Native and Invasive Species
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Provided by: Alliance for the Great Lakes|Published on: November 14, 2024
Lesson Plans
Scientist Reviewed
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Synopsis
- In this resource, students will learn about invasive species in the Great Lakes Region and how they impact the Great Lakes food webs.
- The resource can be used as a lesson itself and includes additional activities, creature cards, and lesson plans for grades 6-8 and 9-12.

Subjects: Biology
Authors: Alliance for the Great Lakes
Region: Michigan
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The included quiz gives students automatic feedback and a score at the end, reducing work for teachers to correct and score.
- Asking students about the species they have encountered in the Great Lakes area is a great way to increase engagement and access students' funds of knowledge.
Prerequisites
- Some students, especially English language learners, may need the terms invasive, biodiversity, native, and others defined before participating in the activities.
- The lesson plans suggest prerequisite lessons, but students don't need to have done those lessons as long as they have had a lesson or activity dealing with invasive species.
- The two links for the research step in the 9-12 grade lesson are not clickable. The NOAA link can be found here.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Using the Great Lakes Creature Cards, teachers can give each student a native Great Lakes species to research and create a pamphlet, speech, or infographic about.
- Teachers and facilitate a research project to explore the impact climate change will have on native and invasive species.
- Using Nab the Aquatic Invaders! Be a Sea Grant Super Sleuth as inspiration, students can create wanted posters for invasive species, including hand-drawn pictures and fast facts for the species.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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