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.
Begin by choosing the criteria for your search. It is only necessary to include the criteria you wish to use to limit your search. The more specific your search the more focused and narrow the results.
If you know of a great teaching resource that is not included in the Bay Backpack please let us know by suggesting a resource.
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
> Elementary School The Water Sourcebook: Grade Level 3-5
This environmental education program from the US EPA explains the water management cycle using a balanced approach showing how it affects all aspects of the environment.All activities contain hands-on investigations, fact sheets, reference materials, and a glossary of terms. Activities are organized by objectives, materials needed, background information, advance preparation, procedures, and resources. This resource is divided into five chapters: Introduction to Water, Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment, Surface Water Resources, Ground Water Resources, and Wetlands and Coastal Waters.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
pollution, water cycle and movement, acid rain, wetland, land use, watershed, water quality, Drinking Water
The Water Sourcebook: Grade Level K-2
This environmental education program from the US EPA explains the water management cycle using a balanced approach showing how it affects all aspects of the environment.All activities contain hands-on investigations, fact sheets, reference materials, and a glossary of terms. Activities are organized by objectives, materials needed, background information, advance preparation, procedures, and resources. This resource is divided into five chapters: Introduction to Water, Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment, Surface Water Resources, Ground Water Resources, and Wetlands and Coastal Waters.
Subject(s):
Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School
Keywords:
water cycle and movement, watershed, stormwater, water and energy conservation, water quality, salinity, Drinking Water
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
A Teachers Guide to Delaware State Parks: Field Trips and Outreach Opportunities
Delaware State Parks are great places for students and teachers to explore nature and history. With 16 parks, five historic sites and many natural areas, Delaware State Parks offer you a comprehensive view of our state’s natural and historical heritage. This resource contains an overview of Delaware State Park field trip and outreach programs, as a printable PDF.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Delaware
Keywords:
land use, watershed, wildlife, Outdoor Activity
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
Mapping Watersheds
How does topography shape a watershed? In this activity, students label major rivers and outline watersheds on a world map. They compare the shapes of various watersheds and discuss how topography influences their shapes.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Posters and Maps
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
watershed, Geography
Introduction to the Underground Railroad
Students will learn about the Underground Railroad and why slaves used it.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad Route
Students will identify slave states and free states during the time of the Underground Railroad, explore the challenges of escaping, and choose the route they would have taken.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
How Slaves Found Their Way North
Students learn about natural and human-made clues that helped slaves find their way north through the Underground Railroad. Then they create a quilt with clues about routes to freedom.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad - Routes to Freedom
The Underground Railroad, some paths of which are shown in this map, was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Posters and Maps
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad - Faces of Freedom
Find out about these "faces of freedom" for the Underground Railroad—important former slaves, abolitionists, writers and poets, detectives, and teachers.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad - Timeline
This online, interactive timeline allows your students to explore the events surrounding the Underground Railroad.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Keywords:
African American, Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad - Online Interactive
You are a slave in Maryland in the 1800s. Can you escape? Learn what challenges slaves faced in National Geographic's online, interactive Underground Railroad adventure.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
culture and watermen, African American, Underground Railroad
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Public Policy & Environmental Management
Check out these great lesson plans! This information and activity packet discusses the environmental quality and pollution, and the management and public policies that seek to address them. Two lesson plans are also included. In the "Pollution Prevention Audit Activity," students predict types of waste produced and analyze ways to
decrease it. In the "Sum of the Parts: From the James River to the Chesapeake Bay" lesson plan, students will map and collate different land uses in a simulation “puzzle” exercise that shows the cumulative effects of each land use on water quality.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Early Learning, Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
pollution, land use, watershed, air pollution and fossil fuels, litter, trash and recycling, renewable resource, water quality, economics
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Forest Resources
This document provides students with information on forested lands in Virginia, and the benefits of forests. Forest ecology, the economic value of Virginia's forests, the role of streamside forests, and managing and conserving healthy forests are all covered. The literature also explains how trees grow and how students can tell the age of a tree.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Books and Publications
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
watershed, erosion, forest, economics
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Wildlife Resources
Virginians are fortunate to share their home with a wide diversity of wildlife. This informational packet provides information on the importance of habitat to wildlife, and Virginia's wildlife management and conservation efforts. By completing the Counting Critters lesson plan that is included in this packet, students will be able to conduct a wildlife inventory of their community; describe cause and effect relationships that help and hinder wildlife in their community; and recommend changes in their community that could benefit wildlife.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
wildlife
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Minerals & Energy Resources
This document contains seven pages of background information for your students, eight pages of charts, graphs, and tables, and an Energy in the Balance lesson plan. The cooperative activity included in this packet encourages students to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the major energy sources identified in the literature through a series of rating activities.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities, Data
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
nitrogen and carbon cycle, air pollution and fossil fuels, water and energy conservation, renewable resource
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Virginia's Historic Resources
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Books and Publications
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
John Smith and colonial times, Native American, renewable resource
Virginia's Natural Resource Education Guide: Open Space & Public Lands
In 1607, when the first European settlers landed on the coast of what would become the Commonwealth of Virginia, the natural resources they encountered appeared to be inexhaustible. In fact, it was almost 300 years before we realized that the natural treasures that made the New World so appealing were not limitless and had been carelessly used. This resource provides information related to the history, current status, and future of land conservation efforts in Virginia. A lesson plan on Invasive Species is also included.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Virginia
Keywords:
invasive species, population growth, land use, restoration
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
On The Trail Of Captain John Smith
This National Geographic interactive allows your students to follow John Smith as he helps establish the Jamestown colony, explores the Chesapeake Bay, and meets local Indians in this new kids game.
Subject(s):
Social Studies
Type(s):
Multimedia
Level(s):
Elementary School
Keywords:
John Smith and colonial times
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
Oystering on the Chesapeake - Explorations 6 - 10
The Oystering on the Chesapeake Curriculum is series of multi-disciplinary lesson plans designed to introduce students in grades 4, 5, and 6 to the economic, environmental, and cultural significance of the oystering industry of the Chesapeake Bay. This includes explorations Oyster Wars, In the Can, Mystery of the Disappearing Oyster, Oyster Times, and It's About Time.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
oyster, culture and watermen
Oystering on the Chesapeake - Explorations 1 - 5
The Oystering on the Chesapeake Curriculum is series of multi-disciplinary lesson plans designed to introduce students in grades 4, 5, and 6 to the economic, environmental, and cultural significance of the oystering industry of the Chesapeake Bay. These explorations include On board a Skipjack, Dead Reckoning, Payday!, From Bay to Table, and A Day in the Life of an Oyster Packinghouse.
Subject(s):
Science, Social Studies
Type(s):
Curriculum Guide, Lessons and Activities
Level(s):
Elementary School, Middle School
Aligned with the following standard(s):
Maryland
Keywords:
oyster, culture and watermen
