There is no need to "re-invent the wheel" with your PA TIC program! This page provides curriculum guides, hands-on activities, academic standards, and related educational resources to help enhance PA TIC programming by partners and teachers alike. PA TIC participants may use lessons and activities as they are or modify them slightly to fit their unique needs.
PA TIC students receive hands-on STEM learning opportunities through the program. Photo courtesy of Christine Fernandes, PA TIC teacher at Grier School.
Academic Standards
Calling all non-formal environmental education providers and PA TIC program partners! The following resources may help you align your PA TIC programming with the curricular needs of PA TIC teachers. Ask your teachers which standards their TIC program meets and how you can best support and enhance these needs.
- PA Academic Standards and Curriculum: Official Pennsylvania Academic Standards
- Environment & Ecology Standards: The Environment and Ecology Standards are found within the Standards Aligned System (SAS) with a curriculum framework and anchor alignments that provide support for the Science PSSA and the ecological section of the Biology Keystone Exams
- The following set of unofficial standards was designed to help realign the teaching sequences in 2002, but these standards are NOT currently adopted as official state standards. They can, however, provide helpful guidance:
- Some schools in Pennsylvania have aligned their curriculum with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), but NGSS Standards are NOT adopted as the official state standards in Pennsylvania. For added support of these schools, partners may consider the following:
NOTE: PA's official state standards for Environment & Ecology and Science & Technology are dated to 2002. In September 2019, the State Board of Education directed the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to begin the process of updating Pennsylvania’s science standards (including Science & Technology and Environment & Ecology) to align them with current research and best practices, including a review of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The above list will be updated periodically, but for updated information on official state science standards, please visit: Pennsylvania's Science & Technology and Environment & Ecology Standards.
PA Fish and Boat Commission Resources
** Please note that some of the PFBC links may be broken at this time as they are undergoing some website upgrades. The links will be fixed as soon as changes are complete. In the meantime, you can try searching the keywords of the resource you are looking for directly on the PFBC website and it might come up. Thanks for your patience through these changes.
|
Activities and Education Portal
Book List
|
Aquatic Organisms (Trout and MORE!)
Watersheds
Recreational Fishing
- All About Trout PLAY Youth Newsletter
- Aquatic Critters Fact Sheets (e.g., Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddisflies, and more!)
- Aquatic Field Study Permitting: Permit needed to collect macroinvertebrates in PA, even if you release them
- Brook Trout Life Cycle Poster
- Fish Habitat Improvement, featuring project maps, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and a booklet
- PLAY (Spring 2006) – Six Legs Underwater (Learn fun facts about insect family tree, how they eat and more!)
- PLAY (Spring 2013) Fish Scene Investigation (Learn how biologists study and manage fish populations in PA)
- Trout Identification
- Trouts and Salmons of PA
- Trout Water Classifications
Watersheds
- Pond and Stream Study Guide
- PLAY (Winter 2019) – Water Flows Through PA
- PLAY (Fall 2019) H20 On the Go
- PLAY (Spring 2018) Water, Water, Read All About it! (water temperature, pH, Alkalinity, Turbidity)
- PLAY (Winter 2013) Good Fishing, Needs Good Habitat (Recipe for a healthy stream, stream and lake habitat toolbox, help this stream activity)
- Wetlands and why do fish need them
- Timbering and Trout
Recreational Fishing
National Trout Unlimited Resources
|
|
- Coldwater Conservation Education Guide: 125-page document that features 17 different coldwater conservation specific activities!
- National TIC Website: Includes a wealth of lessons, resources, and more from programs across the country
- TIC Lesson Plan Library: The library is made up of numerous lessons provided by TIC teachers nationwide. The lessons are categorized by topic to make it easier to find one that may suit your educational needs!
- National TU Youth Education Overview: Includes links to various clubs, programs, and the TU Teen Summit
- Stream Explorers: A TU membership and magazine for youth 12 and under
Other Education Resources
NOTE: The below education resources have been sorted into categories, but many resources intersect with multiple categories (e.g., a watershed education curricula with lessons on aquatic organisms). This list is NOT comprehensive of all education resources available to PA TIC teachers on these topics, but does provide valuable guidance and "springboards."
Abandoned Mine Drainage
Aquatic Organisms (Fish, Macroinvertebrates, and MORE!)
Educator Trainings & Professional Development
Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs)
Water Quality & Watershed Health
- AMD Fact Sheet
- AMD Sidewalk Chalk Activity
- National TU AMD Curriculum
- Lehigh University AMD Site
- Lehigh University AMD Online Project
- AMD and Art
- Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
- Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Aquatic Organisms (Fish, Macroinvertebrates, and MORE!)
- Measuring Fish Respiration: Presentation for fish respiration lab created by US Fish and Wildlife for the “Advanced TIC teacher workshops”
- Accompanying Activity: How Fish Breathe handout and Measuring Fish Respiration lab sheet
- Making Preserved Macroinvertebrates
- Macroinvertebrate education resources from Stroud Water Research Center's WikiWatershed® Toolkit
- Leaf Pack Network: Discover what aquatic insects can tell you about your stream’s health by performing a simple leaf pack experiment. Find free downloadable lessons in the Leaf Pack Manual and the Rock Pack Manual, and purchase dichotomous keys, Macro lenses, and more from the Leaf Pack Stream Ecology Kit.
- Macroinvertebrates.org: Explore interactive gigapan images of common freshwater macroinvertebrates with this innovative learning tool designed for students and citizen scientists. Includes free downloadable poster, online identification key, and more under Resources.
- Monitor My Watershed: Discover, map, share, and compare monitoring data from multiple sources (macroinvertebrate data from the Leaf Pack Network and chemistry data from EnviroDIY).
- Water Quality Mobile App: Enhance stream study and monitoring activities for students and citizen scientists by tracking macroinvertebrate, water chemistry, and related data on an app available for Apple and Android devices.
- Loyyalhanna Watershed Association Macroinvertebrate Study worksheet
- GO FISH - Board game developed by PA TIC teacher to test student knowledge of Pennsylvania rivers, trout life cycles, water chemistry, and more! For editable Word version, please click here.
- Fish Basics: Learning Center and Lessons: Created by Greater Latrobe AmeriCORPS
- Fish Basics Jeopardy: Created by Greater Latrobe AmeriCORPS
- Fish Health: Powerpoint developed by PFBC’s fish health biologist to help teachers and students understand fish health. Discusses prevention, ”vertical and horizontal transmission”, hosts, parasites and much more!
- Osmosis: Using Salt to Keep Trout Healthy: Presentation developed by PFBC’s Cooperative Nursery biologist to help TIC teachers understand how salt can help stressed/sick trout.
- Accompanying Activity: Special Adaptations to Water handout
- PA TIC Pre/Post Test: Created by Greater Latrobe AmeriCORPS specifically for Pennsylvania
- Sensory Features and Abilities handout: Ohio State Cooperative Extension
Educator Trainings & Professional Development
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation Education Programs - Chesapeake Classrooms Professional Learning is open to field-based educators
- Dive Deeper Summit - Biennial conference (occurs every other year) for educators who teach about water
- Keystone Coldwater Conference - Biennial conference (occurs every other year)
- NOAA Environmental Science Training Center
- PA State Parks' Teacher and Non-Formal Educator Workshops
- PA TIC Summit - Biennial conference (occurs every other year) for PA TIC partners and teachers
Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs)
- Bay Backpack
- MWEE Guide online
- MWEE 101 online course – free; provides 6 Act 48 hours for PA (& other states); a great resource TIC teachers
- MWEE Think Cloud for the Field-Based Education Provider
- MWEE Think Cloud for Teachers
- MWEE videos and MWEE Online Training Modules
- Find a Certified MWEE Ambassador near you while exploring 475+ potential program partners in the EE Providers Network! Click your region in PA to explore local environmental education providers, or search for providers statewide.
Water Quality & Watershed Health
- Allegheny College’s “Creek Connections” Program: Includes teacher resources, water quality kits to borrow, Creek Camp, and more
- DCNR Watershed Education (WE) Curriculum
- DCNR Watershed Education Water Quality Database: Digital warehouse for student water quality data (physical, chemical, and biological).
- Free Downloadable Maps of Pennsylvania's River Basins
- Studying a Stream: Explore a wealth information on the following tabs: Physical, Chemical, Biological, Resources, Equipment Needed, Equipment Suppliers
- Studying a Stream Resources: Extensive list of potential program partners (e.g., state agencies, federal agencies, basin agencies, non-profit organizations) and related resources in watershed education
- Watershed Education Assignments: Can be used by anyone- includes PA Watershed tours and many other resources
- Watershed Education Kit Contents: Excel spreadsheet of contents of DCNR Watershed Education Kit, including prices and sources for various items TIC teachers or partners may consider purchasing for their own TIC programming.
- Izaak Walton League of America: An extensive resource for water quality; includes a section on “Taking Action”
- PA DEP Stream Assessment Methods, including stream habitat assessment, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, chemistry, etc.
- Penn State Extension Water Quality Education & Resources
- Manure Management Planning for Youth: Manure impacts water quality and, in PA, everyone who produces manure needs a plan. That includes 4-H youth.
- Rain to Drain: Slow the Flow: Hands-on stormwater education curriculum
- Watershed Decisions Activity Kit: A hands-on, inquiry based activity kit for older youth and adults
- The Water We Drink: Drinking water education for grades 6-12
- Youth Water Education: Explore other Penn State Extension resources and activities
- Project WET
- Getting Little Feet WET: Project WET’s early childhood (K-12 curriculum, including 11 interactive, hands-on activities for young learners to explore different aspects of water—from water properties to water sounds
- Project WET Clean & Conserve Guide - free download + other resources
- Project WET's The Urban Watershed: Stormwater Extensions: Georgia' Project WET's supplement to the national Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide, including hands-on, thought-provoking activities about our urban water resources
- DiscoverWater.org: Self-directed digital learning tool designed to teach ages 7-12 about different water topics—ranging from global to personal perspective—which together reflect many of the complex and important roles of water in our lives
- WikiWatershed® Toolkit by Stroud Water Research Center, including but not limited to:
- Model My Watershed: Analyze geospatial data, model stormwater runoff, and compare conservation or development scenarios in your local watershed.
- Monitor My Watershed: Discover, map, share, and compare monitoring data from multiple sources (macroinvertebrate data from the Leaf Pack Network and chemistry data from EnviroDIY).
- Runoff Simulation: Animated version of the Site Storm Model package of Model My Watershed to learn how land use and soil together determine whether rainfall infiltrates into the soil, runs off into streams, or is evaporated and transpired by plants.
- Water Quality Mobile App: Enhance stream study and monitoring activities for students and citizen scientists by tracking macroinvertebrate, water chemistry, and related data on an app available for Apple and Android devices.
- Water Chemistry Lab and Worksheets - Created by Greater Latrobe AmeriCorps
- How Toxic Are Your Ammonia Levels?
- How To Calculate Your Un-Ionized Ammonia Levels
TIC Program Websites
NOTE: This list is only updated periodically and is NOT comprehensive of all digital platforms for TIC programs country-wide or statewide. It serves only as a guide for existing TIC programs to inspire PA TIC teachers on new ways to creatively and/or digitally engage their students.
REMEMBER: Please direct all specific questions about troubleshooting or PA-specific programming to our PA TIC Program Staff! |
Photo courtesy of Georgia TIC
|
Join the PA TIC Facebook Group!
Join our our Facebook group, PA Trout in the Classroom (PA TIC), to network with fellow PA TIC program participants, share photos/videos, trade stories, ask for advice, and enhance your program with new knowledge, lessons, and projects.
Join the TIC/SIC National Network!
The TIC/SIC National Network Google Group acts as a great national forum for questions, discussions, and announcements about everything Trout or Salmon in the Classroom! It will also open your students to new and nationally connected opportunities like the TIC Quilt Project. Simply apply for membership with your Google ID. Don't have a Google ID? You can use your standard email address (@ any domain) as your login name.
Having immediate issues connecting with the network? Contact [email protected].
Explore the websites of TIC programs across the state!
Explore the websites of TIC programs across the country!
Join our our Facebook group, PA Trout in the Classroom (PA TIC), to network with fellow PA TIC program participants, share photos/videos, trade stories, ask for advice, and enhance your program with new knowledge, lessons, and projects.
Join the TIC/SIC National Network!
The TIC/SIC National Network Google Group acts as a great national forum for questions, discussions, and announcements about everything Trout or Salmon in the Classroom! It will also open your students to new and nationally connected opportunities like the TIC Quilt Project. Simply apply for membership with your Google ID. Don't have a Google ID? You can use your standard email address (@ any domain) as your login name.
Having immediate issues connecting with the network? Contact [email protected].
Explore the websites of TIC programs across the state!
- BUTLER COUNTY
Butler Junior High School
https://www.facebook.com/pages/BJHS-Trout-in-the-Classroom/235547159898515 - JUNIATA COUNTY
- Lack Tuscarora Elementary
http://lacktuscaroratic.blogspot.com/ - NORTHAMPTON COUNTY
- Nazareth Middle School
http://troutinclassroom.weebly.com/ - NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY
Sunbury Christian Academy
http://www.sunburychristianacademy.org/pa-trout-in-the-classroom-project/
Explore the websites of TIC programs across the country!
- Nevada TIC Program and Curriculum & Resource Guide
- Oregon TIC Program: Fish Eggs to Fry
- California TIC Curriculum: Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP)
- South Carolina TIC curriculum
- Tennessee: Back the Brookie DVD and Curriculum
- New Mexico TIC Program: RiverXchange
- Michigan SIC (Salmon in the Classroom) Program
