Elementary Teacher Resources

In this section you will find water education teacher resources and lesson plans for our younger students in kindergarten and early elementary grades that are current and up to date for the latest Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as well as the former GLCE’s. We encourage you to use Michigan Sea Grant’s up to date Great Lakes Basin Map in your classroom to help give students a good visual of what a watershed is, what one they live in, and how their actions impact our water quality.

We hope that if you have lesson plans or activities that you have created and developed that you will share those for other teachers to use as we wish to greatly expand these sections. Simply contact us  and your name will be included so you will receive full credit for your contribution!

Virtual Learning Resources

Michigan Sea Grant’s H.O.M.E.S at Home 

Activities

Multiple Grades

Coffee Filter Butterflies

Earth Day Coloring Sheet

Plant a Tree Coloring Sheet

Water Quality Bracelets

Earth Day Nature Bracelets

Water Word Scramble

Sudoku Recycler

How Much Water Matching Activity Sheet

Thirstin’s Water Cycle Activity Sheet

A-MAZE-ing Recycling

Earth Day Word Search

Milk Jug Bird Feeder

Juice Carton Bird Feeder

How Water Travels Through a Leaf

Water Pollution Activity for Kids

Lesson Plans

Kindergarten

Grade 1

Catepillars to Butterflies

Grade 2

Understanding Insects as Friends or Foes

Grade 3

States of Matter – Cold Hard Facts

States of Matter – Dancing Raisins

States of Matter – Power of Ice

Grade 4

Green Schools Recycling Campaign

How Much Usable Water Is on Earth?

Grade 5

A Drop in Your Cup

Enviroscape Model Demonstration

Multiple Grades

Great Lakes in My World (for grades K-8)

Schoolyard Rain Gardens Guidebook (for grades 2-6)

Water Cycle Flow Model Demonstration (for Grades 4-9)

Enviroscape Model Demonstration (for Grades 2-8)

Deep Subjects – Water Wells and Groundwater (for Grades 3-6)

Is This the Way to the Drainpipe?(for Grades K-6)

MSUE: 4-H Septic Curriculum for Youth (for youth – adults)

DNR: It’s Your Niche (for Grades 2-5)

DNR: The Great Swim (for Grades 3-12)

Water Conservation and Use (for Grades 5-8)

DNR: Five Lesson Plans for Aquatic Invasive Species (for Grades 2-12) (for Grades 2-12)

A Droplet’s Journey (for Grades 1-5)

Thirstin Builds an Aquifer: Aquifer in a Cup (for Grades K-3)

Thirstin’s Groundwater Movement Activity (for Grades K-3)

How People Get Their Water (for Grades K-6)

MI Ag Classroom: Soil Texture and Water Percolation (for Grades 3-5)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Adopt-a-Beach (for Grades 4-8)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Beach Mysteries (for Grades 4-8)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Beaches Over Time (for Grades K-4)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Garbage Investigation (for Grades 4-8)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Lake Connection (for Grades K-8)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Litter Tag (for Grades 3-6)

Alliance for the Great Lakes: Sound Picture (for Grades 3-6)

Alliance for that Great Lakes: Taking Action (for Grades 4-8)

Other Resources

The Great Lakes Basin Map (poster) for watershed education in the classroom

IT’S ALL THE SAME WATER