Teaching with Great Lakes Data is the newest curriculum effort for educators supported by COSEE Great Lakes. The website makes it easy to incorporate real scientific data about the Great Lakes into the classroom. This comprehensive resource covers physical, earth and life science content and includes three primary components: lessons and activities, data sets, and inquiry-based tools.
Explore Lessons and Activities
Learn about dead zones, storm surges, climate and more. Lessons include learning objectives, background, activities, and an assessment chart. All content is free and aligned to state and federal standards.
Engage Students Using Real Data
Encourage students to develop higher-level thinking skills using data sources that include NOAA, other scientists and organizations in the Great Lakes region. Great Lakes science data sets are designed to help educators enhance charting and graphing requirements that are critical for improving math skills. Data spreadsheets can be used with charting software.
Apply Inquiry-based Tools
Guided-inquiry methods include step-by-step instructions about how to support student-scientists. Students learn how to develop a good inquiry question to follow a progression from a hypothesis to a conclusion. Resources include thinking maps, rubrics, sample spreadsheets, charts and graphs.
Connect Through A Free Log-in
It’s easy to create a username and password. Collecting user data helps support this and future web-based curriculum efforts. Check out the science process skills.
In addition to COSEE Great Lakes, this website is supported by the Great Lakes Observing System, the National Science Foundation, Michigan Sea Grant, Eastern Michigan University (EMU), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Michigan Sea Grant education and outreach specialists developed the website in collaboration with EMU and NOAA-GLERL.
