Pour a Pond
Students pour pond water into hula hoops on shower curtains to create their own “pond.” They then work together using dichotomous keys to identify organisms.
Curriculum Filter Results
Build a Watershed; Just Add Water
Students build and learn about the concept of a watershed and runoff with a student-friendly hands-on investigation.
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Where have all the Lake Trout gone?
Students create and interpret graphs to determine the impact of the sea lamprey on Lake Trout populations.
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Adopt a Habitattitude
Ten lessons on aquatic invasive species for use with students in grades 6-12.
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What is the impact of beach litter?
In this activity, students will construct a web of things that may increase or decrease as a result of beach litter. Student construct a life-size concept map to be to explain many potential impacts of beach litter and then discuss various interpretations of the possible debris impacts.
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How Big is a Crowd?
The Great Lakes and the surrounding land provide many resources for the people who live in the area. Water for drinking and industry, fish for food, minerals, and other resources are abundant. However, people change the landscape. They create wastes and add chemicals to the environment when they use resources, and these can be harmful. When many people are concentrated in one area, they may compete for resources. In addition, the wastes these people generate tend to concentrate in the area immediately around them and may cause pollution problems.
In this teacher-facilitated activity, learners will construct the five Great Lakes from string and use wrapped candy or peanuts in shells to investigate the impacts of population centers on Great Lakes fish production and water quality. Students learn to compare the relative sizes of the five Great Lakes and their human populations, as well as describe some of the problems that arise when many people
depend on a limited resource.
Objectives
When students have completed this activity, they will be able to:
- Compare the relative sizes of the five Great Lakes and their human populations.
- Describe some of the problems that arise when many people depend on a limited resource.
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Beach Mysteries
Students learn about bacteria as an indicator of beach water quality for swimming. In groups they solve
hypothetical problems associated with beaches. Then students write persuasive essays on the issue.
Activities:
- Discuss the effect of harmful bacteria on swimming conditions at beaches.
- Diagram three reasons for beach contamination.
- Explain solutions for beach health problems.
- Write a persuasive essay about beach health
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Hydropoly: A Decision Making Game
Students play a board game to hone their decision-making skills. Through the various choices posed in the game, they are asked to consider both economic and environmental well being in making decisions.
Objectives:
- Discuss land-use practices that affect Great Lakes wetlands
- Make decisions and recognize personal priorities with regard to wetlands
- Describe some of the economic factors that often drive land use
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What Are the Characteristics of the Great Lakes Exotic Species?
This puzzle activity is designed to help students review facts and information about the characteristics of the Great Lakes exotic species. They also learn about origin and introduction methods.
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What are some characteristics of Great Lakes fish?
If you know how to construct a dichotomous key, you can make one that classifies real organisms, some fish in the Great Lakes. After building a dichotomous key, students will describe some ways fish differ from each other in appearance and use similar characteristics of fish to group them into categories for classification.