This unit focuses on the diversity of life at Hartje School Forest and centers around NGSS Standards on Ecosystem Interactions, Energy and Dynamics. Field experiences in observing and recording the diversity of life, seed dispersal methods, plant pollination, and plant life cycles will support science disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and hands-on engineering practices.

Bring the vocabulary of film to life through the processes of filmmaking. Students learn terminology and techniques simultaneously as they plan, film, and edit a short video.

This is our three year plan for implementing the Units of Study for Writing. This allows us to plan for professional development and gives us the direction we need as we continue to move forward.

These handouts accompany the 5th Grade Rain Garden Design Challenge Lesson Plan. The handouts give criteria for identifying areas of erosion and non-point source pollution entering waterways on school property, slope and soil suitability criteria for situating the rain garden, and data collection procedures for phosphate testing. The handouts also include guidelines and criteria for the final poster presentation design and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, as well as rubrics for scoring and guidelines for peer feedback.

This lesson engages 5th grade students in identifying areas of erosion and non-point source pollution entering waterways on school property, making a claim on the most suitable site to locate a rain garden by conducting field tests on slope and soil type, and testing
for the presence of phosphates in waterways on school forest property. Students then compete in a rain garden design challenge using their data to create a poster presentation, including a map and claim evidence reasoning, for the best rain garden design plan, scored using a rubric.

Students will be reading and writing myths. They will follow the structure of short stories and eventually publish their work.

Explore the newest resources published by a team of school librarians with other librarians in mind; Developing Inquisitive Learners, Critical Thinkers, and Resourceful Citizens'

Author: The Genius Group of MadisonGrade Level: fourth/fifthContent Area(s): Social studies, First Nations history, literacy, environmental literacyContext: Students will learn about the American Indian Movement in the United States. The unit is divided into three sections in which primary source images and texts drive inquiry and understanding of this time in history. A slide deck featuring these sources is used in each of the three sections.Section One is a learning provocation with opportunites for rich discussion and wonderings.Section Two is history of the AIM protests and demands, with extra attention to the environment issues revealed.Section Three is for further study, some supplemental resources to investigate the Embridge pipeline dispute with Ojibwe BadRiver Tribe and the history of protests in northern Wisconsin about treaty rights regarding spearfishing.

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.

This 6-week lesson is used to expand vocabulary related to the world of work, including education, professions, job search, interviews, and life milestones related to education and work.  It focuses on communication using the future tense.   It culminates with a Career Fair, in which students practice professional discourse and etiquette  while talking with professionals in different fields to explore careers in which Spanish can be used, followed up with a Professional Thank-You Letter written in Spanish to the Career Fair guest speakers.

Students form literature circles, read "Esperanza Rising" or "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam MuĐoz Ryan, use a Critical Thinking Map to discuss social issues, and use a class wiki.

A boy and his family endure a difficult nine-week journey across the ocean and survive the first winter at Plymouth. Based on true events, "Across the Wide Dark Sea" poetically narrates a young boy's account of risking the ocean to find religious freedom in a new land.

Through a series of three learning experiences, taking place across multiple weeks, students will participate in inquiry-based learning about the county in which they live and learn. Students will write informative pieces to teach others about the natural and cultural communities of Adams County.

This selection is an informational narrative in the form of a play or Readers' Theater. The play is about a group of boys and girls who are summertime campers at the National Sea Base camp in the Florida Keys. Their adventure includes camping, snorkeling, and sailing aboard the ship. This is a new adventure for the characters in this story.

This nonfiction story is about a partnership between a policeman, Officer Mike, and his partner, a police dog named Aero. Information about daily routine (work and breaks), Aero's special talents and Officer Mike's training and care of Aero is included.

In this unit, students learn about the form and function of the human heart through lecture, research and dissection. Following the steps of the Legacy Cycle, students brainstorm, research, design and present viable solutions to various heart conditions as presented through a unit challenge. Additionally, students study how heart valves work and investigate how faulty valves can be replaced with new ones through advancements in engineering and technology. This unit demonstrates to students how and why the heart is such a powerful organ in our bodies

Students engage in hands-on, true-to-life research experiences on air quality topics chosen for personal interest through a unit composed of one lesson and five associated activities. Using a project-based learning approach suitable for secondary science classrooms and low-cost air quality monitors, students gain the background and skills needed to conduct their own air quality research projects. The curriculum provides: 1) an introduction to air quality science, 2) data collection practice, 3) data analysis practice, 4) help planning and conducting a research project and 5) guidance in interpreting data and presenting research in professional poster format. The comprehensive curriculum requires no pre-requisite knowledge of air quality science or engineering. This curriculum takes advantage of low-cost, next-generation, open-source air quality monitors called Pods. These monitors were developed in a mechanical engineering lab at the University of Colorado Boulder and are used for academic research as well as education and outreach. The monitors are made available for use with this curriculum through AQ-IQ Kits that may be rented from the university by teachers. Alternatively, nearly the entire unit, including the student-directed projects, could also be completed without an air quality monitor. For example, students can design research projects that utilize existing air quality data instead of collecting their own, which is highly feasible since much data is publically available. In addition, other low-cost monitors could be used instead of the Pods. Also, the curriculum is intentionally flexible, so that the lesson and its activities can be used individually. See the Other section for details about the Pods and ideas for alternative equipment, usage without air quality monitors, and adjustments to individually teach the lesson and activities.

Akiak is the story of a dog that desires to win the Iditarod with her owner, Mick. Akiak is injured and is disqualified from finishing the race, but she follows Mich and the team of dogs to the finish line. This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary.

This informational text describes how paleontologists continue to investigate unanswered questions about dinosaurs.