Economic Significance of the Great Lakes

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In this lesson, students will be introduced to one of the main ways that the Great Lakes impact the economy of the region—shipping. Countless ships carry myriad cargo throughout the Great Lakes waterways to various destinations, making the transportation of goods accessible, reliable, and effective. Without the Great Lakes to transport various goods, which are typically shipped in the waterways, many commonly accessible materials would not be available in the ways they are today. This lesson will afford students the chance to see some of that technology in action, as well as see the direct impact that shipping has on the regional commercial industry.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: Gary Abud

Global And Great Lakes Climate Change

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In this activity students work with data to analyze local and global temperature anomaly data to look for warming trends. The activity focuses on the Great Lakes area.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Ohio Sea Grant, Ohio State University

Great Lakes As a Heat Source and Heat Sink

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One of the principles of water is that it absorbs and releases heat easily. When there is a basin of water, like the Great Lakes, the ability to hold onto and release heat can have a significant impact on the surrounding coastal areas. Those coastal areas throughout the Great Lakes are often referred to as “The Fruit Belt.” This lesson and accompanying activities explore water's ability to absorb and release heat, the affect the Great Lakes can have on the surrounding land, and how the relationship between those two influence the economy and culture of Great Lakes coastal areas.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan, Reference Material

The Legend of the Lost Emerald

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Take a deep dive into maritime mysteries with this point-and-click adventure game! Learners will use critical thinking and historical inquiry skills to recover the real treasure—the stories of shipwrecks inspired by real Great Lakes history. Dive into the game, and explore the educator guide at pbswisconsineducation.org/emerald.

Material Type: Game

Authors: Field Day, PBS Wisconsin Education, Wisconsin Sea Grant

PBS Wisconsin Shipwrecks

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In The Legend of the Lost Emerald, learners in grades 4-6 will use the same tools, practices, and skills that maritime archaeologists use to locate and dive for shipwrecks on the Great Lakes and uncover the real treasure—the stories inspired by actual shipwrecks and Great Lakes history.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Diagram/Illustration, Game, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: PBS Learning Media

Bird Math

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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.

Material Type: Lesson, Unit of Study

Authors: Sandy Benton, Amy Milz, Denise McFarlin, Ned Dorff