Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Creates New Lesson Plan on Fish Chorusing

April 24, 2025

NOAA Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar, Ella Kim, who is pursuing a PhD in biological oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the Scripps Acoustic Ecology Lab, has developed a lesson plan and complementary slide deck titled Exploring Fish Sounds in National Marine Sanctuaries. Her research under the advisement of Dr. Simone Baumann-Pickering and the NOAA Sanctuary Sound Monitoring Team focuses on investigating fish chorus and the impact of marine heat waves across Channel Islands, Chumash Heritage, and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries.

The lesson engages fifth grade students in an interactive guessing game where various sounds, including fish sounds, are played. The challenge is to correctly identify whether the sound is produced by a fish or something else. This activity promotes active listening, sound recognition skills, data graph interpretation, and a sense of wonder for sound produced in the ocean.

What to learn more about ocean noise? Explore Ocean Sound and Impact of Noise Resource Collection, which includes lesson plans for students to learn how marine animals communicate, the intricacies of sound, and how scientists monitor ocean noise. The lesson plans feature interactive activities and animal vocalizations recordings for engaged learning.