Mazina’igan Reading – Reserve Style
In this lesson, teachers will become familiar with a close reading strategy that they will be able to model with their students. They will do this through marking the text and discussing various perspectives that they find in their reading. This lesson was written for Summer 2023 in the article titled “Invasive Species: Casualties of colonization” by Michael Waasegiizhig Price. The curriculum file is the lesson plan including the annotation guide and an example of an annotated article. The Supporting File is the Summer 2023 issue of the Mazina'igan newspaper, published quarterly by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Manoomin Mystery
Where it was, where it is today, and how we can ensure it will be here in the future.
Students will analyze the effects of predators, sulfate levels, and neglectful human practices on manoomin (Ojibwemowin language for “wild rice”). Students will learn about the life cycle of manoomin and traditional harvest methods. They will observe change over time in the St. Louis River Estuary by comparing a satellite image of the St. Louis River Estuary with a historical hand drawn map of the same area to see where wild rice has historically been found. Finally, they will be presented with real life scientific data affecting manoomin growth today. Students will apply reading, writing, group work, and inquiry-based scientific methods to solve the mysteries presented to them.
What Makes Our Snow So Special?
Although other places in the country and in the world have lots of snow, they aren’t as special as ours. Our Great Lakes give us extra lake effect snow! So, the next time you are around the Great Lakes and it’s snowing, try to remember how special our area really is! The curriculum download is a PDF containing everything you need to run this lesson with your class, including a link to a video lesson to share with your students.
Nature Nibble #9 – First Week of June
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from our SPECIAL GUEST HOSTS to watch before you go outside. Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Rocks Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with links to the video lesson and fun rock facts
Nature Nibble #8 – Fourth Week of May
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from Ms. Deanna to watch before you go outside. Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Clouds Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with links to the video lesson and fun cloud facts
Nature Nibble #7 – Third Week of May
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from our SPECIAL GUEST HOST to watch before you go outside. Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Leaves Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with a link to the video lesson
Nature Nibble #6 – Second Week of May
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from Deanna and Alyssa to watch before you go outside. Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Flowers Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with a link to the video lesson
Nature Nibble #5 – First Week of May
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from Alyssa to watch before you go outside. There is also some links to fun frog sounds to check out too! Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Frogs Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with links to the video lesson, frogs sounds, and fun frog facts
Where Did All This Snow Come From?
If you live around the Great Lakes, you are familiar with snow….lots and lots of snow. The Greats lake region often has more snow than other areas throughout the country because we have something called “lake effect snow.” But just what exactly is lake effect snow? In this lesson students will investigate this phenomenon to understand how the lake effect causes heavy snow in the areas around the Great Lakes by focusing on phase state change from liquid to vapor. The curriculum download is a PDF of the lesson plan. The supporting file is a PDF of the student worksheets.
Nature Nibble #4 – Fourth Week of April
Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble curriculum document to take a look at what might be going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links supporting file to open up a YouTube video from Melissa and Ryan to watch before you go outside. There is also some links to fun bird sounds to check out too! Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them on your Nature Nibble sheet or in your journal. Get out there and have fun!
--Curriculum file is a Birds Worksheet --
Supporting file is a sheet with links to the video lesson, bird sounds, and information about birds
