(STONE SOUP © 2013 Jan Eliot. Used courtesy of the creator and Universal Uclick. All rights reserved.)
Live plants and animals have long been valuable teaching tools, but now they're teaching environmental stewardship, too, as teachers and students learn that cute classroom pets can become a invasive marauders if set loose in the wild.
WISE offers teacher trainings, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)-based curriculum and ongoing teacher engagement in a community for learning and teaching about emerging watershed issues. Since starting in 2007, the program has trained more than 70 teachers, reaching more than 4,500 students who have completed more than 50 stewardship projects.
Join the WISE Community
We welcome teachers, scientists, citizens, practitioners and anyone interested to join the WISE Community! Please join our e-mail listserv, like us on Facebook, subscribe to our blog to learn about interesting and important topics, and share your expertise.
Designed to engage students in science learning and community action, the WISE program has developed tools to encourage teachers and their classes to develop and share their own lessons and projects with each other. Materials include:
Lessons and Curricula
- Aquatic Invasive Species: Menace to the West - a set of fun, challenging and inspiring lessons and activities that build STEAM knowledge and skills.
- Tsunami STEM Curriculum - This curriculum uses Ocean Science Systems as pathways to stimulate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning to guide students in decision making.
Stewardship Projects
Students and teachers have created a great variety of projects ranging from watershed restoration to awareness campaigns. Check out our blog to view many cool projects as well as interesting articles about emerging water issues and invasive species.
Identification Guides
- Jumping Worms: A guide to identifying a new invasive species in the PNW
- Key Aquatic Invasive Species Watch: Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris in the Eastern Pacific (free download)
- On the Lookout for Aquatic Invasive Species, 2015 edition (purchase online)
- On the Lookout for Invasive Tunicates: Identification Guide for Early Detection and Response (purchase online)
Additional Resources
- "Don't let it loose" poster [pdf]
- Research project that looks at AIS in the classroom [pdf]
- Adopting a Classroom Animal: Pledge-Form/Care Sheet (also available in Spanish)
- FOSS/Delta Policy Statement on Living Organisms in the Classroom
- Ways you can prevent invasions
- ANSTF Classroom Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) (free download from US Fish & Wildlife Service)