Introduction

The Helping Hands curriculum provides an opportunity to engage upper elementary school students in Great Lakes environmental stewardship. The lessons and hands-on activities apply to schools located in Great Lakes communities where large-scale environmental cleanup and restoration projects are taking place. Each Helping Hands lesson can be downloaded individually, or the entire curriculum is available as one document. The curriculum alignment with State, Next Generation, and National Science Education Standards can be found in the resources section of each lesson.

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Lesson 1: What Makes Up My Ecosystem? Get Down and Dirty

Students learn about an environmental cleanup happening in their very own neighborhood. Students pot native seeds that they will grow in their classroom and take to the cleanup site to help restore the environment. They will

• Describe the effect of historical pollution on today's environment.
• Describe the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Relate EPA's role in the environmental cleanup in the students' neighborhood.

Resources

1. Download Lesson 1 (PDF, 471 KB)
   
2. Download Example File (PDF, 980 KB) - editable .PPT file available to teachers upon request
3. Download Seed Planting Instructions (DOC, 14.7 KB)
4. Download Alignment Standards for Lesson 1 (XLS, 24 KB)

Lesson 2: Habitat Woes

Students  learn ecological terms and concepts. Students participate in a role-playing activity to understand the effects of pollution and invasive species on native species' habitat. They will

• Evaluate the importance of suitable habitat for wildlife.
• Recognize that degradation of resources from pollution and invasive species are why the current habitat is unsuitable for the native species.
• Compare  their own habitat to an aquatic organism's habitat.
• Describe the differences among organism, population, community, and ecosystem.

Resources

1. Download Lesson 2 (PDF, 453 KB) 
   
2. Download Habitat PowerPoint (PPT, 9.65 MB)
   
3. Download Alignment Standards for Lesson 2 (XLS, 22 KB)
   

Lesson 3: Knock Out Pollution

Students reflect on a demonstration of bioaccumulation and practice scientific  observation skills to identify types of pollution. They will

• Explain how pollution moves through the food chain using the terms benthos and bioaccumulate.
• Use observation skills to identify types of pollution.
• Describe environmental and societal benefits of the cleanup.

Resources

1. Download Lesson 3 (PDF, 132 KB)
2. Download Pollution PowerPoint (PPT, 3.34 MB)
3. Download Alignment Standards for Lesson 3 (XLS, 22 KB)

Lesson 4: Design an Ideal Habitat - Think Like Engineers and Scientists

Students learn how an engineer designs a large project like habitat restoration, working with a team of environmental professionals. They will

• Describe how an engineer designs a restoration project, including the importance of working on a team.
• Describe relationships of organisms within the local ecosystem

Resources

1. Download Lesson 4 (PDF 160, KB)
   
2. Download Ecosystem Components PowerPoint (PPT, 4.72 MB)
3. Download Alignment Standards for Lesson 4 (XLS, 22 KB)
4. Project figures and maps for your local cleanup can be found using the Waterbody tab.

Lesson 5: Press Event

​Contact IISG for information on press events related to the cleanup and to learn how to participate. Logistics and timing for the press event will be determined months in advance of the event. Students can simply attend the event to listen to VIP speakers, or they could get more involved.

• A student could give a speech about their involvement.
• Students could display a poster and answering questions about their water sampling project.
• Students could grow plants in their classroom and bring them to install onsite.
• Students could videotape the event and write a blog post or article for the school website.

Resources

1. Download Lesson 5 (PDF, 238 KB)
2. Download Alignment Standards for Lesson 2 (XLS, 14 KB)

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Download Grade School Curriculum (Single PDF)