This template is to be used in the Connect, Explore, Engage professional learning series. Sign into WISELearn to create your own copy of this resource and update the template and this abstract.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Through a study of the Central Sand Plains region of Wisconsin, students will participate in learning experiences both in the classroom and outdoors, so that they can recognize and identify natural divisions and forest types within this region. Students will learn how the conditions essential for a native forest community can help us make decisions about what foods grow best in our region. They will write a research piece to compare and contrast the life cycles and structures of two plants, one forest and one garden plant) we have studied.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Students will use hands-on models, maps, and the natural landscape to describe landforms in our area and and develop and understanding of the effects of water and wind on these landforms. Prior to these lessons, students will have had experiences with the use of "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of" protocols as well as field journaling. This is a unit for second grade landforms that culminates in a visit to Roche-A-Cri State Park.
Material Type: Unit of Study
This template is to be used in the Connect, Explore, Engage professional learning series. Sign into WISELearn to create your own copy of this resource and update the template and this abstract.
Material Type: Unit of Study
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.
Material Type: Unit of Study
Through this interactive, hands-on lesson, students will read and gain an understanding of Aldo Leopold’s essay, “January Thaw”. This lesson is best taught in January and/or when animal tracks are present outside.
Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study
Through this interactive, hands-on lesson, students will read and gain an understanding of Aldo Leopold’s essay, “Come High Water”. This lesson is best taught in April or around Earth Day when students may be doing a trash cleanup project. If students are cleaning up or exploring near a river, even better!
Material Type: Unit of Study
This unit is designed around providing student choice. There will be 5 novels for students to choose from: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, Refugee by Alan Gratz, Zeros by Scott Westerfeld, The Martian by Andy Weir, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Each novel focuses on the central theme of survival. Students will read and meet weekly for 8 weeks. Each week the novel groups will be given specific discussion questions and tasks that are aligned with Wisconsin ELA standards and Wisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy & Sustainability.
Material Type: Unit of Study
In this lesson, students will learn about the process of classifying and naming plants including common and scientific names.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
Wild edible, medicinal and poisonous plants are an ideal way to connect students to the natural world just outside their door. In this unit, students will be able to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants using guide books and plotting them on the Siftr app. Using the collected edibles, students will then follow a procedural text to create food from their wild edibles. Students will then create recipes on their own based on a wild edible of their choice to create community cookbooks.
Material Type: Unit of Study
In this series of activities, students build their background knowledge about bats through a variety of media and texts (Activity 1), play games to learn more about how bats interact with their prey and how they use their bodies, and choose an action(s) to help make the world a better place for bats, and therefore, humans (Activity 2). My students decided to create educational posters convincing people to help bats, plant a bat garden, build a bat house, and adopt-a-bat. They also wrote persuasive letters to hang the bat house on our school, which they presented to the administration (and the project was approved - in addition to which the principal asked us to create additional educational materials to teach the school community - teachers, students, other staff - and families about the benefits of bats).
Material Type: Unit of Study
