.

America's Underwater Treasures Adventures: Test your community's runoff water quality, interview a marine scientist or join a coastal cleanup.

Because teachers don't have time to research additional materials, the Ocean Adventures education team has handpicked these lessons to complement America's Underwater Treasures:

• Exploring National Marine Sanctuaries (PDF): Investigate the 13 National Marine Sanctuaries, their locations, and their ecosystems.
• To Fish or Not To Fish? (PDF): Examine the many issues involved in managing a National Marine Sanctuary in this role-play activity.
• Every Square Inch Counts (PDF): Practice real identification and data collection techniques using photo quadrats of subtidal and intertidal organisms.
• National Marine Sanctuaries Education (at sanctuaries.noaa.gov): Find additional activities and lesson plans from the National Marine Sanctuaries; be sure to explore the Encyclopedia of the Sanctuaries as well as to check each sanctuary's Web site for additional educator resources.
• Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (at toppcensus.org): While this site does not contain lesson plans, it is a great resource for teachers and students interested in current data and live tracking of marine organisms.

Download Library: Download pictures of our National Marine Sanctuaries as well as sounds from the ocean.

Educator Web Links: Expand your curriculum with recommendations from the Ocean Adventures education team.

All Ocean Adventures Educational Materials: View all of the lessons and activities that Ocean Adventures has to offer.

PDF File Format
These Ocean Adventures lessons and other materials are available as printer-friendly PDFs (Portable Document Format). To download and view the lesson plans as a PDF, you may first have to get Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for free on Adobe's Web site. The Reader is available for most computer platforms, and once downloaded the lessons may be viewed on-screen as well as printed out. Get Acrobat Reader software (at adobe.com)