The original Native American story component lesson was developed as part of an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Washington State Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) project funded through an EPA Region 10 grant. The stories were told by Roger Fernandes of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. Mr. Fernandes has been given permission by the tribes to tell these stories.As these lessons and stories were shared prior to the adoption of the Washington State Science Learning Standards in 2013, there was a need to align these stories with the current science standards. This resource provides a current alignment and possible lesson suggestions on how these stories can be incorporated into the classroom. This alignment work has been funded by the NGSS & Climate Science Proviso of the Washington State Legislature as a part of North Central Educational Service District's award.

Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas. Wasted food and the resources to produce that food are responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this storyline, students learn about the resources required to produce food through following the carbon cycle and discover how food waste contributes to climate change. They will also learn the farm to table transport chain as well as how to conduct a food waste audit. Finally, the students will research solutions to the problem of food waste that can be applicable to their own lives, their school, and their community. 

Sea level is rising due to climate changes that result from increased emissions of greenhouse gases. In this storyline, students will explore mechanisms of sea level rise and the impacts on Indigenous peoples along with other groups such as urban communities. Natural hazards such as erosion, storm surges, and flooding are intensified by sea level rise. The effects on natural resources, the economies built from those natural resources, and land usage in general can be predicted by utilizing current and historical data.

Coastal wetlands bring many benefits to ecosystems including their ability to sequester carbon and mitigate fluctuations in sea levels. Students will understand the ecosystem benefits of coastal wetlands with a focus on the potential of estuaries for climate related planning.

 This inquiry unit leads students through the different perspectives behind a decision to have a dam removed. This unit looks at similar Washington state dam removal decisions as well as the complex issue of having the Election dam removed near Puyallup, WA. Students will be introduced to the stories and traditional ways of knowing about salmon that the Puyallup Tribe has built their culture upon. Then they will explore the science behind hydroelectricity and build models to discover how carbon neutral energy is gathered through hydro dams. This inquiry unit ends with students researching different perspectives surrounding the current (2021) decision to remove the Electron dam including: the Tribe’s Fishery department, the ecosystem, the city council, the fishermen and the hydro-electrical company who currently owns the dam. With their research, students will do a socratic seminar to mimic the court case lawsuit that is ongoing against the Electron Dam. 

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine continuity and change in the governing of the United States by looking at the Constitution and linking early legislative debates to issues of...

Students will gain an understanding of the Northern Arapaho people located on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. In the accompanying lessons plans (found in the Support Materials), students will learn how the Northern Arapaho come to Wyoming, what are the Arapaho values, and why were Arapaho tribal names changed?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to evaluate what geographical places were used by the Arapaho people and understand how historical events changed the future for the Arapaho people.
Students will compare and contrast between their social and ceremonial structures.
Students will understand the hierarchy of the Arapaho Tribe.
Students will analyze how their social and ceremonial structures contribute to their cultural identity.

Students will be exploring the idea of ecosystems and wildfires. They will become familiar with what an ecosystem is and how to keep them healthy. Students will also see the positive and negative effects of wildfires on ecosystems. Also how wildfires influence the local government and federal government when it comes to land management.