Storytelling is an important part of traditional Native American culture. It is important to remember that some stories can only be told in the Winter out of respect for the names that can only be told when the snow is on the ground. Please use the references shared on this page in accordance with the respectful practice of Winter only storytelling. As always, it is best to have the guidance of an experienced elder and / or storyteller when planning best use in the classroom. This unit blended the use of traditional knowledge with textbook based science concepts to show the interconnection between them. Many traditional stories give an explanation of plant and animal adaptations that have a scientific benefit for the organism.

The earthquake game teaches how scientists learn about real earthquakes. The player must learn about S& P waves and triangulation to determine the epicenter of the earthquake that hit the cities.

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School has an annual sugarbush within a few miles of the school.  During the Spring sugarbush season, students are bussed to the site, by class, to do the variety of daily tasks required to successfully produce maple syrup.  The LCO middle school students follow the Ojibwe traditions.  They hear the traditional stories, learn words and phrases in the Ojibwemowin language, tap trees, collect and boil sap, chop wood and build fires. The students learn about tree identification, photosynthesis, and aging trees using cross sections.  They also learn about the importance and uses of Maple trees.  The students learn that the environmental conditions needed to make maple syrup are only found in a very small part of the world that includes Wisconsin.  The combination of hands-on exploration and culturally - relevant texts personalize the learning experience for this region.   

This guide to OpenSciEd unit 7.5: Ecosystem Dynamics and Biodiversity includes: Lesson pacing; and Assessment guidance. School districts that use The Teacher Clarity Playbook by Fisher and Frey Playbook will benefit from using this guide. Each lesson is labeled by a number and letter (ie: 3a) and contains the original resource three-dimensional standards as Lesson Level Performance Expectations. We have broken those PEs into student-friendly Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, which can be posted on boards or digital slides and used for assessment criteria.  

The water cycle game helps you learn how water molecules move through various places including rivers, the ocean, the earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds. Actions such as evaporation, runoff, condensation, precipitation, soil absorption and ground water expansion move water from one zone to another.
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