Great Lakes Banner

Students at Harper Woods Middle School in Michigan prepare to decorate their Great Lakes banner.

This banner is available for downloading, courtesy of David Bydlowski of the Michigan Science & Math Center at Wayne County RESA. Visit science.resa.net  then access the Student Services section.

This file can be saved to a memory stick and taken to a print shop that offers large sign printing (approx $20). Many schools are printing a single banner and using it as a tracing template with 3 foot wide rolled paper to create multiple copies so every classroom has their own banner to decorate and take to a local business for display. 

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Great Lakes Four Square Brain Blast! Classroom Activity

Distribute a large blank sheet of paper to each student (legal sized). Ask that they fold it into four quadrants and label the sections People, Life, Land, and Water.

Encourage students to write down any and all terms and/or illustrations they can think of about the Great Lakes that relate to each of the four subjects.

Briefly share out among the group, then store the papers until the unit of study is finished, at which time have students add to their original list (perhaps in a new ink color) to chart their growth in understanding. 

IDEA FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS   Follow the same start-up activity but with the whole group calling out answers as an adult records responses on chart paper. Again, use as a closing discussion by adding new information to the original list.

Getting to Know the Great Lakes  Classroom Activity

Using the five lake pieces (Land-n-Lakes Puzzle below), challenge students to cut and assemble the layout of the five Great Lakes on a large sheet of construction paper.

Group the students into 5 teams and distribute a puzzle card to each team (or 6 teams if class is large enough and a Lake St Clair group is assigned). Students would then use internet resources (search engines or mapping sites) along with automobile club maps of the Great Lake states and provinces  to locate the ten structures or places listed on the cards.

When teams are finished with the labeling, rotate individual team members to other groups so that every student eventually shares their information with all classmates. Ultimately every student will have labeled all 50 sites on their maps. 

IDEA FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS Start with the small model assembled on construction paper then construct a HUGE model of the lakes (created in advance from five pieces of poster board) and have children work together to assemble on the classroom floor

Materials adapted from the Michigan Sea Grant/Michigan State University Extension Great Lakes Education Program (GLEP)

 

Great Lakes Flyer

Created by Ruth Meissen, Illinois Teacher of the Year 2008, this can be used as a coloring sheet for younger grades and delivered for posting in local stores, banks, and city offices.

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Great Lakes Waterways - Classroom Activity

Use the six resources pages "Great Lakes Waterways" below 

Lead student groups through the process of building a 3D model of the Great Lakes. Use the Connecting Waterways cards with groups to trace the flow of water from Northern Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean, and implement online simulation tools (http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module08/title.htm) to extend the learning. 

IDEA FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS Show the model and read the classic children's book “Paddle to the Sea”, moving a mini canoe along the model as the story progresses; or make a raindrop on a long stick and trace the path from the Canadian snow melts thru Superior, Huron, etc . . .  Use Google Earth Lit Trip for Paddle to the Sea

Materials adapted from the Michigan Sea Grant/Michigan State University Extension Great Lakes Education Program (GLEP)

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Classic Literary Tale Enriches Student Understanding
of the Great Lakes

Follow a child's toy canoe from the snowy Canadian region north of Lake Superior on a journey to the Atlantic Ocean.

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Google Earth Lit Trip - Paddle to the Sea

Take students on the journey with "Paddle to the Sea" using satellite images and live internet links to Great Lakes resources available free through GoogleEarth and www.googleearthlittrips.com

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