Tides Station Lab - MS

This modular, student-led activity will keep your middle schoolers engaged while exploring how the positions of the Moon and Sun affect ocean tides. With everything included, you’ll save a ton of prep time while giving students ownership of their learning.

In this interactive lab, students will relate the positions of celestial bodies to their effects on daily, spring, and neap tides. Designed for flexibility, it works equally well for both in-class and virtual learning.

Texas Teachers: This station lab aligns with the 2017 TEKS (not updated for the 2021 TEKS).

Differentiated, Modular, and Student-Centered

Each station lab features eight differentiated activities plus a bonus challenge station for advanced learners and early finishers. Teachers facilitate learning while students investigate concepts independently or in small groups.

All signage, resources, and task cards are provided. The Explore It! station may require a few simple materials you already have in your classroom.

The Stations

Input Stations – Build Understanding

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or digital drag-and-drop in PowerPoint/Google Slides

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with vocabulary and comprehension questions

• Research It! – Website-based activity with facts, visuals, and guiding questions

• Watch It! – Short video with student response prompts

Output Stations – Show Understanding

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts/manipulatives

• Illustrate It! – Student-created sketches or diagrams of tides

• Write It! – Open-ended short-answer responses

• Assess It! – Task cards + a vocabulary-in-context writing activity

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Fun enrichment for early finishers, including crosswords, games, and mini-projects

Virtual & In-Class Flexibility

This station lab is fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint, making it easy to implement in both traditional and digital learning environments.

Why Teachers Love It:

• Differentiated for diverse learners

• Multimodal design keeps students engaged

• Flexible for print or digital instruction

• Minimal prep required

This resource is also part of the Tides 5E Lesson Plan, which expands into editable presentations, interactive notebooks, student-choice projects, assessments, and more.