Teacher Resources

Teacher Guides

Big River Journey Teacher's Guide

Please e-mail Brian Goodspeed or call 651-293-8414 to receive any of the following documents:

The Big RIver Journey Teacher's guide, which includes handouts, classroom activities, resources and logistical information presented at the teacher's workshop.

Journey to the Falls Teacher's Guide

The Journey to the Falls Teacher's guide includes handouts, classroom activities, resources and logistical information presented at the teacher's workshop.

 

Classroom Activities

Build an Aluminum Boat

In the Aluminum Boat Activity students will learn why boats float and why, without buoyancy, river and sea transportation, exploration, and commerce on the Mississippi River would not have been possible. In this activity, students will build aluminum foil boats and evaluate their designs using pennies as cargo.

Aquatic Bugs

Students will use common household tools to discover how aquatic insects feed and what they are likely to feed on. In addition, students will be able to describe food chains.

Birds, Beaks and Adaptation

The student will learn and describe how different kinds of bird beaks have adapted to feed on different foods within a specific habitat by using simple household tools.

Bridge Span Activity

Students will research bridge types and construction and then try their hand at designing and building a strong bridge structure.

Enviroscapes

Student groups will conduct and evaluate results of two experiments to demonstrate (1) how water pollution happens and (2) how to prevent it.

Fort Snelling Classroom Activities

Students will read and answer questions about early Minnesota fur trade and commerce along the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.

Make Your Own Fossil

The student will create an imitation fossil that employs at least two elements that define a fossil.

Lessons from a Landscape

Students will explore a local river or neighborhood to find answers to questions about the river, the landscape, and local history.

Lumber & Sawmill Activities

There are 3 activities, some with two sections, that will either prepare students for their Journey to the Falls or serve as post-trip activities. These activities focus on the historic lumber and sawmill industries of Minneapolis.

Map the Mississippi Watershed

Students will map the rivershed of the Mississippi River in North America using various resources to find historical and geographic landmarks.

Map the River in the Twin Cities

The final page of this document can be printed as large as 11x17".)
Students will map the Mississippi watershed through the Twin Cities using various resources to find historical and geographic landmarks.

My Street is a River

Students will learn about the relationships among water runoff, pollution (and its sources), and permeable and impermeable surfaces in this interesting exercise.

Online Learning: Surf the Mississippi at St. Anthony Falls

Students will explore the Internet to answer a series of questions about the history, geology, and geography of the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities and early uses of the river system.

Questions for Introducing River Learning

Students will explore the Mississippi River through questions about wildlife, transportation, geography, culture, and history.

Waterfall on the Move

There are three activities related to St. Anthony Falls and Mississippi River geology that will help prepare students for their Journey to the Falls experience; Mississippi River Bluff Strata, St. Anthony Falls from 1680-1876, and Map the River in the Twin Cities.

Web of Life Game

Students will learn how animals compete for resources and the impacts an exotic species can have on a natural ecosystem. This activity only includes the worksheet.