Connecticut River Curriculum Guide: Introduction Activities for High School Watershed Education

(Guide is in PDF format: Acrobat Reader required.)
"The Connecticut River watershed is an accessible educational resource for use in any discipline, because it’s right where you are. Your school and your town don’t need to be situated on the Connecticut River for watershed education to be relevant, effective, and engaging. As long as a brook, stream, or small river that eventually contributes water to the Connecticut River flows through your area, you’re in the watershed. The water you use for everything from drinking to generating electricity comes from the watershed and returns to it, eventually ending up in Long Island Sound." Produced by the Connecticut River Watershed Council.

Connecticut in the Classroom Curriculum Guide

(Guide is in PDF format: Acrobat Reader required.)

The lessons in this guide are organized into two grade groups; K-2 and 3-5. While the lessons are in order of simple concepts spiraling to more difficult ones, individual lessons can be used without doing the other activities in that section. We have attempted to vary the subject areas within each strand to provide cross-disciplinary learning experiences around study of the river. Each lesson contains a list of resources as well as Massachusetts Science and Technology Frameworks connections and a list of applicable MCAS sample questions. The teachers of Holyoke are piloting this Guide during the 2003 school year. We welcome your questions and comments.

Produced by Holyoke, MA teachers as part of a MA Cultural Council grant supported by WGBY, The Holyoke School District and the Children's Museum of Holyoke.

The Connecticut River Watershed: From Awareness to Action is a draft curriculum created by the Hampshire Education Collaborative's 21st Century Community Learning Center. The draft was piloted by six summer programs ( Amherst Middle School,Great Falls Middle School, Greenfield Middle School, Sheffield Elementary School and Federal Street Elementary School) during the summer of 2003. The curriculum  includes making models, exploring topographic maps, comparing natural environments and  examining the rivers' role in the development of local towns and cities. The lessons culminate in an activity that allows students to partner with a community organization in an effort to "make a difference in their community".

To obtain a copy of this curriculum, please contact Bill Randolf, Education Coordinator, Hampshire Education Collaborative, 413-586-4900 ext 139 or brandolf@collaborative.org

CREI / www.wgby.org