Use these lesson plans, created by teachers for teachers, to explore nature and the environment.
Primary Sources and Personal Artifacts (Grades 3-8) Students act as historians, analyzing different artifacts. The fourth grade student activity - Linking Rare Finds - focuses on the Nashua River from an environmental perspective.
The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy (Grades 9-12) Two separate lessons for students to investigate and debate the controversies inherent in conservation programs.
Explorations in American Environmental History (Grades 6-12) Students are introduced to historical perspectives of nature and the environment.
Natural Disasters: Nature's Fury (Grades 6-12) Students examine accounts by Americans from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries of their life changing experiences with nature.
The New England Fishing Industry: Sea Changes in a Community (Grades 6-12) Students study photographs, maps and interviews with two New England fishermen of the early 20th century, construct "found poetry", and research in Thomas to understand legislation restricting the fishing industry.
Mark Twain's Hannibal (Grades 9-10) Using both primary source documents and print materials, students analyze life around Hannibal, Missouri, during the latter half of the 19th century to determine what effects this location had on the writings of Mark Twain. Students can investigate the impact of a river environment on employment, social life, economy, transportation, family life, and politics.
Out of the Dust: Visions of Dust Bowl History (Grades 3-8) Students gain an understanding of Dust Bowl history through the eyes of a child, using Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust.