Utilizing the Lake Superior watershed and the St. Louis River as a foundation for learning
Attached is a student copy and teacher copy of a short assignment students can do to understand how to (and where to) enter data in a data table. There are five "journal entries" from two "scientists" that are studying Otter River. Students will use the journal entries to enter data into the table at the bottom of the page. Curriculum download is a PDF student copy of the worksheet. Supporting File is a PDF teacher copy of the worksheet.
This lesson gives a small introduction to dissolved oxygen. The Reserve has the equipment needed for the lesson. The Curriculum download is a PDF document of the lesson plan. The Supporting File is an informational packet for students in PDF form.
Students will discover the importance of Manoomin to the region and uncover a mystery about who has been eating the wetland plant. The Curriculum download is a PowerPoint slideshow teaching guide that has all the links you need to run the lesson with your class.
Attached are teacher and student copies of a trout and its anatomy. When printed back to back, the copies can be folded so the external anatomy picture can be flipped up to reveal the internal anatomy picture. The Curriculum download is a PDF version of the student copy of the trout anatomy diagram, unlabeled. The Supporting File is a PDF version of the teacher copy of the trout anatomy diagram with labels.
Did you wake up in July of 2016 during a thunderstorm and the next morning see images of flooded Wisconsin rivers in the news? Floods like these could have a big impact on the Lake Superior of the future. Take a look at play-by-play data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Park Service and US Geological Survey to help you and your students make sense of big picture impacts to our watershed and our communities. The Curriculum download is a PDF of the lesson plan. The Supporting File is a PDF containing the data packets, prediction tables, and associated student worksheets.
Students will discover the relationship between Lake Superior temperatures and algae growth. Lesson resources are linked in the teaching guide. Curriculum download is a Powerpoint slide deck with links to all the resources you need to run this lesson with your class.
Students will put on a play to go through the steps of how Lake Superior formed by rifting of the Minnesota shore from the Wisconsin shore, erosion of mountains that were created from the rifting, and filling of the rift zone. Optional: discuss how the formations of Lake Superior also resulted in the formation of the different types of igneous (volcanic, from rifting and volcanic activity) and sedimentary (from sedimentation, or build up, of sediments from eroded mountains and other rocks) rocks we find in Lake Superior. Curriculum download is a PDF version of the lesson plan. The Supporting File download is a visual aid showing the different types of rocks.
Students will play a game of survival by creating fish with dominant and recessive traits to understand how evolution through adaptations of structures and functions help with survival and continuation of genetic variations. The curriculum download is a PDF of the lesson plan for running this lesson with your students. The supporting file is the student worksheet.
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'.
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.
