Wetland Stewards Middle School Lessons
NOTE: Wetland Stewards lessons are designed to be taught using the hands-on activities and small group investigations outlined, and with the use of inquiry-based techniques. Individual assessment through journal prompts in science notebooks is encouraged and incorporated into each lesson.
Lesson Plan Overview -- A list of available Wetland Stewards lessons, including a short description of each with location, duration, and appropriate time of year.
Lesson 1: Discovering the WERC
Lesson 2: What's in Wetland Soil?
Lesson 3: Horizons Under Ground: Digging through Wetland Soil
Lesson 4: Nature's Recycling Program
Lesson 5: Wetland Water Testing
Lesson 6: Food Webs and Food Chains
Lesson 7: Seeds of Wetland Life
Lesson 8: Wetland Flowers and Pollinators
Lesson 9: Wetland Plant Detectives
Lesson 10: Next Stop, the Watsonville Wetlands
Lesson 11: Where do Birds Live?
Lesson 12: Watershed Landscape
Lesson 13: Traveling Through Time, Wetland Style
Lesson 14: Sounds of the Wetlands
Lesson 15: Wild, Wild Wetland Life
Lesson 16: Wetland Stewards for the Future
Lesson 1: Discovering the WERC
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 217 KB)
• Classroom Station Worksheet (PDF file, 47 KB)
Lesson 2: What's in Wetland Soil?
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 158 KB)
• Background information on soil ("Soil as a Resource" -- Word file, 49 KB)
• Background information on soil ("The Science of Soil" -- Word file, 173 KB)
Lesson 3: Horizons Under Ground: Digging through Wetland Soil
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 224 KB)
• Soil Vocab Worksheet (Word file, 151 KB)
• Soil Drawing Worksheet (Word file, 37 KB)
Lesson 4: Nature's Recycling Program
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 122 KB)
• Compost Web Activity Page
• Springtail Video Clip (QuickTime file, 5.34 MB)
• Links to Additional Resources
Lesson 5: Wetland Water Testing
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 144 KB)
• Book - Water on Tap (PDF file, 2.83 MB)
• EPA Page: What is Water Quality?
Lesson 6: Food Webs and Food Chains
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 565 KB)
• Webbing Card Template (Word file, 1.49 MB)
• Scavenger Hunt extension (Word file, 22 KB)
Lesson 7: Seeds of Wetland Life
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 106 KB)
• Online activity on seed travel
• Seeds Drawing Worksheet (Word file, 65.5 KB)
• Movie clip on seed dispersal (MOV file, 20.53 MB)
Lesson 8: Wetland Flowers and Pollinators
• Lesson Plan Coming Soon!
• Pollination Relay Race (Word file, 36 KB)
Lesson 9: Wetland Plant Detectives
• Lesson Plan (Word file, 24.5 KB)
• Plant Vocabulary Worksheet (Word file, 1.19 MB)
• Plant Wheel Text 1 (PDF file, 133 KB)
• Plant Wheel Text 2 (PDF file, 291 KB)
• Plant Wheel Drawings 1 (JPG file, 2.1 MB)
• Plant Wheel Drawings 2 (JPG file, 2.27 MB)
Lesson 10: Next Stop, the Watsonville Wetlands
• Lesson Plan (Word file, 66 KB)
• American White Pelican Migration Game
Lesson 11: Where Do Birds Live?
• Lesson Plan (PDF file, 190 KB)
• Learning Activity on cavity dwelling birds (HTML)
• Cavity Nesters PowerPoint Presentation
• Cavity Nester Game
• Cavity Nester Game Fact Sheet
• Background Information on Cavity Nesters
• Kestrel Worksheet (Word file, 147 KB)
• Barn Owl Worksheet (Word file, 53 KB)
• Links to Additional Resources
Lesson 12: Watershed Landscape
Coming Soon!
• Human Watershed Model Activity (PDF file, 109 KB)
Lesson 13: Traveling Through Time, Wetland Style
Coming Soon!
Lesson 14: Sounds of the Wetlands
Coming Soon!
Lesson 15: Wild, Wild Wetland Life
• Lesson Plan Coming Soon!
• Wetland Wildlife Facts (Word file, 43.5 KB)
• Wetland Wildlife PowerPoint (PPT file, 1.63 MB)
Lesson 16: Wetland Stewards for the Future
• Lesson Plan Coming Soon!
