For Educators

Classroom Materials and Curricula

All resources, lesson plans and student activity guides are FREE to download!

Resources

• “Just for Kids” Learning Adventures (Grades K-6) - Distance learning activity packets for outdoor exploration from Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
• The Compass to Nature (All Grades) - Techniques and philosophy for teaching in the outdoors from the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Minnesota. Outlines four components and ten outdoor activities for connecting students with nature.
• Conservation Connect Series (Grades 3-12) - A web-based video series produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, featuring the great outdoors, wildlife species and conservation careers. Several six-to-eight episodes feature conservationists and wildlife footage.
• Wildlife Webcams (All Grades) - Live feeds from various wildlife cameras at National Wildlife Refuges across the Northeast.

• Schoolyard Habitat Guide (All Grades) - A how-to style planning guide for transforming your school grounds into a place that engages the entire school community in habitat restoration.
• Fish and Aquatic Conservation, Environmental Education Resources (All Grades) - Links to worksheets, activity books, and curriculum.
• Junior Ranger, Let’s Go Fishing! (Grades 3-7) - Activity booklets available at participating National Fish Hatcheries, National Wildlife Refuges and National Parks.
• Pacific Lamprey Geocache Adventure (All Grades)- Travel Bugs™ have been launched in the Pacific Northwest in four different locations. Modeled after Pacific Lamprey migratory routes, the Travel Bugs will rely on human transport to move up—or down—river corridors. This geocaching challenge will help educate the public about Pacific lamprey, and how they migrate.

Curricula

•  Project Bluestem (Grade K-5) - Student-directed curriculum from Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa that uses the outdoors as an integrating and motivating context to engage children in real world, field-based learning experiences.
• Minnesota Valley Curriculum (Grades K-6) - Curriculum that supports classroom study topics, Full Option Science System (FOSS) kits, and state curriculum standards for science (as well as math, social studies, and language arts, where possible)
• Shorebird Sister Schools (Grades 2-12) - A multi-disciplinary education guide that uses shorebirds as a focus for learning about wetland habitats, migration, and other cultures.
• Sagebrush Ecosystem Curriculum (Grades 4-12) - Curriculum, presentations, and videos designed to engage students in thinking critically about the sagebrush ecosystem and ways to support it. Aligned to NextGen and Common Core.
• Jr. Duck Stamp Conservation Education Curriculum (Grades 5-8, flexible) - A science-based art focus with four curriculum guides to spark interest in wildlife and habitat conservation through science, art, math and technology. Culminates with opportunity to enter the Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.
• Designing Fish-Friendly Culverts (and Bridges) (Grades 5-8, can be easily modified) A hands-on lesson to help teach youth about the amazing lives of migratory fish, and how barriers to their migration impact their survival.
• Native Fish in the Classroom (Grades K-7) An in-class program focused on fish of the Southwestern United States. Elementary and middle schools receive curriculum, aquariums, native fish and biologist support. After a period of 4-5 months, the students have the opportunity to release these fish into their native range.
• Pollinator Education Materials (All Grades) - Curriculum, webinars, posters, and videos for educating students about the monarch butterfly and many other important pollinators.