An official website of the United States government.
The goal of this project is to raise awareness about invasive species and to turn that awareness into action to prevent and to manage current and future invasions. The project consists of lesson plans and corresponding hands-on items designed to teach the story about invasive species. Each lesson plan has been aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Standards, and Maryland Environmental Literacy Standards. Lesson plans in each module include activities for Grades 3-12.
Educators
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Provides selected resources for Educators from agencies and organizations with an interest in the prevention, control, or eradication of invasive species. See also:
- Outreach and Awareness for general information and outreach materials to increase awareness of invasive species issues
- Public Awareness Campaign for campaigns and programs designed to increase public awareness of invasive species issues
- What You Can Do to learn about general volunteer opportunities and ways the average citizen can help to control invasive species
Spotlights
Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council; DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service; DOC. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Pets in K-12 school classrooms can be valuable teaching assets. Caring for companion animals helps students to relate to species in their natural habitats while fostering a sense of environmental ethics. Provides information for planning for classroom pets, caring the classroom pets after the school year, how to protect the environment, and additional resources.
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Access a variety of curricula designed to make youth aware of invasive species and the damage they cause. There are lessons and resources – for both classroom and outdoors – that engage students in the process of discovery.
Oregon Sea Grant.
WISE offers teacher trainings, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Based curriculum, and on-going teacher engagement in a community for learning and teaching about emerging watershed issues. Since launched started in 2007, the program has trained more than 70 teachers, reaching more than 4,500 students who have completed more than 50 stewardship projects.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this subject, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Educators
Council or Task Force
Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council.
This guide contains a collection of hands-on activities that are easy for teachers to use in the classroom and in the schoolyard. The curriculum is designed for kindergarten through 12th grade and most activities are tied to the Georgia Performance Standards. The guide is available to all formal and non-formal educators online at www.gaeppc.org and through workshops offered in the metro-Atlanta area. Classroom teachers, park naturalists, environmental education specialists, and others can adapt these activities to fit easily into their programs.
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
Many teachers and students are unaware of the impacts of disposing unwanted live specimens (animals, plants, and microorganisms) into local waters, letting them go down drains or flushing them down the toilet. Recent releases of concern include goldfish, red swamp crayfish, Brazilian elodea, and red-eared slider turtles! It may seem simple and kind hearted, but releases can reduce biodiversity, water quality, harm fishing and native species. Besides not being good for the environment, releases are illegal in most states.
See also: Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force - Other Documents for more resources
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Washington Invasive Species Council.
Invasive Species Council of British Columbia.
ISCBC's education resources support educators and students in environmental learning, outdoor field experiences and conservation in their communities. Invasive species, unlike many large-scale environmental issues, are something that youth can actually do something about, in a hands-on, experiential way! The following resources provide a range of activities that will engage your students, help them investigate invasive species and their impacts and take action to prevent their spread.
Partnership
Scottish Invasive Species Initiative.
Here you'll find presentations, activities, worksheets, quizzes, crafts, puzzles and games, all themed around invasive alien species and the river environment which can all be downloaded and shared. There is an introductory presentation to start you off and all activities have notes and answer sheets to help you along – so you don’t need any prior knowledge to use and enjoy them. The activities can be done in groups e.g. a school class but many can be completed individually at home or in the outdoors
National Plant Diagnostic Network.
As an Educator, you can play a unique role in protecting U.S. plant resources. Educators are trained First Detectors who recruit and train other individuals to notice and report exotic plant pest and pathogen activity.
Federal Government
Wild Things: Investigating Invasive Species (Educator's Guide Grades 6-8) (Jun 2012) (PDF | 1.79 MB)
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Empower kids to play a central role in saving your community’s trees with these flexible, standard-based lesson plans and activities.
USDA. FS. Eastern Region.
Interactive Non-native Invasive Species learning kits are available to educate pre-school to adult groups about non-native invasive plants and animals.
State and Local Government
New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
See also: Invasive Species: K-12 Educator Resources for more resources
Missoula County Weed District (Montana).
This curriculum is designed to be a supplemental curriculum for teachers who want to integrate the topic of invasive weeds into their existing courses. This curriculum will provide teachers, educators, and weed professionals with an ecologically-based invasive weed curriculum that assists students in developing awareness, knowledge and skills that will result in responsible land stewardship in the state of Montana.
Academic
Mississippi State University. Extension Service.
This manual contains three types of activities. First there are introductory, or awareness-building, activities. The second type focuses on both beneficial and detrimental characteristics of exotics. And finally there are activities intended as reinforcers. The best advantage can be gained from this set by selecting at least one introductory activity and several from the second set and following up with routine monitoring of a nonindigenous species in your community.
Michigan State University. Integrated Pest Management Program.
This curriculum provides background information, hands-on activities, worksheets and links to additional sites that teachers can utilize to engage students in formal and informal real-world settings. While some of the lessons build on previous learning, most of the lessons can stand-alone. IPM can be used as a theme in the classroom for an entire year, or as enrichment to regular classroom activities.
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant.
The Aquatic Invaders Attack Pack is filled with materials to help teach groups about Great Lakes aquatic invasive species (AIS), the problems they cause and what can be done about them. Each pack includes preserved specimens of some of the most problematic AIS in the Great Lakes, rugged plastic fact sheets and a classroom guide. Additional materials are available for download.
Oregon Sea Grant.
The materials found here are part of Menace to the West, an educational resource for teachers, informal educators, parents, and students on aquatic invasive species. These materials are designed to teach K-12 students how invasive species can do untold damage when they move to new territory. Kits, resources, and full lessons are available.
Michigan State University. W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.
Lesson plans are searchable using "invasive" as a keyword.
Illinios-Indiana College Sea Grant Program.
To prepare students to be responsible decision-makers and future leaders, IISG has developed education programs that engage students in experiential practices to promote a sustainable society.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Nebraska Invasive Species Program.
Each category includes relevant educational materials such as powerpoints, videos, and lesson plans that are helpful to educators in any classroom setting.
University of Florida. IFAS. Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
Provides educators with the information and resources they need to teach about the benefits of Florida's native plants and the harmful impacts that some invasive, non-native plants are having on our natural areas and neighborhoods. Includes four core modules with related lessons and accompanying materials useful in the classroom.
Pennsylvania State University. Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
Pennsylvania and New York Sea Grants worked together with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to compile 10 lesson plans focusing on the potential interactions between aquatic invasive species and the changing climate.
Professional
California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.
With the Stop the Invasion Fact Sheet Set, students will read about six different invasive species, the damage they cause and how to stop their spread. The accompanying lessons and activities are aligned to California Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. This resource was funded through a Specialty Crop Block grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).