Classroom Resources List

Below are common resources that can be integrated into watershed education in South Sound:

General Resources and Activities

• Home Science Activities – General Overview
• Home Science Activities – ThurstonTalk Articles

Beach Etiquette

• Life on the beach is fragile! Tolmie State Park’s Beach Etiquette is a good overview of the do’s and don’ts when visiting the Puget Sound shoreline.

Biomimicry

• Biomimicry is “learning from and then adapting nature’s best ideas to solve human challenges in order to create a healthier more sustainable planet”
• Biomimicry Education Network
• Curiosity Machine offers design challenges inspired by nature. Build an octopus suction pad, create a wind machine based on seed dispersal techniques, explore fight…this site is a go to for individual challenges or units. Aligns with NGSS.
• More resources from the 2015 Summer Teacher’s Institute (that was focused on Biomimicry) can be found here.

Climate Change

• A list of classroom activities and presentations from Summer Teacher’s Institute 2017 – Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: Glaciers, Forests, and Freshwater
• The Other CO2 Problem from Sundog Media on Vimeo.
• NOAA US Climate Resiliency Toolkit and Climate Explorer

Indigenous Knowledge

• Since Time Immemorial is a curriculum about tribal history and sovereignty in Washington State
• The Squaxin Island Tribe or People of the Water
• Nisqually Tribe: People of the Water, People of the Grass

Nearshore Habitat

• David Jamison’s website Puget Sound Sea Life offers photos and descriptions of marine plants and animals- everything from green string lettuce to orcas.

Ocean Acidification

• Collection of Ocean Acidification Educational Resources: A curated collection of free resources on ocean acidification (OA) for educators and communicators. For grades K-12.
  This website is funded/supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish & Wildlife, Washington Sea Grant, Suquamish Tribe and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Orcas

• Saving the Southern Resident Killer Whales lesson from NOAA Fisheries

Performance Tasks

• Healthy Waters Part 1 and 2 – This can be used as an introduction to water quality testing (zoom out to see the full document!)
• Use this blank performance task template to create your own! Part 1 and Part 2

Plankton

• Zooplankton and phytoplankton ID guides

Planting and Restoration

This Plant it Right video provides a good overview of how to successfully complete a restoration planting project, including different plant stock and planting methods.

Also, the Tree Planting and Restoration slide show gives an overview of why restoration is important for local habitat!

Pollinators

• Pollinators in the Pacific Northwest: a guide for observing and surveying pollinators with activities for 4th-12th grade including a Pollinator Observation Sheet

Riparian Zone

• Looking for a way to integrate engineering practices into watershed studies? Build your own densiometer to measure % canopy cover!
• Here is a separate lesson to manage canopy covering in the field

Salmon

• Some of our favorite Curriculum/Teaching Resources:
  • Salmon, Water and Forests in the Classroom: Created by Olympia School District, this is a compilation of excerpts from Salmonids in the Classroom by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail Education Project, Salmon Rescue Curriculum(WDFW), The Salmon Box: An Educational Curriculum about Pacific Salmon, Wenatchee River Salmon Festival Teacher Packet, Forests of Washington: Forest Ecosystems and People and from Project Learning Tree Environmental Education Activity Guide.
  • South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group’s video of spawning behavior at Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail
  • Internal and External Salmon Anatomy
• McLane Nature Trail:
  • Videos of our McLane Creek salmon trips and chum salmon dissections! Find more videos and pictures of chum salmon here.
  • McLane Creek Digital Salmon Notebook and McLane Creek Virtual Zoom sessions signups (coming soon!)
  • Stream Team McLane Creek Chum Salmon Field Journal
• Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail info and Resources
  • Chum Salmon Life Cycle (from the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail curriculum)
  • The Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail offers guided tours of the trail each November to coincide with the return of the Kennedy Creek native chum salmon run. Trained docents explain mating behavior, life cycle and more. Contact the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group at kennedycreek@spsseg.org beginning in August.
• Miscellaneous Salmon Goodies:
  • Salmon vs. Human Anatomy Guide (thank you Ms. Crain from Olympic View Elementary!)
  • Learn how tires are damaging coho salmon populations in Puget Sound. (Article) (Video)
  • NOAA’s salmon life cycle animation
  • Salmon Homecoming Activity Book
  • NOAA’s Incredible Journey introduces elementary schoolers to the salmon life cycle and concepts such as ecosystems, keystone species, salmon culture, and stewardship. English and Spanish versions available.
  • 137 species food web poster

Shellfish

• Henderson-Nisqually Shellfish Protection District
• Taylor Shellfish: Contact them for factory tours as well as classroom presentations on the impact of water quality on South Sound’s shellfish production
• Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area: Public access to Henderson Inlet for hiking, nearshore education and bird and wildlife watching- currently under restoration. No dogs allowed.

Stream Bugs

• Dichotomous Key Macroinvertebrate Life in the Stream
• Leaf Pack Study Lab
• Biotic Index is used to measure the health of the stream based on the numbers and kinds of bugs present or absent

Stream Structure

• Stream Ecology Power Point, Washington Department of Ecology

Water Quality Monitoring

• Water Quality Manual: This curriculum was designed to prepare students for water quality monitoring day and includes update instructions, data sheets, and ways to make your water quality testing day successful!
• 5th Grade Watershed Explorers Model developed in partnership with the Nisqually River Education Project and North Thurston Public Schools includes lessons in the field, pre- and post-lessons (including a CER), and loads of resources! Here’s a link to the Teacher Guide
• We created these Virtual Water Quality Monitoring Resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are focused on outdoor lessons in the field, these videos, interactive field journal, and story map are still useful in teaching about water quality testing.

Watersheds

• My South Sound Watershed Promise can be used to introduce your class to watersheds! This booklet explains what a watershed is and provides an overview of the water cycle. Sections on pet waste, yard waste, household waste and more inform students on sources of pollution, and a pledge card for them to make change in their own lives! Don’t want to print the whole pledge? Here’s the one page Pledge Card!
• Watershed in Your Hand activity