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.

Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) uses historic places in National Parks and in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created a variety of products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom.

Here you’ll find place-based educational resources relating to African American history and culture; including lesson plans and "Curiosity Kits" that are a series of articles that students can read individually or in a small group, in order to spark historical thinking.

In this short unit of study, kindergarten students will learn about adaptations and behaviors that both domesticated and wild animals implement to protect themselves and their young.  This unit is a series of 3 video lessons and 2 field-based lessons.

The resources and project outline are the collaborative efforts of the Chain Exploration Center Grades 5 & 6 teachers and a FIELD Edventures educator. The goals of the project were for students to take civic action on environmental issues of local importance. Additionally, the teachers wanted students to become familiar with the four habitat areas, and observable species present in each area.  It was decided that conducting a bioblitz across 4 days–one in each area–would provide students with data that would be the basis for individual and small group investigative questions, issue definition and investigation, and a proposal for conservation, protection, and/or restoration of natural resources, habitats, or species of Wisconsin. Students then presented their proposals to their state senator in a visit to the Wisconsin State Capitol.

The three teachers of the third and fourth grade team joined forces to create these standards-aligned resources. We discussed a middle-school curriculum unit, Birds & Flight, that one of us had written about fifteen years ago regarding using math to study and understand birds in different ways. As a team, we translated some of those concepts into middle-elementary activities.We discussed that the lessons could be taught in any order, but recommend using the Actual Size lesson as a fun capstone project.

The Boston School Forest is a field trip destination for 6,000 students each year providing high quality outdoor environmental education programs that expand and authenticate classroom learning. Science education in our district is transitioning to provide greater opportunity for inquiry, and teachers are now searching for resources that can be used in either face-to-face or e-learning formats. The Backyard Habitat Series focuses on connecting kids to an outdoor place through use of sensory observation, exploring the natural features and animals, and engaging in the improvement of habitat for neighborhood wildlife species. Classroom teachers, preservice teachers, and families will discover straightforward instructions, few materials or background knowledge required, and a format that is easily adaptable to the e-learning environment.

This culturally-relevant text set offer different perspectives for students to see as well aswonderful conversation starters. Students learn of different careers within the IndigenousWorld. Some of those careers being: Traditional Seed Keepers, Gardeners, KnowledgeKeepers, Storytellers, and More!Dig your bare feet into the soil and feel those connections to your ancestors, the land, theplants, animals, and all things. We are all connected. Let’s work together and connect our pastto the present, for the future... of learning!

The "Dairy Products in Wisconsin" unit for high school English Language Learners focuses on enhancing various linguistic skills through practical and engaging activities. I created this slideshow as a daily launch for mini-lessons in ag-themed language activities for my students in Food Science learning English as an additional language.

What follows is a collection of lessons on soils that supported a larger inquiry-based project by 7th and 8th grade students on food security in the Waupaca area community. The project was designed to be implemented using the large community garden as a context for learning. This community garden is a showcase feature of the Chain Exploration Center, a 4K-8 school, and, through the efforts of students, teachers, families, and community volunteers, has grown, and donated, a staggering amount of fresh produce for local food pantries. Students of the Chain of Exploration Center were fortunate to work with the nutrient management specialist of the Land and Water Conservation Office of Waupaca County for soil sampling and analysis. This community member provided soil probes and the expertise in collection of samples. He also sent the samples on to the lab and assisted in the interpretation of the results. 

In this short unit of study, four-year-old kindergarten students learn to differentiate and identify common domesticated animals and local wild animals by sight and sound. This unit is a series of 3 video lessons and 2 field-based lessons. 

Unit Title: Dream Garden MeasurementsAuthor: Melissa WimmlerSchool: Discovery Charter School, Columbus School DistrictGrade Level: 2nd GradeContent Area(s): Math, Environmental ScienceContext: Our governance council is working on a school wide project to improve the lawn space in front of our school and create our dream garden. During this six-lesson unit the second-grade students estimated and accurately measured objects in the space and perimeter. The students calculated the area of the space and used square units to plan spaces and garden beds.

Context:The teachers facilitate an author study every year among our K-2 unit. This year, we wanted to focus on local authors who have written picture books that address both cultural and environmental literacy. The books included in this unit by Miranda and Baptiste Paul. These texts teach about the water cycle, the life cycle of plants, how our environment impacts our recreation, and how individuals can rally their communities to make improvements in their environment.  understanding.About the author: Ned Dorff has been teaching for 20 years. He has taught regular, gifted, special, and alternative education classes. Ned holds a master’s degree in Environmental Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The unit is a very basic introduction to phenology geared for the littlest of learners, preschool children ages 3-5. Over the course of five weeks we embrace winter fatigue and set our sights on Spring hoping to spy our very first signs of the season—we spend time looking for the first green shoots, explore the forest floor (moss, lichen and fungi), welcome back the robins, celebrate the spring beauties, embark on a frog hunt and observe the dancing dragonflies!Week One—On the hunt for greenWeek Two—Beneath our feet…Week Three—Birds!Week Four—Spring ephemerals and awakening bugsWeek Five—Pond StudyPrior to introducing phenology to my students and implementing this unit, we had been using simple journal prompts at the end of each week as an assessment tool. My students are primarily in the pre-writing stages—the bulk of our entries are fantastic imaginative crayon sketches that we have each student describe for us. I am incredibly fortunate to teach in a garden-based program where we are outside for the majority of our learning time together and teachable moments abound. For this unit, I really wanted our Sprouts to take a closer look at the things we see every day.

This resource will allow you to teach the concept of Farm to Table to your students as well as providing them with the understanding of the agricultural industry and how it connects us all together, and how it plays a role in their everyday lives.

This unit begins and ends with the motivating reality that my fifth graders are responsible forthe raspberry patch on our school grounds. Since they are responsible for maintaining,harvesting, and caring for this patch in general, it is a logical connection that they should beknowledgeable about it. In the end, it is a true learning-by-doing experience. It should benoted that this is an ongoing recurring type of unit that we come back to with variousexperiences throughout the school year.

Authors: Tiffany Lodholz, Morgan May, Jenny GrimesSchool: High Marq Environmental Charter School, Montello School DistrictUnit Title: Garden MathGrade Level: 7-12Content Area(s): Environmental Science, MathematicsContext:High Marq Environmental Charter School is a project and place based school that serves grades 7-12 in Marquette County, Wisconsin. Each week our students participate in a full day field experience designed to connect, explore and engage with the outdoors. These five lessons were all a part of those experiences. Our focus this year was on gardening. All of these lessons took place in the school garden on campus, Our school district has a greenhouse for us to start seeds in and our garden uses primarily raised beds. The students also traveled to a local greenhouse to purchase supplemental plants, soil, mulch, hay, and other accessories.

This unit includes five nature journaling experiences implemented at High Marq Environmental Charter School during the 2021-22 school year. They are a bit of a grab bag in terms of subject and skills focus, but all included practices from How to Teach Nature Journaling by Emilie Lygren and John Muir Laws. Please Remix this template for your purposes.

Agriculture/environmental science unit for high school students focuses on the make-up of soil, the critters that live in it, and how farmers help to protect the soil through different management practices. The five-lesson unit continues with the physiology of plants and different types of both typical and specialty crops grown in Wisconsin. Plants were also grown in the classroom for a semester-long project with a hydroponic system.

Students in Grades 3 & 4 at Chain Exploration Center developed an understanding of the important role that pollinators play in human food systems as well as in native habitats. Students also learned about the stressors, many of them human-influenced, that are associated with the decline in pollinator populations. Students also learned about ways that humans can improve pollinator habitat. The culmination of student learning was an environmental stewardship project: the installation of a pollinator garden on the school grounds. What follows is an outline of the project process and a discussion of the resources that were used.