Classroom Presentations

Middle & High Schools

 

Water Across the Curriculum Resource Guide
Grades: PreK-12
Contact: christine.fleming@marquette.edu
The Water Across the Curriculum (WAC) resource guide provides activities designed to integrate the diverse arts of the Haggerty Museum of Art (HMA) collection into your classroom to support skills and concepts that you are already teaching, or that you may be planning to teach. Thematic chapters introduce students to HMA artworks through grade-appropriate activities that encourage them to think critically, to express themselves creatively, and to make connections between their own lives and WATER. Click here for more information.
Points: varies
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality


Aquatic Ecology & Habitat Hotels Lesson Plan
Grades
: 4-6
Contact: Natalia Hernandez
The 3-day lesson plan covers habitats and food webs all within a local context. On the second day students present a solution to a man-made problem. On the third day students are bused to UWM's School of Freshwater Sciences, learn about Habitat Hotels, and meet with freshwater scientists.
Costs: covered by Harbor District, Inc.
Points: 50/class
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers


Freshwater Tool Kit
Grades: PreK-12
Contact: Kae Donlevy at WATERSMEET.MKE@gmail.com
The Freshwater Tool Kit is designed to connect Milwaukee-area educators with activities and organizations to help teach the foundational knowledge of water resources. We believe that learners with a strong understanding of water basics will become more engaged when they learn about in-depth water resource concepts and issues such as assessing, managing and protecting our water resources, and be more motivated to find solutions to protecting our waters. The Tool Kit contains lesson plans, classroom presentations and field trip opportunities. Contact Kae DonLevy or visit http://www.freshwatertoolkit.org/ for more information!
Points: varies
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure  


Mapping Lake Michigan
Grades: 3-8
Contact: Darius Jordan
Explore what lies beneath the surface of Lake Michigan by investigating the development and use of bathymetric maps. Students will discover how technology helps fishermen find fish and historians find shipwrecks in creating a project inspired by the lake. Visit https://www.discoveryworld.org/learning/kohls-design-it-mobile-lab/ for more details.
Costs: free for qualifying schools
Points: 20/class
Tracks: Lakes


Nature’s Hidden Geometry
Grades: 3-8
Contact: Darius Jordan
Nature uses patterns for building, decorating, and camouflage. Explore how geometric shapes and patterns in nature influence design. Visit https://www.discoveryworld.org/learning/kohls-design-it-mobile-lab/ for more details.
Costs: free for qualifying schools
Points: 20/class


Next.cc Workshops
Grades: 6-12
Contact: Linda Keane
Next.cc offers a wide variety of place based workshops for your classroom on topics such as water, design as nature, sustainability, smart grid challenges and biomimicry in design. Check out this example from Escuela Verde!
Points: 50/workshop
Standards Connections: NAAEE, NGSS Primary (K-2), NGSS Elementary (3-5), NGSS Middle School, WI Art and Design Standards
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Conservation, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Climate Wisconsin
Grades: 6-12
From warming trout streams to decreasing ice cover, lower lake levels to extreme heat, Climate Wisconsin tells stories from a rapidly changing state.  Each of the short videos is accompanied by additional research and ideas for further learning.
Points: 10/video
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers


Bottled Water vs Tap Water Documentary
Grades: 4-7
This 19 minute documentary makes the case for choosing to drink tap water over bottled water.
Points: 20/class
Tracks: Conservation 


STEMward: Sailing Into Schools
Grades: 3-12
Contact: Teresa Coronado; 414-277-9094
Milwaukee Community Sailing Center uses sailing to engage student in hands-on STEM learning. In the classroom: students explore the concepts of buoyancy, hull and sail shape, aerodynamics, water displacement. Next, students apply classroom lessons doing sailing fieldwork directly on Lake Michigan with MCSC sailing instructors. Students will also build model sailboats, using recycled materials, and test them. Fieldwork available April-October. The fieldwork takes place at the MCSC campus on Lake Michigan. Method of transportation is organized by schools; payment of transportation can be negotiated. For the range of resources available see: http://sailingcenter.org/stem_program.php
Points: 10/activity
Tracks: Lakes


Riveredge Nature Center School Programs
Grades: K3-12
Whether in your classroom or in ours, Riveredge Nature Center has something for every class to study and explore the natural world around you. Our 380-acre natural sanctuary is the perfect place to study life that lives in ponds, rivers, prairies and forests during a school field trip. We also offer outreach programs led by Riveredge Environmental Educators that take place outdoors at your school or a nearby park. Visit https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/schoolprograms/ to learn more or apply for a program.
Points: 30/program
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Riverkeeper for a Day!
Grades: 4-9
Contact: Julius Gayo, Education Coordinator
Milwaukee Riverkeeper provides free, in-classroom lessons and activities designed for students to interact with local rivers, use professional-grade testing equipment, and analyze live water samples without leaving school grounds. Students become scientists in their own classroom, leave with an understanding and appreciation for local freshwater resources, and exposure to STEM future careers. Most importantly, students will gain a better understanding of how they personally can affect our waterways and become environmental stewards. Visit https://www.milwaukeeriverkeeper.org/connect/schools/ to learn more about these customizable programs.
Points: 20/activity
Tracks:
Rivers, Water Cycle & Quality


Milwaukee Community Map
Grades: 5-12
Contact: Michael Timm, Milwaukee Water Stories Program Manager
The Milwaukee Community Map is a free interactive map using Google Earth to share, explore, and create Milwaukee’s community water stories. The map hosts Water Stories, featuring local groups making a difference in our city’s collective water story; Basemaps, featuring geographic areas like watersheds, the sewer service area, and historic waterways; and Deeper Dives, featuring animated thematic tours. Check back soon for suggested curricular and topical themes that intersect with the Milwaukee Community Map!
Points: 10/activity
Tracks: Rivers, Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


Sewershed Mapping Activity
Grades: 7-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
The benefits of green infrastructure extend beyond stormwater management. The planning effort to support green infrastructure installation near schoolyards itself can involve students, teachers, and community members. In this activity, students conduct a sewershed assessment to document the potential pollution sources within a school’s sewershed, map the boundaries of the sewershed, and gather information to estimate the size of conceptual green infrastructure that may be possible to help manage the stormwater that falls on the site. This information is then integrated with Google Earth to create a map and visual story of the site’s water quality, quantity and opportunity to manage stormwater more effectively.
Points: 50/group map
Tracks: Watersheds, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure  


Virtual Water Table
Grades:
K-12
Contact: Lisa Neeb, Green & Healthy Schools Project Manager
The Virtual Water Table, created by the nonprofit Reflo – Sustainable Water Solutions, is a versatile and dynamic mobile venue available for schools to rent and engage students in hands-on learning. Toggle the table through three engagement modes: Sandbox, Map, and Game. Sandbox mode projects an interactive contour map onto a sandbox—complete with flowing digital water. Map mode projects the Milwaukee Community Map in Google Earth. Game mode features the MKE Waterscape Game, where five players role-play through scenarios inspired by Milwaukee’s water history. Click here for more information or to reserve the table.
Points: 500/visit
Tracks: Lakes, Rivers, Watersheds, Water Cycle & Quality, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure


STEMhero -- Personal Water & Energy Data Inquiry
Grades:
5-9
Contact:
Nathan Conroy
STEMhero is an award winning curriculum enhancement and professional development. It is aligned with NGSS and CCSS -- born in Milwaukee and now serving teachers around the country.
Standards Connections:
NGSS and CCSS
Cost: Sponsored locally by MKE Plays (limited sponsored licenses available)
Points:
50/class
Tracks:
Conservation