Visual and Language Arts
“Salmon and Steelhead on a Stick” Puppet
Last Updated: October 4, 2021It’s always fun to put salmon on a stick Background: A fun art activity where students color various species of salmon and steelhead trout and then create puppets using popsicle sticks Materials: Crayons Scissors Popsicle sticks Glue sticks or tape Coho salmon coloring page Chum salmon coloring page Chinook salmon coloring page Sockeye salmon coloring
Bye-Bye Trout Song
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Objective: Students will understand what will happen to their trout after release and forge a deeper connection with their trout and trout stream. Background: Every year, students take their small fingerlings to streams across the country. Marking this event as a ritual helps students remember why they’re there, and gives them more stories to tell to
Cut It Out: A Trout’s Habitat
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program. Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Conceived and written by Chris Carter. Objectives: Students will understand the anatomy of a healthy stream, purposes of various parts, and vocabulary to describe
How to start and maintain a blog
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Contributed by Diana Plunkett, Parent Coordinator, PS 154K Background: Blogs can be a fun way for students to organize information and create daily posts about their Trout in the Classroom Experience. Blogger offers a free way for classes to start blogging today. Information: Access the pdf How to Start and Maintain a Blog Visit the
Journaling – collection of prompts and ideas
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Expanding Imagination – write about the tank or your journey through life from other perspectives: Trout Macroinvertebrate Water Droplet (journey of a water droplet video link) Stream Journal Page printout from Todd Burleson, IL What are you looking forward to about having trout in the classroom? What would you like to do with the trout,
Journals and Blog: Year-long writing project
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Conceived and written by NY TIC teacher Sandy Cunningham Objective: Students will capture their TIC experiences in both creative and scientific language Materials: Notebook/journal Pen, pencil Colored pencils or markers. Procedure: The 7th grade will be keeping a scientific journal and writing poetic impressions of the trout as they grow through this year. Selected entries
Love Letters to the Trout
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection Conceived and written by Lilli Genovesi Objective: Students will forge a deeper connection with nature and their trout. Background: Raising trout in an aquarium
Make a rainstorm! An auditory-sensory experience
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Background: For all of us at Trout Unlimited, the work that we do relies on the water which comes from the sky as rain, falls on land, collects in headwater streams where our trout live and reproduce. It flows into rivers, reservoirs, lakes and eventually into our oceans. Procedure: To further celebrate our appreciation for
Mock Fly Tying – mimicry, morphology, art
Last Updated: April 28, 2022Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program. Can be adapted to any classroom! Created by Veronica Rowe, TIC Teacher. Objective: Students will observe the differences between a variety of species of aquatic macroinvertebrates living in coldwater streams and identify their place in the food web. Background: The cool, cold and well-protected
Observing Trout as a Scientist and Cartoonist
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Part One: Scientist’s Observations Students: Observe the trout as a scientist would. Think about or take notes on the following questions: Count the fish. How many are there? Observe the variations in size. What is the length of the largest fish? the smallest? the typical? Describe the trout’s color patterns. Are the trout all the
Paper Bag Trout
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed by Veronica Rowe, TIC teacher, for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program. Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Objective: Students will learn trout anatomy and biology Background: Students will learn more about trout anatomy, which connects to
Photographing Macroinvertebrates
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Contributed by Ed Engelman, Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego Board of Cooperative Educational Services (DCMO BOCES) Background: This presentation features lessons learned from a project in which high school students collected, identified, photographed, and produced macroinvertebrate identification cards for use by citizen stream monitors. The Career and Technical Education programs at DCMO BOCES’s Harrold Campus in Sidney Center, New
Postcards from the Watershed
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program Conceived by Lillit Genovesi, NYC TIC Coordinator and the NYC DEP Education Team Objective: To engage families and friends in critical learning about where NYC drinking water comes from and why it’s important to protect our water resources. Background: Raising trout in a classroom
River Animal Habitat Collage
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Contributed by the Bronx Children’s Museum Grade Level: Pre-K through 3rd Grade Length of Activity: 45 minutes Key Ideas: Animals live in neighborhoods/homes called “habitats.” An animal’s habitat will have everything an animal needs to survive: food, water, shelter, etc. Trout share their habitat with a variety of other animals. Objectives: Students will learn which
Shades of Green Nature Craft Project
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Contributed by Herb Broda on the Children & Nature Network website Background: Use this great activity during the fall to teach students the process skills of organizing, discriminating detail and observation. Materials: Strips of oak tag (thick paper) approximately three inches wide and 18-24 inches long. Old manila file folders work well as a recycled
Tabletop Museum Book
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Background: A fun craft project for students to make their own museum book that can be used to document themes such as watersheds, trout, or stream ecosystems Materials: Access the pdf instructions and materials for the Tabletop Museum Book
Teaching about Trout Powerpoint Project
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Contributed by NY TIC Teacher Sandy Cunningham Directions: Your job is to create an interactive PowerPoint that can be used in other classrooms to help students imagine the size and rate of development of the trout and the differences in the environments that they will inhabit. STEP 1: Solve the problem given to your group.STEP
TIC Documentaries
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection Conceived by Josh Platt, Woodstock Day School, Woodstock NY Objective: To help students record and document the process of raising trout in the classroom.
Trout Across America
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed for the Oriskany Central School TIC Program. Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Conceived and written by Clarice Horan. Objectives: Children will become aware of the many varieties of trout and salmon. Children will become aware of the vast area in the
Trout Anatomy Collage
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Objective: To have students experience the internal anatomy of a trout, without doing a dissection. To have students build and label a model of trout anatomy. Background: Trout are much like humans, and have some distinct differences, as well. I can be interesting to really explore the external and internal anatomy of a trout, and
Trout Are Made of Trees Crayon Mural
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Designed for the NYC and NYC Watersheds Trout in the Classroom program. Made possible with funds from the Catskill Watershed Corporation in partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Conceived by Lilli Genovesi, NYC TIC Coordinator and the NYC DEP Education Team Objective: To help young students learn about the geology and biology
Trout Comics – A Cartoonist’s Impressions
Last Updated: October 4, 2021By Sandy Cunningham, NY TIC teacher PART 1: Scientific ObservationsObserve the trout as a scientist would. Think about or take notes on the followingquestions:Count the fish. How many are there?Observe the variations in size. What is the length of the largest fish? the smallest? thetypical?Describe the trout’s color patterns. Are the trout all the same
Trout Cookies Baking Project
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Conceived by Veronica Rowe, NY TIC Teacher Objective: To teach students that trout have external anatomy features that are much like those of other fish. These features are adaptations that help a trout survive in its coldwater stream habitat. Background: Trout have specific adaptations that allow them to navigate and survive their stream homes. Every trout
Trout Food Chain
Last Updated: October 4, 2021Based on the book Trout Are Made of Trees by April Pulley Sayre Lesson plan conceived and written by Lillit Genovesi, NYC and Watersheds TIC Coordinator Objective: To help students understand and create a simplified trout food chain Background: The health of a stream depends on many factors including vegetation, surrounding land, forested cover and
Trout Journals
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Objective: Students will reflect about the trout and keep a yearlong record of their thoughts and experiences regarding the trout. Background: By keeping a journal, students can slowly put together the story of the watershed and the trout they’re caring for. Making these connections is important, to truly understand the big picture that unites trout,
Trout Markings, a student art lesson plan
Last Updated: May 30, 2023Conceived by Germaine Shick, Trout Unlimited Pilot lesson reviewed by Cate Collier, TIC teacher Objective: To teach students that trout coloration and markings are indicative of specific habitats and therefore a form of camouflage that varies between species. Background: Trout are an indicator species, which means that they are pollution-sensitive; their presence indicates that water
Wooden Trout Silhouettes
Last Updated: October 4, 2021TIC classes working with the Pat Barnes Missouri River Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Montana each make one of these wooden trout. A local woodworker cuts out the trout silhouettes, and gives one to each class. Each class is then responsible for creating a creative, beautiful trout. They use different techniques, including painting, decoupage, mosaic, and more. Below you