Reading a Tide Table

Put tide science to work with this one-page worksheet on reading a tide table! Students learn about high tide, low tide, and the daily cycle, then use a sample tide table to make predictions.

The page opens by explaining that because tides follow the Moon, scientists can predict them, and that a tide table lists the times of high and low tide for each day. Three picture cards explain each idea. At high tide, the water reaches its highest point and covers much of the sand. At low tide, the water pulls back and uncovers wet sand and rocks. Most beaches have two highs and two lows a day, and a high tide and the next low tide are about six hours apart. A closing line notes that low tide is the best time to explore tide pools, where crabs and sea stars are left in small pools of water. In the first activity, students read a sample tide table for one day and circle the answers to three questions, such as when the first low tide happens and when to explore tide pools. In the second activity, students decide if three sentences about the table are true or false. The sheet is written to Texas TEKS 6.9B and also fits NGSS MS-ESS1-1.

What's inside:

• Three tide cards with simple doodles
• A one-day tide table with 3 questions
• 3 true or false sentences
• A visual answer key

How teachers use it:

• As a hands-on practice after learning what causes tides
• For bell work, stations, or an exit ticket
• As homework or sub plans, with no prep needed

It takes about 10 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. This worksheet is part of our Reading in Science series on the Sun, Earth, and Moon.