Toolkit Standards Alignment
Connection to Standards
MWEEs are not meant to be added as "extra" lessons or units; MWEEs can become the foundation for the standard curriculum you offer your students. A MWEE can become the pedagogical approach and content focus for supporting your students to meet the required academic standards for your subject area and grade level. NOAA has created a standards alignment document to aid educators with this effort, and many of the lessons found in the curriculum anchor of this toolkit have been aligned to state education standards.
Your MWEE will be customized to your student's needs, school or community needs, and learning space, so there is no one-size-fits-all state education standards alignment available. You can check out the resources below as a starting point to help align your MWEE to your classroom.
DEVELOPING STUDENT OUTCOMES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY IN K-12 EDUCATION
You can align your MWEE to standards using the Developing Student Outcomes for Environmental Literacy in K-12 Education document. NOAA created this document for educators who are developing and implementing environmental education programming with K-12 students. The student outcomes were modeled after, and aligned with, standards-based frameworks for K-12 education including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the College, Career, and Civic Life Standards for Social Studies (C3).
Communities for Clean Water
The standards alignment below is organized by lesson within the Communities for Clean Water lesson series. You can also visit the Communities for Clean Water page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit to find the full lessons.
Watersheds Nonpoint Source Pollution
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
Managing Excess Sediment
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- 5-ESS2-2: Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and /or atmosphere interact.
- MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
- MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
Managing Pathogens
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
Managing Excess Nutrients
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
- MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences
The standards alignment below is organized by lesson from the full Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences Unit document. You can also visit the Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit.
Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Stewardship and the Great Lakes
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Earth’s Systems: MS-ESS2-4
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G1 .3 .3
- 6 – G5 .1 .3
Lesson 2.A: Great Lakes Literacy
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-4
- Earth’s Systems: MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-5
- Earth and Human Activity: MS-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-1
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G5 .1 .1
Lesson 2.B: Great Lakes Literacy
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Earth’s Systems: MS-ESS2-1, 5-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-4
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G1 .1 .2
- 6 – G1 .2 .3
Lesson 3: Issue Selection
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, HS-LS2-6
- Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity: HS-LS4-5
- Earth’s Systems: 5-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4
- Earth and Human Activity: 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-4
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G5 .1 .1
- 6 – G5 .1 .3
Lesson 4: Background Research
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5, HS-LS2-6
- Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity: HS-LS4-5
- Earth and Human Activity: 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-4
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G5 .1 .1
- 6 – G5 .1 .3
Lesson 5: Outdoor Research to Inventory Invasive Plants in Study Site
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-4
- Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity: HS-LS4-5
- Earth and Human Activity Ë 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3
Lesson 6: Outdoor Research to Investigate Patterns of Stormwater Runoff
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Earth’s Systems: 5-ESS2-1, MS-ESS2-4
- Earth and Human Activity: MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G5 .1 .1
- 6 – G5 .1 .3
Lesson 7: Outdoor Water Quality Research
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-4
- Earth’s Systems: 5-ESS2-1
- Earth and Human Activity: MS-ESS3-3
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 6 – G5 .1 .3
Lesson 8: Brainstorming Solutions
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-5, HS-LS2-7
- Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity: HS-LS4-6
- Earth and Human Activity: MS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4
- Engineering Design: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-1
Lesson 9: Developing an Action Plan
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: MS-LS2-5, HS-LS2-7
- Earth and Human Activity: 5-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4
- Engineering Design: 3-5-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 5 – P4 .2 .1, 5 – P4 .2 .2, 6– P4 .2 .3, 7 – P4 .2 .3, 8 – P4 .2 .3
Lesson 10: Reflect, share, and celebrate!
- Michigan K-12 Science Standards
- Earth and Human Activity: 5-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-4
- Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: HS-LS2-7
- Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards
- 5 – P4 .2 .1, 5 – P4 .2 .2, 6 – P4 .2 .3, 7 – P4 .2 .3, 8 – P4 .2 .3
River Rewilding Series
A standards alignment has not been completed for the River Rewilding series. You can visit the River Rewilding page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit to find the full units.