Teaching Resources
Teaching environmental issues in your classroom is a critical component of providing your students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. Discover a wealth Chesapeake Bay related books, multimedia, curriculum guides, individual lesson plans and online data sources.
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Subject
- All Subjects
- Art
Language Arts- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Technology
Level
- All Levels
- Early Learning
- Elementary School
- Middle School
- High School
Type
Alignment
Keywords
- All Keywords
- acid rain
- adaptation
- African American
- agriculture
- air pollution and fossil fuels
- aquatic grass SAV
- beaver
- biodiversity
- blue crab
- boats, canoes and kayaks
- climate change
- culture and watermen
- development
- dissolved oxygen
- Drinking Water
- economics
- ecosystem and biomes
- erosion
- experiments and investigations
- fish
- food web
- forest
- geocaching (GIS/GPS)
- Geography
- green development
- habitat and niche
- identification
- invasive species
- John Smith and colonial times
- land use
- litter, trash and recycling
- Native American
- nitrogen and carbon cycle
- non-point source
- orienteering
- Outdoor Activity
- oyster
- photosynthesis
- point source
- pollution
- population growth
- predator prey relationships
- renewable resource
- restoration
- salinity
- schoolyard habitat
- sediment, soil and rocks
- smart growth
- stormwater
- stream study
- student action
- Temperature
- transportation
- Underground Railroad
- water and energy conservation
- water cycle and movement
- water quality
- water testing
- watershed
- weather
- wetland
- wildlife
Groundwater Sourcebook
This source book contains 10 activities covering ground water issues.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, water quality
Global Water Supply: Elementary School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, water and energy conservation, water quality, Drinking Water
Riverworks Discovery: Wheel House Log Book
The Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Potomac, and James Rivers are some of the most important in the
Mid-Atlantic region. These historic rivers contribute to our nation’s economy, history, and culture. This information and activity packet provides content on watersheds, early exploration of the region, the history of water travel and trade, and more.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
boats, canoes and kayaks, development, air pollution and fossil fuels, culture and watermen, John Smith and colonial times, litter, trash and recycling, Native American, restoration, transportation
Riverworks Discovery: Wildlife Logbook
RiverWorks invites your students to come and explore the intricate web of river life. Through these activities and this information packet, your students will play detective and use their senses to find clues of local wildlife. They will also write their thoughts about your river experience and learn what you can do to make a difference.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, watershed, wildlife
NOAA Estuaries Physical Science Module Activity 3: Human Impacts on Estuaries
In this activity, students make a model of a pollution spill that occurred at Bangs Lake, a tidal lake within the Grand Bay NERR in Mississippi, in April 2005, and measure water quality parameters in their model. Students then study the actual spill, analyzing various forms of data to determine the date of the spill and
identify how the spill changed water quality parameters in the estuary during and after the spill. They speculate on how various life forms in the estuary were affected. Finally, students produce a timeline of the spill event with recommendations to the state Department of
Environmental Quality about how to prevent large-scale pollution spills like this in the future.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, water quality, student action
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Bay & Coastal Resources
In the lesson plans that accompany the literature included in this packet, students will observe that muddy water blocks sunlight. They will consider ways that soil might get into water and make inferences about its effects on underwater grasses, crabs, and other animals. They will also dramatize connections between the sun, the earth, and eelgrass; and between people on land and blue crabs in an eelgrass environment.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, watershed, water quality, water testing
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Agricultural Resources
Students will learn the difference between colonial and modern farming practices in Virginia. They will look at data on farming income, harvesting dates and crop types.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
land use, agriculture, erosion, sediment, soil and rocks
Are You a River Keeper?
Learners will utilize fundamental techniques to determine the health of a local river. They will collect, compile, display and interpret their data. The students will focus on how water speed affects rates of erosion and deposition. They will focus on the history of, reasons for, and possible solutions to excessive deposition in the southern branch of the Muskegon River or waterway in their community. Through the writing and performing of a short theatrical activity, learners will summarize articles they have read to increase environmental awareness. Learners will become aware of global issues of clean water scarcity. Learners will investigate the many causes of river water pollution and relate them to their sources. Students will then identify four sectors of society and how each can be an agent for change. They will locate and write letters to public service, nonprofit organizations in support of water clarity. After presenting their findings to peers, students will distribute a self-designed pledge, requesting households to commit to positive change.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School
Keywords:
pollution, water and energy conservation, erosion, water quality, water testing, student action
Global Water Supply: Middle School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
adaptation, water and energy conservation, water quality, Drinking Water
Global Water Supply: High School Curriculum
Stand-alone lesson plans are part of larger units that cover a broad scope of subjects including English, science and technology, and social sciences like geography, civics and economics. Classroom activities cover everything from poetry seminars and vocabulary-building worksheets to science and math lessons about potable water availability. Activities are aligned to national standards.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
National Science Education
Keywords:
pollution, land use, water and energy conservation, renewable resource, water quality, economics, Drinking Water
We Have a Story to Tell Teaching Guide -- The Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
This teaching guide is intended for use with students in grades 9-12. The guide identifies Native American ways of life before, during and after contact with Europeans. It focuses especially on how Powhatan, Nanticoke, and Piscataway peoples responded to the upheavals that began with the colonial period and includes activities that focus on critical contemporary issues that affect Native communities in the region.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
John Smith and colonial times, Native American
Skates Lesson
Using a rubber skate models, students will learn to identify the parts of a skate, observe the details of a skates body and skate egg case and understand the unique characteristics of a skate.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
wildlife
Seashell Mapping Lesson
During this cooperative group activity, students work with seashells to build science skills in classifying, identifying, organizing, observing, interpreting, reaching consensus and drawing conclusions.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
wildlife
Seashell Homes Lesson
During this interdisciplinary lesson, students listen to a story about seashells, discuss shelled animals to gain scientific understanding and participate in a visual arts activity that reinforces the lesson's key concept that shells are made by certain marine animals called mollusks for shelter and protection.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
habitat and niche, wildlife
Salt Marsh in a Pan Activity
Students create a model of a salt marsh to discover the impact of pollution and human activities on water-based habitats including bays and the ocean. Model may also be used to demonstrate salt marsh functions, non-point source pollution and watershed concepts.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, wetland, watershed, experiments and investigations, salinity
Project Learning Tree Curriculum Guide
The Project Learning Tree Curriculum Guide is a collection of 96 hands-on interdisciplinary activities that bring the environment into your classroom. The guide is designed so you can use a single activity or many over the course of a quarter or school year. Each activity includes an overview, background content and a teachers' step-by-step guide. The guide's five main themes are diversity, interrelationships, systems, structure and scale, and patterns of change.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland,
Virginia,
New York,
West Virginia,
District of Columbia,
Delaware,
National Science Education,
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
pollution, land use, watershed, air pollution and fossil fuels, biodiversity, forest
Outdoor Scavenger Hunt and Journaling Activity
Provides a list of items students can find in their schoolyard as well as a reflection activity.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
schoolyard habitat
Oceans for Life Videos
http://oceanslive.gso.uri.edu/ is a marine science portal that offers live video and special content to educate people of all ages about the ocean, including national marine sanctuaries. Learn more about oceanography, marine life, conservation and preservation, marine research technologies, and the nation's maritime heritage.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
ecosystem and biomes, habitat and niche, wildlife
Maryland Project WET Training and Curriculum Guide
After completion of a six hour training, educators are given a free Project WET curriculum and activity guide packed with 91 hands-on activities that cross many disciplines in the study of water and water resources - chemistry and physics, life science, earth systems, natural resource management, history and culture. During the workshop educators learn how to incorporate local issues into the lessons.
Perfect for 4-H Youth Development, Scouts, and other youth organizations as well, the goal of Project WET is to facilitate and promote the awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the development and dissemination of classroom ready teaching aids.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
pollution, watershed, biodiversity, culture and watermen, ecosystem and biomes, water quality, wildlife
Harvesting of Trees Lesson
Students explore the effects of logging while developing research skills.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Pennsylvania
Keywords:
forest, renewable resource
Bay Dreaming Bookstore
Here's a site that lists various books about the Chesapeake Bay's history, conservation, travel destinations, etc.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Books and Publications
Level(s):
High School
Keywords:
water and energy conservation, habitat and niche, wildlife
Adopt A Tree Lesson
Students will discover the importance of trees by adopting a tree and observing the tree over several visits throughout the year. Students will observe the tree's seasonal changes, discover the life history of a tree, and witness a wide variety of birds, insects and mammals that live in trees.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Science
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
forest, habitat and niche, schoolyard habitat
Healthy Water, Healthy People
Healthy Water, Healthy People is an innovative water quality education program sponsored by Project WET and the Hach Scientific Foundation.
The goal of Healthy Water, Healthy People is to make complex concepts of water quality relevant and meaningful for you and those you teach.
The program offers hands-on activities, an Educator’s Guide, testing kits, training, and much more. The Healthy Water, Healthy People Educator’s Guide, geared at Grades 6-12, contains twenty-five hands-on activities that are ideal for teaching complete water quality units as well as a supplement to existing curriculum.
Subject(s):
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities, Supplies
Level(s):
Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
pollution, watershed, restoration, water quality, water testing
EPA - Turning the Tide on Trash: Marine Debris Curriculum Guide
The three units in this learning guide are designed to increase students' awareness of the impacts of marine debris and teach them pollution prevention techniques. At the same time, the activities strive to inspire an appreciation of the ocean. This guide may be used as a stand-alone teaching tool or individual activities may be used to supplement work in other subject areas.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
pollution, water and energy conservation, litter, trash and recycling
NOAA - Turning the Tide on Trash: A Learning Guide on Marine Debris
Educators, parents, students, and researchers can use NOAA's “Turning the Tide on Trash” as they explore the serious impacts marine debris can have on wildlife, the environment, our well being, and our economy. This interdisciplinary guide can be used as a stand-alone teaching tool, or individual activities within the guide may be used to supplement work in other subject areas. Students searching for science fair projects can also adapt some of these lessons into research projects.
Subject(s):
Art, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Keywords:
litter, trash and recycling, restoration, water quality, wildlife
