by editor | Apr 18, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
The following activities were submitted by K-12 teachers from around the Pacific Northwest who have participated in watershed education programs in their classrooms. The majority of these teachers were involved in the following coordinated watershed education programs: the Yakima Basin Environmental Education Program, the Bainridge Island Watershed Watch Program, the Nisqually River Education Project, the Budd/Deschutes Project GREEN, and the Lower Hood Canal Watershed Education Network. Each activity lists the teacher’s name and school. Activities were compiled by Karen Clark.
Grades K-2:
Science and Math: Butterfly Math
Social Studies: My Personal Symbol
Language Arts: Pond Journal
Fine Art: Wetland Animal Hats
Grades 3-5
Science: How Do Other Animals Deal with Garbage?
Science: Salmon Life Cycle
Science: Is Trash Really for the Birds?
Social Studies: Cultural Taboos
Language Arts: Pen Pals
Fine Arts: Salmon Mobile
Grades 6-8
Science: What Does Acid Rain Do to Aquatic Animals?
Science: Nature’s Scavenger Hunt
Social Studies: Clean a Stream
Fine Arts/Science: Shape a Watershed
Grades 9-12
Science: Mapping a Watershed
Science: Stepping Into Others’ Shoes
Science: Piecing Together Your Watershed
Social Studies: Regulatory Agencies
Social Studies: Selecting an Issue to Address
Language Arts: My Life’s Journey
Language Arts: Observation
Language Arts/Fine Arts: Collage
by editor | Apr 18, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
The 10th edition of the Year Book series from the United Nations Environment Programme focuses on rapid change in the Arctic which threaten ecosystems while providing new development opportunities, including easier access to oil and gas, minerals, and fisheries. Additional focus includes minimizing chemical risks, poaching in Africa, growing urban environmental challenges, and the accelerating momentum to tackle short-lived climate pollutants.
http://www.unep.org/yearbook/2013/
by editor | Apr 1, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
1. Slow: Children at Nature Play
This attention-catching sign is designed to raise awareness about the importance of connecting children to nature. The goal is to promote getting children outside and exploring nature similar to the neighborhood signs that ask drivers to slow down because children are playing. The sign can be placed in your neighborhood, at trailheads, at nature parks and centers, zoos, gardens, aquariums, schools, etc., essentially any place that children explore, play, and learn about nature (or, a place where you think that should happen!). Creator Michael D. Barton is looking for donations to fund production.
http://exploreportlandnature.wordpress.com/nature-play-sign/
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2. Using Technology to Connect Students and the Environment Toolkit
The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), with support from Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., and in partnership with Project Noah, present Using Tech to Connect Students & the Environment – a video on how technology can further STEM learning through the environment, both in nature and in the classroom. Watch the video.
The free Educator Toolkit for Using Technology to Connect Students & the Environment is a companion to the video and includes activities and resources at all grade levels for implementing a project similar to the one featured in the video. Download the toolkit.
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3. Creating a Schoolyard Habitat/Outdoor Classroom
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers professional development courses with partners throughout the country.
- OUT8164: Creating a Schoolyard Habitat/Outdoor Classroom, September 23-26, 2013 in Portland, Oregon; September 10 & October 29, webinars. Contact Scott Owen at scott_t_owen@fws.gov
http://training.fws.gov/documents/Section1_NCTC_Sponsored_Courses.pdf
4. Fishery Data for the Classroom
NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center Education and Outreach website offers links to a variety of fisheries data to help bring the world of fisheries science into the classroom. There are links to activities, Killer Whale, and Microworlds curricula. Be sure to check out the home page and all of the resources available through this great website.
http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Education/Activities/data.htm
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5. Wild Alaska in the Classroom
The Alaska Wilderness League provides free resources teachers can use to work the Arctic and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into their lesson plans. The website features a variety of lessons and activities which cover components of the arctic ecosystem, including migration, bird identification, and animal adaptations. Materials include games, art, lessons, and much more.
http://www.alaskawild.org/take-action/educate/
by editor | Mar 19, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
1. Ocean Science Summer Institute
This institute, June 24-27, 2013 in Port Townsend, Washington, is a Training of Trainers for both formal and informal educators. Participants will receive hands-on experience with the Ocean Sciences Sequence including implementation strategies, daily field trips, and more. The deadline for discounted earlybird registration is May 16, 2013. Be sure to check out the other professional development opportunities on the website. http://www.ptmsc.org/teacher.html
2. PEI and Puget Sound
The Pacific Education Institute (PEI) is working with the Puget Sound Partnership and The Russell Family Foundation to reach school districts around the Puget Sound and engage students in action projects. Students will integrate their learning in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with real world projects that contribute to their sustainable future.
3. Creating Resilient Schools and Communities
The 3rd annual conference will be held at Trillium Creek Primary School in West Linn, Oregon on June 25, 2013. Features concurrent sessions, a student panel, exhibitors, networking opportunities, and recognition of 2013 Sustainable School Award winners. Co-sponsors include the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), the American Institute of Architects, and the Environmental Education Association of Oregon (EEAO). http://www.sustainableschools.org/our-services/2013-conference
4. Endangered Species Teacher Forum
As part of an ongoing focus on enhancing endangered species education, the Endangered Species Day Teacher Resource Center now features a Teacher Forum. The forum enables teachers to exchange classroom instruction techniques, ask questions, and share resources about endangered species. http://www.stopextinction.org/esd/195-esd-education.html
5. Holding onto the Green Zone Curriculum
Holding onto the Green Zone is an earth science curriculum designed to encourage collaboration between land managers and youth educators/leaders to promote conservation of fragile riparian resources. The curriculum works through the processes of science inquiry and experiential learning. Check out the downloadable Student Action Guide and Leader Guide. http://www.uwex.edu/erc/youth/riparian.html
6. National EE Week
Get ready for National Environmental Education Week 2013, April 14-20, 2013 with the website’s Greening STEM: Taking Technology Outdoors resources. Register for upcoming webinars and look through the archives. Check out the extensive resources and curricula library. http://www.eeweek.org/
by editor | Feb 15, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
1. Environmental Literacy Grants
NOAA’s Office of Education has issued a request for applications for projects designed to build the capacity of educators to use NOAA data and data access tools to help K-12 students and/or the public understand and respond to global change. Applicants should be collaborative teams of two or more U.S. institutions or non-profit U.S. aquariums, The deadline for entry is March 12, 2013
http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/grants/funding.html
2. Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program. Students are invited to create duck stamp drawings to show what they have learned about wetlands habitat and waterfowl conservation. Check the website for details. Most state deadlines for submission are March 15, 2013.
http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/
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3. Thacher Environmental Research Contest
The Thacher Environmental Research Contest, held by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, challenges students in grades 9-12 to conduct innovative research demonstrating the best uses of geospatial tools and data to study the Earth. The deadline for entry is April 15, 2013.
http://strategies.org/education/student-contests/thacher-contest/
4. Ocean Exploration Workshops
NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Program and partners offer the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection, How Do We Explore? Professional Development Workshop for Educators. Participants will receive curriculum with CD-ROM’s, certificates of participation, and more. Contact the noted educator or check out the website for registration and more information.
• April 6, 2013 with Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon. The deadline for registration is March 15, 2013. Contact Tracy Crews at tracy.crews@oregonstate.edu
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5. ArcGIS Online
Field data from water quality to tree species to wildlife sightings can be mapped and analyzed within a web-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping environment. ArcGIS Online is available for free online and allows users to upload data, map it, and more. Check out the featured maps and apps.
http://www.arcgis.com/home/
6. Climate Change & Biodiversity Curriculum
The Center for Essential Science at the University of Michigan has developed SPECIES (Students Predicting the Effects of Climate In Ecological Systems), an eight to twelve-week online curriculum that focuses on climate change and climate change impacts. The curriculum fuses core science content with scientific practices and includes a species distribution modeling tool for teaching students about the effects of warming temperatures on biological communities. Check out the archived webinar, example lessons, and further information about trying out the curriculum.
http://essentialscience.umich.edu/essentialscience/home
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7. Endangered Species Act 40th Anniversary
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, co-administrator of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with NOAA Fisheries, has already kicked off their ESA 40th celebration. The website offers This Day in History, Media Kit/Resources, Know Your Species, and more. Be sure to also check out the NOAA Fisheries and Endangered Species Day websites for resources, events, and more.
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ESA40/index.html
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/
http://www.stopextinction.org/esd.html
by editor | Jan 26, 2013 | K-12 Classroom Resources
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“Your class sure looked happy,” one of my colleagues remarked last week. And I agreed! They were very happy.
When the sun reappeared after a cold spell, I took my Nature Connections students outside for an activity that I was sure would be fun for them.
I’m a firm believer in fun in the learning process. And I’m not alone. Brain research has proven that students learn better when the lesson is fun and enjoyable. Not only does fun promote learning and long-term memory, it also increases dopamine and endorphins in the brain—the “feel-good” neurochemicals.
To be clear, fun doesn’t mean relaxing or goofing off. “Fun means engagement, doing and learning what has meaning and purpose, and it means challenge.” (Daniel Pink, author of Drive).
Renowned psychiatrist Dr. William Glasser states:
“There are four psychological needs that we are individually driven to satisfy: the need to belong (sense of community), the need for power (control over ourselves and our environment), the need for freedom (lack of restrictions), and the need for fun (pleasure and enjoyment). These are things that we need in our lives almost as badly as food and shelter.”
As teachers, we can help satisfy these needs for our students through the way we structure our classrooms and our lessons. I focused on FUN last week. Below are some fun ideas you might like to incorporate into your classroom.
Inside: Fun and Unusual Animals
Kids love animals, and they’re a source for so many “fun facts.” Especially when the animals themselves are really unusual. There’s Baribusa in My Bathtub: Facts and Fancy About Curious Creatures by Maxine Rose Schur is full of humorous rhymes and magical illustrations that illuminate the lives of little-known animals.
There’s a loris in your chorus? He’s quite a singer! 
Care to play bingo with a dingo? Watch out, he’s a sharp one. A babirusa in your bathtub? Better leave him there – he loves water!) Witty, lively poems makes learning about these unsung animals fun—and fun to imitate by writing similar poems about well-known animals.
Outside: Creating Blobsters
A Blobster is an imaginary creature that is made of clay and natural items. The picture shown here is a Blobster I made as a sample for my students.
Here are the steps I used in my lesson:
- Because we had been focusing on recycling in the classroom, I began this lesson discussing natural objects that can be recycled.
- I showed my sample Blobster and asked students to identify the natural objects I used to create it. We then made a list of some of the natural objects found on our playground that could be recycled to create a Blobster.
- I gave each student a small paper bag and took them outside. They had about 10 minutes to collect natural items.
The following steps may be done inside, 
but my students had fun creating their Blobsters outside:
- We gathered at picnic tables on the playground, and I gave each student a “blob” of clay. (I used about 1/2 pound per student. You can use modeling clay, but I chose to use clay that would air-dry because I wanted the Blobsters to harden. It was also much less expensive than modeling clay.)
- Students had 25 minutes to create their Blobster. I reminded them to firmly push the natural items into the clay, because the clay would shrink as it dried. They discovered that some items were much more difficult to adhere to the clay than others.
- I knew some would finish in a hurry, so I had enough clay for those students to create a second Blobster—a “Blobster Buddy.”
- I had several shallow boxes on hand, and students put their Blobsters in the boxes to transport back inside.
- A few days later, when the Blobsters were completely dry, we had a Blobster Display and students admired the work of others. I ended the Blobster activity with a science/writing project about the four basic needs of all animals, which is described under More Facts and Fun with Animals.
Note: Although one side of the school still had some snow on the ground, the other side was in the sun, and kids found an abundance of dried leaves, bark, twigs, pine cones, dried seeds, and stems to use.
More Facts and Fun with Animals
All animals have four basic needs: food, water, shelter, and safety. Use the pdf Wildlife All Around Us, to introduce these needs to your students. Once they understand the terminology, have them fold a piece of white paper into 4 quadrants, labeling each quadrant with one of the basic needs. With words and/or pictures, have them show how their Blobster meets its basic needs. On the back of the paper (or on a fresh sheet), have them do the same thing for an actual animal.
Have students create a story about one of the animals found in Nature’s Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats by Mary Miche. Then have them weave the four basic needs into their story in an interesting way.
David Rice, in his book Do Animals Have Feelings Too?, has collected true stories of animal behavior that is not only captivating, but also thought-provoking.
Photo sources: Dawn Publications, Carol Malnor, Brad Montgomery, Colleen Webb
