Great Lakes Aquarium – Research Prompts
The attachments below are a "student copy" and a "teacher copy" of a guide to each exhibit at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, MN. One purpose of this resource is as a school research project kick-off for students and their teacher. Another is developing a teaching unit, using student inquiry as your guide. This resource may also be used for digging in deeper to the exhibits through teacher-guided discussion, partner-group discussion, or individual reflection. The curriculum download is a PDF of the 'teacher copy'. The supporting file is a PDF of the 'student copy'.
Guess that Animal!
Students will work in teams to read about an animal that lives in the St. Louis River Estuary. They will then work together to draw and name the animal that they think the description describes. This allows students to become familiar with animals that could be present around their school or homes that live in the estuary while also learning valuable lessons in team work. The curriculum download is a PDF lesson plan for this activity. The supporting file is a PowerPoint slideshow to support the lesson.
Habitat Scavenger Hunt
A wonderfully crafted scavenger hunt for a no-fail outdoor experience with your students. The curriculum download is a PDF version of the scavenger hunt.
How Did They Get Here?
Students will investigate a variety of resources to formulate a hypothesis regarding how Rusty Crayfish arrived in the St. Louis River. The curriculum download is a ZIP file containing all the PDF documents needed to run this lesson with a learners of a variety of ages.
How Do Animals Survive the Winter?
Students will learn about the different ways animals survive in the winter through reading about animal adaptations and doing class presentations about some of the animals that live in or near aquatic environments. Students will also have the opportunity to create their own animals and come up with habitats and winter adaptations for those creations. The curriculum download is a PDF that includes the lesson plan, student sheets, and a student reading sheet. The supporting file is a PDF with images of common animals found in northern MN/WI and their winter adaptations.
Keep the Water Clean!
Students will learn about different types of pollution that can be present in water, ways those types of pollution can be handled, what Areas of Concerns are, and what can be done to clean up (and keep clean) Areas of Concerns in the St. Louis River Estuary. The curriculum download is a PDF lesson plan for this activity. The supporting file is a PowerPoint slideshow to support the lesson.
Lake Superior Geology Informational Text: Read and Understand!
The emphasis on reading and understanding informational texts in classrooms mirrors our efforts in science at the Lake Superior NERR. These readings are based on real scientific efforts in the Lake Superior Watershed, and include questions to check for understanding. This text on geology includes a timeline of the formation of Lake Superior. The curriculum download is a PDF of this informational reader.
Like a Plant
Students will learn what lichen, moss, and fungus are as well as how they are important to the ecosystem and to humans. The curriculum download is a PDF including the lesson plan and all student materials.
Macroinvertebrate Informational Text: Read and Understand!
The emphasis on reading and understanding informational texts in classrooms mirrors our efforts in science at the Lake Superior NERR. These readings are based on real scientific efforts in the Lake Superior Watershed, and include questions to check for understanding. This short text includes pictures of commonly found aquatic macroinvertebrates. The curriculum download is a PDF of this informational reader.
Making a Watershed!
This lesson outline and PowerPoint guide you and your students through learning about watersheds by making your own! Students will make their own landscape and hypothesize where water and land are on their landscape. They can add places of human activity and predict what will happen to their watershed when it "rains"! This is a fun, short activity that can be extended to emphasize key ideas. The Enviroscape from the Great Lakes Aquarium is optional but very useful for this lesson! The curriculum download is a PDF lesson plan for this activity. The supporting file is a PowerPoint slideshow to support this lesson.
