Utilizing the Lake Superior watershed and the St. Louis River as a foundation for learning
There are amazing resources out there! Here are some that might be helpful. GLIFWC also has FREE and inexpensive resources to download and purchase!
Students will investigate a variety of resources to formulate a hypothesis regarding how Rusty Crayfish arrived in the St. Louis River.
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.
Students will construct a large map of a place of their choosing. This place will be divided into smaller sections using a string/flag grid system. Each student will take their time to create a map of one portion of the grid to be put together into a larger whole.
The curriculum attached is actually a list of websites you can find useful for you and your students. Some of the websites will give you access to data that you can give to your students, other websites (like the WI DNR EEK!! website) provides information that your students can use (and is age appropriate for elementary/middle school). Other websites provide great kits or other resources.
The unit plan attached will guide students through the rock cycle (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock formations), identification of common rocks of these types, and guide students into understanding the importance of brownstone. There are a lot of resources for this: "The Brownstone Quarries of Bayfield County" by Tom Gerstenberger (two parts), rock identification key, rock cycle, and (attached here as well) Survivor Buildings of the Great Chicago Fire. LSNERR has a rock collection kit and "You're a Rock!" Game kit.
The Savanna Portage was the crucial link between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico. Its discovery and usage created an interesting and important mix of cultures between Native Americans, Voyageurs, fur trading companies, and other explorers.
Here is a "scavenger hunt" form for the Shipwrecks Alive! Exhibit at the Great Lakes Aquarium with answer sheet!
This lesson is a map quest that incorporates maps, land, government, and bodies of water. Using maps and a legend students will discover the different governing entities that are responsible for certain parts of the river and determine if the land is federal, state, city, or tribal.
Students will see maps of Lake Superior and the St. Louis River to compare the sizes. Students will then each draw a portion of either the St. Louis River or a river near their school that flows into the St. Louis River or Lake Superior. They will make connections that every part of the river can impact the health of the rest of the river and of Lake Superior.