Lesson Plans
The activities below are a great way to get your kids up and out of their desks while continuing to teach them the critical environmental information. We have compiled these activities after careful trial and can offer staff to come into your classroom to help present many of them. Please check back periodically as we are continuing to add valuable activities and information.
You are also welcome to print them out and try them yourself.
To view PDF files, get Adobe Acrobat Reader here. To obtain hardcopies of information in pdf files, contact Barb Welch.
- Aquatic Food Web An introduction to the basic food web of a Maine lake. After learning about algae, zooplankton, and fish students act out the predator prey relationships with different numbers of predatory fish simulating current research in Maine called Biomanipulation to reduce the incidence of algal blooms.
- Bucket Brigade Students learn about daily water consumption and use in this fun water relay.
- What Critters Tell Us About Water Quality Students study macroinvertebrates to test/monitor water quality.
- Design a Plankton After observing the various shapes and adapatations of plankton, students create a plankton from the recycle bin items. They present their organism to the class and demonstrate how it floats in water.
- Droplets & Downpours (PDF Format)Using wet tennis balls to represent raindrops, students explore concepts of erosion and runoff in three areas - a dirt road, a lawn, and a buffer. To wrap up the lesson, students test their knowledge in a sand castle competition by building a castle that withstands a downpour of rain.
- Lake Ice Out Essay and Activities This lesson is exploring the transition of ice out in our Maine Lakes. There are a variety of activities and essay questions exploring climate change and how weather influences our Maine lakes. Grades 4-8.
- 3D Model of Lake Benthos Using a topographical map of a local lake, students create their own 3-dimensional model of the lake.
- Musical Milfoil Lesson (PDF Format) Explore the effects of Variable and Eurasian Milfoil on Maine lakes and rivers with a game based on musical chairs. Musical Milfoil game cards(PDF format).
- PEARL In the Classroom (University of Maine's Public Educational Access to Environmental Information website), students learn how to download, graph, and interpret real Maine lake data in order to determine where to go fishing or where to take their summer vacation. Planning their Vacation to the Lake Using the Pearl informtaion students plan the ideal lake vacation. Using PEARL graphs they can discover when the water is clearest. Planning their Fishing Trip to the Lake Students plan the perfect fishing trip using data from the PEARL wed sight. Using the graphs they can discover if the lake has the right conditions to catch the type of fish they want. species, water temperature oxygen levels
- Teeshirt Printing Imprint t-shirts with native plants, bugs, and fish and the message "Plant a buffer" to promote the importance of vegetative buffers or "Clean your Boat" to encourage people to take potentially invasive plants off of their boats.
- The Watershed Model (PDF Format) A great supplement to a water-based curriculum, the watershed model is a plastic model that can be used to discuss topics such as watersheds, nonpoint source pollution, vegetated buffers and land use. (Please call DEP for availability).
- Who Lives Here? Aquatic wildlife identification activity.
- You Be the Judge The classroom turns into courtroom as students role-play to discuss water quality and the effects of nonpoint source pollution.
If you are interested in any of these curricula, or you need assistance in designing your water unit, please call or email Barb Welch at 287-7682. Before calling, be aware of your specific goals, objectives and available resources.
