Lesson Plan by Charlotte Leon for the Waterfront Center, Oyster Bay NY

Topic: ​Oysters
Lesson Title: ​Oysters and the Billion Oyster Project
Level:​ 3rd-6th grade
Lesson Duration:​ 30 minute verbal lesson using the white board, 1 hour measuring
and cleaning oysters for data collection

Curriculum Objective:​ To expand the students’ knowledge of oysters and their life
cycle as well as the estuary environment they have been exploring prior to this
lesson.
Lesson Objective:​ To educate the students about the vital ecological services oysters
provide to our local waterways and how the Billion Oyster Project has been an advocate
for oyster cultivation in New York.

Materials Needed:
● Live oysters of the shells of oysters to show the students during the lessons, if
they are alive, a tank to keep them in and a water bubbler
● Paper handouts
● Pencils/ writing utensils
● Calipers to measure oysters
● Scrub brushes to clean oysters
● Buckets for water when cleaning oysters
● Water quality test kit with vials, test tablets, and comparison charts
● Paper and pen to record data of water quality and oyster sizes
● Thermometer
● Salinity refractometer
● LaMotte horizontal water sampler
Learning Activity/ Steps:
1. The instructor will begin by going over a brief bay history of what Oyster Bay,
New York was known for when settlers arrived in the mid 1600’s. Later
discussion points should include: the Christeen, a 136-year-old oyster sloop, a
local National Historic landmark, and modern day oyster farming and collection
from local baymen and the Frank Flower Oyster Company also located in Oyster
Bay.
2. The instructor will pass a live oyster inside of its shell among the students
encouraging students to note what the animal looks like. While the students are
observing the oyster, information regarding the oysters appearance and
physiological features will be taught. Facts about the oyster include:
a. Oysters are a member of the mollusk and bivalve family, with an
expanded definition of both terms, mollusk and bivalve.
 b. The life stages of an oyster, how it begins life as a planktonic organism
and develops into a sessile animal, expanded definition of term sessile.
c. How an oyster feeds, with an explanation and definition of filter feeding.
d. How oysters provide ecological services for our waterways including water
filtration, up to 50 gallons of water per day for a single oyster. How oyster
beds help to prevent coastal erosion. The financial benefits oyster beds
and farms for a community
e. How a pearl is formed.
f. What do oysters eat?
3. Once the oyster has been observed by all students, the instructor will show the
students what each life cycle stage of an oyster looks like and where in the water
the oyster would be found at that stage of its life. The instructor will also state
how long it takes for an oyster to go through these stages and the process of
oyster reproduction.
● The instructor can assess the students’ understanding of an oyster’s life
cycle by asking the students to fill in a paper handout of the oysters life
cycle that has each label removed. Students can use pencils or crayons.
The arrows from one stage to the next will be provided on the paper. The
students will fill in each of the blank spaces. Below is an example of a
completed oyster life cycle diagram and an example of a blank diagram
the students will receive to fill in on their own.
4. Following this verbal lesson, students will be taken down to the WaterFront
Center docks where oyster cages are kept. The students will then be taught
about the Billion Oyster Project and their mission to help clean the water of New
York's harbors through the use of oyster cultivation.

a. Completed handout with labels b. Blank handout for students to compete

 (this portion of the lesson can be modified to be a matching game for the
students)

c. students viewing the Town of Oyster Bay oyster dock with FLUPSY’s

5. Students will participate in the measuring and cleaning of the oysters we have
growing inside the oyster cages as well as logging data of the oyster’s size with
calibers.

d. A cluster of oysters from the cages, cleaned and measured by students

6. If time allows, students can conduct a water quality sample. As shown in the
pictures, the students performed the water quality sampling on the dock next to
the oyster traps at two different depths, at the surface and above the bay floor,
approximately 12 ft deep. The water quality test includes: nitrate, phosphorus,
dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and salinity.
● This test can be performed at different locations of the bay and the data
can be graphed on the white board with the students the following day to
observe how oysters contribute to the health of the bay.

e. Students collecting data on the water quality of Oyster Bay at different depths
using a LaMotte horizontal water sampler

Extended lesson idea: ​This option may not be applicable to each group of students
taught to but, if the opportunity is available, take the students sailing on Christeen
to observe Oyster Bay from a new vantage point and to see how a real oyster
sloop functions. While on the water the instructor will point out the Frank Flowers
oyster farm and boats as well as the local bay men dredging for oysters. A
caption for Christeen would need to be present. The history of Christeen sailing
as an oyster sloop beginning in 1883, and what Christeen and the crews’ jobs
were would be an additional lesson for the students when onboard.
f. Students discovering Oyster Bay on the National Historic Landmark, Christeen, the
136 year old oyster sloop

Lesson Follow-up:
To assess the students' understanding of the topic, the instructor can ask each of
the students to write or draw a picture of what the group has learned that day.
Instructor’s can ask students what their favorite activity related to the lesson was,
what they found to be the most interesting, or why they think oysters are
important/ why they think the Billion Oyster Project is important. Each of the
students art or writing piece can then be submitted to the WaterFront Center Log
Book, a brochure compiling student submitted work that is distributed the
following year to customers and at events.