GRAND TRAVERSE HOMESCHOOL inclusive networking support
Education Resources for Teachers (and homeschoolers!) for the Great Lakes Region
The information on this page was gathered from a handout by the National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. The Northwest Lower Pennisula of Michigan is bordered by Lake Michigan, one of five of The Great Lakes. Of local interest: Inland Seas Education Association, located in Suttons Bay and the Watershed Center of Grand Traverse Bay
National Parks of the Great Lakes
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Grand Portage National Monument
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial
Great Lakes Research and Education Center
The National Park Service Research Learning Center based at Indiana Dunes National Park. The center works with the above national parks to encourage research and share new information about natural and cultural history.
National Park Service Partners
Isle Royale Institute provides a wide variety of activities for schools, special interest groups, and the general public.
Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute facilitates environmental problem solving through education, research, and citizen involvement.
Clear Lake Education Center has programs that focus on environmental sciences, cultural history, natural resource careers, personal growth and team building.
Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands "Fun and free way to learn about the National Park Service." Through this institute at Indiana University, these e-courses meet criteria for 0.1 CEU each.
Other Helpful Websites
National Park Service Interpretation and Education
Geology of National Parks in 3D
Teaching Resources from the EPA
See Cella Chow!- A purple loosestrife biological control manual for educators - available as a PDF at the site. This is a program for raising and releasing biological control insects to help control invasive species.
Classroom Earth- This is a list of the most popular and widely used environmental education programs for K-12 classrooms. Each program provides proven curricula, materials, and, in many cases, in-person training on how to use the program with students.
“The brawny mix of extraordinary sights-weather, politics, races, imagination, corruption and athletics. They clash and mingle here where the broad prairies that are the world's most fertile collection of farm fields meet the vast Great Lakes that are the world's largest collection of fresh water.” ~Andrew H. Malcolm
Curriculum Guides and Programs
Apostle Islands Lighthouse Curriculum is a comprehensive curriculum guide which encourages the use of lighthouses as a focal point of school curricula throughout the region and around the country.
Great Lakes in My World, Educational Kit. Great Lakes in My World offers 80 indoor and outdoor activities for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. Currently, due to popularity, it is out of stock, but there you can ask to be placed on a waiting list. Download samples.
The Teach Great Lakes site features mini-lessons on Great Lakes topics for elementary through high school. New teaching module on site.
Greatest of the Great Lakes: A medley of model lessons. This collection of 41 innovative classroom activities, assembled by COSEE Great Lakes, provides teachers and students (grades 4-10) with insights into the uniqueness of the Great Lakes and their influence on aquatic life and human populations. Click here for a sample of the activities to download.
Exotic Species Compendium of Activities to Protect the Ecosystem (ESCAPE) is a collection of activities developed from the Exotic Species Day Camp Project for Educators. This package includes 36 user-friendly sets of lessons that incorporate experiments, art, music and games.
The Great Lakes Education Program for Macomb and Wayne County.
Ohio Sea Grant Education Program, look for the PDF of supplemental curriculum activities for Holling Clancy's Paddle to the Sea, an award-winning children's book about a carved wooden Native American in a toy canoe traveling throughout the Great Lakes. Grades 4 through 8.
Project Learning Tree, an award winning, multi-disciplinary environmental education program by the American Forest Foundation. This page has sample activities for their preK-8 Activity Guide.
National Geographic Wild World maps and educator guides.
Project Water Education for Teachers program facilitates and promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources through the dissemination of classroom ready teaching aids and the establishment of internationally sponsored Project WET programs.
Alien Invasion: Plants on the Move. Weed curriculum for grades K-12
Fisheries Learning On the Web (FLOW). FLOW is a comprehensive curriculum about the Great Lakes ecosystem with three core units: Food Web, Water and Fish.
