When it comes to water, resources for homeschoolers are easy to obtain when you know where to look. Here are some great online sources for local organizations to help you with lesson plans, texts, activities, programs and more.
Educator workshops sponsored by the Minnesota DNR
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is part of a national water education initiative called Project WET. From this Educator Workshop page, find links to workshop calendar, sample agendas for the workshops, local children's water festivals, activity guides and more. The calendar lists teacher training workshops in the near future in the Twin Cities area.
Water facts for students researching Minnesota water
The Minnesota DNR also posts extensive fact sheets and information about local water by the following categories: groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams, watersheds, watershed assesment tool, wetlands, and hydrologic terms. The general lakes, rivers and wetlands facts is an interesting, quick look at things like 10 largest lakes, length of Minnesota River, and other fun facts.
Texts, activity guides, water-related unit study ideas
Project WET has materials available including educator guides, water testing kits, and other water science activity kits, activity booklets, groundwater flow models, maps, posters, and more.
Unit topics include Water Quality (Healthy Water, Healthy People), Wetlands, Water Conservation, Watersheds, Sanitation and Hygiene, Native American (Native Waters), Regional Waters, Oceans, Natural Disasters, General Water, Spanish, Water History, and Groundwater.
Unit study methodology for integrating the study of many subjects around the topic of water is thoroughly discussed on Project WET's Methodology page. They pride themselves on a water science curriculum is accurate and science-based, interactive, multi-sensory, adaptable, contemporary, solution-oriented, measurable, and relevant.
SEEK resources for homeschoolers, educators and kids
The SEEK Program, which stands for Sharing Environmental Education Knowledge, has an extremely extensive list of resources for homeschoolers listing field trips, learning kits, software, curriculum, workshops and more. The Minnesota Academic Standards covered in each activity, workshop, or kit is listed, often along with the literacy scope and sequence information, as well.
SEEK's "in the classroom" page posts resources for educators such as graduation standards and benchmarks for subjects (as established by the Minnesota Department of Education), as well as their environmental literacy scope and sequence tool.
More information
SEEK's partners include science centers, observatories, environmental and conservation organizations, parks and nature centers, and more. It is worth taking a look at their list of partners to visit the website links for more resources, activities, and events.
Why should you care about conserving our planet's resources?
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