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Great Lakes Literacy education exploration (GLLee)

Great Lakes Literacy Education Exploration logo with dark blue "GLLee" and a seagull icon inbetween the GLL and the ee.

Great Lakes Literacy education exploration, or GLLee, online courses offer an introductory collection of topics and issues, educational resources and partners assembled to better equip educators to explore Great Lakes Literacy and learning with youth.

What is a GLLee?

  • Free short courses about that can be accessed virtually anytime via Google Classroom
  • Career spotlights with scientists and topic experts featured while introducing each topic
  • Classroom resources curated to foster topic exploration, stewardship, and hands-on learning opportunities with youth
  • Educator community connections with other educators in a virtual community of practice

Educators receive a certificate for three contact hours of study after completing a GLLee course along with a digital notebook with all the resources.

Want to participate in a GLLee?

CGLL programs are open to all, but registration is required for educators to gain access to each Google Classroom and connected content. Please note you will need to use a personal Gmail address (i.e. not your school address) to access course materials.

For any questions, accessibility concerns or issues with this virtual resource, please contact admin@cgll.education.

Topics

Phragmites, a tall grass that is an aquatic invasive species crowds out a boating sign. Photo: Michigan Sea Grant

Aquatic Invasive Species

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 4-12
  • What? Aquatic invasive species are nonindigenous species that have a negative environmental, social, or economic impact on the Great Lakes region.
  • Driving Question? How do invasive species impact the Great Lakes and what can we do to help reduce their impacts on native ecosystems?
  • Register for Aquatic Invasive Species GLLee

 

A stream that is half dried up

Climate Literacy

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 4-12
  • What? Climate Science Literacy is an understanding of your influence on climate and climate’s influence on you and society.
  • Driving Question? How does climate impact Great Lakes communities and ecosystems?
  • Register for the Climate Literacy GLLee

 

Stairways that emerge from the woods that lead down a dune are broken. Photo Michigan Sea Grant

Coastal Erosion

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 6-12
  • What? Coastal erosion is the process by which strong wave action and coastal flooding wear down or carry away rocks, soils, and sands along the coast.
  • Driving Question? How does coastal erosion shape the shorelines of the Great Lakes and impact our ecosystems and communities?
  • Register for Coastal Erosion GLLee

 

A freshwater mussel is pulled from the water and held in a persons hands

Freshwater Mussels

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades K-12
  • What? Freshwater Mussels are bi-valved mollusks that act as the ‘kidneys’ of the waterways they live in.
  • Driving Question? “How do freshwater mussels contribute to the health of aquatic ecosystems, and why are they important to both the environment and human communities?”
  • Register for Freshwater Mussels GLLee

 

Habitat restoration site with markings in the grass.

Habitat Restoration

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades K-12
  • What? Habitat restoration includes protecting and restoring habitat to sustain fisheries, recover protected species, and maintain resilient coastal communities and ecosystems
  • Driving Question? How are habitat restoration efforts currently being conducted in the Great Lakes region?
  • Register for Habitat Restoration GLLee

 

Bits of plastic and other trash litter a beach. Photo: Michigan Sea Grant

Marine Debris

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 4-12
  • What? Marine debris is any human-made material that can end up – on purpose or by accident – in our rivers, ocean, and Great Lakes.
  • Driving Question? How does marine debris impact our Great Lakes and animals (including humans) and plants that depend on this freshwater resource?
  • Register for Marine Debris GLLee (coming soon)

 

image of plankton from a microscope

Plankton

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades K-12
  • What? Plankton are microscopic organisms that are carried by currents in water and make up the base of the food web in aquatic ecosystems.
  • Driving Question? “How do plankton in the Great Lakes support the entire aquatic food web, and what factors are threatening their populations?”
  • Register for Plankton GLLee

 

A Worker at a wastewater treatment facility, with pipes and water filtering, with a city in the background. Photo: Danilo Pinzon, World Bank

Urban Water Cycle

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 4-12
  • What? Urban (human) water cycle is a series of processes and paths that water takes as it is used by a community, including stages of collection, transportation, storage, purification, distribution and delivery, and return to natural bodies of water.
  • Driving Question? How do people access clean, fresh water, and what happens to the water after its use?
  • Register for Urban Water Cycle GLLee (coming soon)

 

Spotted Salamander standing on fall leaves. photo: Yu Man Lee, Becky Norris, Michigan Natural Features Inventory

Vernal Pools

  • Who? Best suited for educators who work with students in grades 6-12
  • What? Vernal pools are “wicked big puddles” and ecologically serve as the “coral reefs of our northern forest ecosystems.”
  • Driving Question? How do vernal pools (seasonal woodland wetlands) benefit the Great Lakes region?
  • Register for Vernal Pools GLLee

This GLLee opportunity is supported by CGLL with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

 

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