Curriculum Filter Results

Big Floods, Big Lake (flooding)

What causes Lake Superior flooding? By taking a look at evidence from the flood of 2016 in the Twin Ports area and learning about the characteristics of floods, the mystery will be solved.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
3. The Great Lakes influence local and regional weather and climate.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.
8. The Great Lakes are socially, economically, and environmentally significant to the region, the nation and the planet.

Data Table Worksheet

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.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :

Flooded! Using data to understand a changing Lake Superior

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.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
3. The Great Lakes influence local and regional weather and climate.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.

Formation of Lake Superior

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.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
1. The Great Lakes, bodies of fresh water with many features, are connected to each other and to the world ocean.
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
7. Much remains to be learned about the Great Lakes.

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.

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Subject Areas: , ,
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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
1. The Great Lakes, bodies of fresh water with many features, are connected to each other and to the world ocean.
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
3. The Great Lakes influence local and regional weather and climate.
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
5. The Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.
7. Much remains to be learned about the Great Lakes.
8. The Great Lakes are socially, economically, and environmentally significant to the region, the nation and the planet.

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.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
5. The Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems.

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.

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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
1. The Great Lakes, bodies of fresh water with many features, are connected to each other and to the world ocean.
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.

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!

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Subject Areas:
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Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
1. The Great Lakes, bodies of fresh water with many features, are connected to each other and to the world ocean.
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.

Nature Nibble #1- April 6th

Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble document to take a look at what is going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links document to open up a YouTube video to watch and some animal sounds to listen to before you go outside. Be sure to look around for other things happening outside your window and either write them down or draw them in your journal. Get out there and have fun!

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Subject Areas:
Grade Levels: , , ,
Topics: , , ,

Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
5. The Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.

Nature Nibble #2 – April 13th

Get out in your own backyard and see what's going on! Open up the Nature Nibble document to take a look at what is going on outside your window. Use the Nature Nibble Links document 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 in your journal. Get out there and have fun!

Details

Subject Areas:
Grade Levels: , , ,
Topics: , , ,

Great Lakes Literacy Principles:
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land. :
5. The Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.