Students in grades 4-6 engage in a series of activities (both inside and outside the classroom) designed to inspire a sense of environmental stewardship. Each of the activities is intended to have children explore their profound connection to nature and experience the power of individual and collective action.

Students explore the daily choices, they, their families, their school and their communities make; the impact of those choices on nature; and the role they and others may take in protecting nature.

The activities are fun, hands-on, and thought provoking. Students have opportunities to share what they are learning with their fellow students, family, and community and to create their own “class foundation” to collectively act on their concerns and passions.

The resource consists of 16 cross-curricular lessons on a range of issues from which teachers may select according to the dictates of their time and curriculum.

This site offers opportunities to watch interesting videos, design cool things, build neat stuff and play awesome games.

Honouring the Buffalo: A Plains Cree Legend is a useful educational tool for social studies/treaty and language arts/literacy curriculum teaching. Included on the website is a resource guide, educational guide (questions), audio recordings, and curricular connections. There is a book trailer as well as an exerpt in English and in Cree.

This resource aims to support educators, school administrators, and community members facilitate more culture-based learning on the land. It was created by four Dene and Metis education resource developers, hired by the Dene Nation in summer 2020.

The lessons in this document can be used as stand-alone activities to bring more cultural learning into classrooms and to get students learning outdoors during the regular school day. However, in order for students to build deeper connections with the land, culture and language, the ideal practice would be to bring them out on the land for more extended experiences. The lessons in this document can be used as part of multi-day culture camps, for example, or other outdoor excursions.

The “Camp Logistics” section of this document aims to facilitate this type of extended on-the-land learning. It provides sample gear lists, safety protocol suggestions for organizing a camp. Section A of the appendix also includes sample schedules or organization materials to help with this.

Lessons in this document can be used as starting points for a whole week of activities on the land, for example. Since each community is different, we encourage educators to reach out to cultural knowledge holders in their own community, to explore other activities that would connect with the ones described here. For example, the lessons on Labrador tea and sweetgrass in this document could turn into a week-long medicine camp, in which students learn about the protocol around harvesting and processing several different types of plant medicines with the guidance of local Elders.

This project is best completed prior to reading the novel, Mistasiniy:  Buffalo Rubbing Stone by Mary Harelkin Bishop to avoid influence of references in the text.  The original size of the Lake Diefenbaker mistasiniy is introduced in the novel's preface, while the size of the mistasiniy on Danny’s family’s land is mentioned on page 109 as part of Rose’s diary.   Students will work individually on a math inquiry problem challenging students to solve questions using estimation, approximations, geometry, analytical thinking, creative thinking, communication, and technology skills. Cross-curricular connections can be made with ELA, Social Studies, Science, and Arts Education. More information on bison/buffalo rubbing stones 

This novel study was completed by embedding the principles of structured literacy with reading and writing activities for both sides of Scarborough's Reading Rope.  The ELA is a guide to personalize based upon the needs of your students. Aligning to a Saskatchewan theme, the students will also make connections to Indigenous Perspectives and the mistasiniy found in the prairies.  The driving question, "How are we all connected to the land", introduces a variety of resources connected to the story focused on all areas of education. 

This plant-rooted program contains 6 distinct activities. Students will have the chance to exercise their creativity through botanical drawing and creating a classroom herbarium by pressing and preserving plant specimens. They will learn about plant journeys: from farm to table, and seed dispersal. Finally, they will get to know trees, inside and out, from species identification to age rings.

The Power of Plants is a collection of six complete lesson plans that raises awareness about the importance of biodiversity in everyday life.

o Lesson 1: Two classes - Students will explore these different art forms by creating two artworks using the same plant as a reference. Artists’ statements will express the intentions and design decisions inspired by the art form and floral specimen.

o Lesson 2: - One week - Students will collect and preserve plant specimens to create a class herbarium and explore the different uses for a herbarium.

o Lesson 3: Three classes - In this activity, students will explore some mechanisms used by plants to disperse their seeds by creating model fruit and evaluating the relationship between the fruit’s structure and its dispersal ability.

o Lesson 4: Five classes - Students will explore the concept of “food miles”, visit a farm, farmer’s market, or grocery store and write a newspaper article or editorial summarizing their findings.

o Lesson 5: Four classes - Students will examine the leaves, identify the species, make bark rubbings, measure girth, calculate age, and approximate the height of a single tree. Tree profiles are then collected to create a class encyclopedia.

o Lesson 6: One class - In this activity, students will examine tree rings and discover the secrets preserved within its growth rings.

To access this resource in French, visit https://www.biodiversityeducation.ca/ressources-francaises.html.

Resources for Rethinking. provides immediate access to more than 1200 quality classroom resources.

Developed by Learning for a Sustainable Future, R4R.ca connects teachers to lesson plans, books, videos and other materials that explore the environmental, social and economic dimensions of important issues and events unfolding in our world today. R4R resources have been reviewed by experienced classroom teachers and matched to relevant curriculum outcomes for each province and territory. Use the search engine to find resources and read the reviews. Most of these materials can be downloaded immediately.

To begin: Select your province on the right side of the screen. Add any other filters you wish to explore to narrow your search and have fun exploring the amazing resources!

Saskatchewan is renowned for having some of the most abundant and productive waterfowl habitat in North America. Situated within the pond-rich Prairie Pothole Region, ducks hatched and raised in our province disperse throughout the entire continent and beyond. Working alongside agricultural producers, industry groups, governments, and the public, we strive to ensure wetland values are appreciated and accounted for, and support our partners in achieving a sustainable balance between conservation and development.

Enthusiastic and knowledgeable interpreters offer a unique opportunity for active, experiential, land-based learning. Most programs can usually be adapted for any grade level, however, suggested grades are included. School programs include hands-on learning that complements the Saskatchewan curriculum and makes a lasting impression on children of all ages.

Bookings are accepted starting on Tuesday, January 3, until Tuesday, May 23, on a first-come, first-served basis. Program times vary by park. This information can be found in your booking form. Canoe and kayak programs are available at select parks and are typically available starting June 1, subject to park conditions.

School groups are not required to pay a program fee.

Tomatosphere™ offers an excellent opportunity to have your students think and act like scientists as they practice their inquiry skills and develop understandings of the nature of science and the concept of a fair test.

In the spring, participating classrooms receive two packages of tomato seeds. One package contains seeds sent into space or treated in space-simulated conditions. The other contains untreated "control" seeds. Students plant the seeds and conduct experiments to explore the effects of the space environment on the germination of tomatoes. Through Tomatosphere™, students learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the number of seeds that germinate for the two groups of seeds.

While completing the Tomatosphere™ program, students investigate how to supply space exploration missions with life-support requirements—food, water, oxygen and a way to consume the carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts—while also discussing the many issues and research involved in space exploration.

Teachers can expand on the basic Tomatosphere™ Seed Investigation by connecting it to studies of plants, space, nutrition, math or the environment, depending on grade and curriculum.

This resource effectively illustrates the ways in which animals are important to the health and future of the planet. Four lessons demonstrate how human activities, including those related to climate change can result in habitat fragmentation and threaten the viability of entire ecosystems. The resource includes a teacher's guide, background information, student activity pages, videos and extension ideas for individual, group and community action.

Activity One: What’s your View? (1 x 60 minutes)

Teachers set up a 'four corners' activity in which students read a variety of statements concerning animal welfare and decide if they agree or disagree. The class then discusses as a group the importance of animals in sustaining healthy ecosystems and the value of their relationships with humans.

Activity Two: Video (1 x 60 minutes)

Students watch a video called “Why Animals Matter” and complete a short quiz to check their understanding of key concepts raised in the video. A discussion follows on what can be done to make the world a better place for animals. Suggestions for extension activities are included.

Activity Three: Eco-investigation (3 x 60 minutes)

Students go outside to study local biodiversity. Working in groups, they select a 2m square sample site near the school yard and determine the variety of plant, fungi and animal life found. The inventory includes the abiotic characteristics of soil, rocks, water sources as well as any evidence of human disturbance. Students are also asked to take notice of the resources that species need to survive (food, water, cover and space) and how humans have impacted these resources.

Activity Four: Understanding Habitat (3 X 60 minutes)

After a discussion on the inter-dependency of the four core elements of a habitat, the class is invited to brainstorm ideas as to the causes and effects of habitat fragmentation and the importance of wildlife corridors. Students then review a newspaper article describing how habitat fragmentation due to road construction in parts of India has impacted elephant populations. Four groups of students take on the role of stakeholders in a wildlife corridor project for the benefit of these elephants. Groups must develop a persuasive statement to reflect their point of view. Peer evaluation and class discussion follow.

An extension activity suggests students research the habitat requirements of a wild animal, how these needs can be threatened by human disturbance and what solutions should be considered.