Resources  |  K-12 Teaching Resources  |  Science Fair Projects

General Resources

Image Galleries. Find and download images of invasive and native plants.

Store. Find CIPM materials and props for education and outreach programs.

K-12 Teaching Resources

Actionbioscience.org provides a lesson to accompany the article Introduced Species: The Threat to Biodiversity & What Can Be Done (Dec. 2000) by Daniel Simberloff, University of Tennessee.

The National Ag in the Classroom website has a tremendous teaching resource directory, with science fair projects and much more.

Alien Invasions: Examining Invasive Plant Species in Your Community. A one-hour lesson plan for grades 6-12 that adds a global and social perspective to the problem of invasive species. From the New York Times Learning Network.

"Alien Invasions—Plants on the Move" weed curriculum for grades K-12. Developed by BLM staff and a host of experts; pilot tested in schools throughout Oregon and now is ready to go.

Aliens in Your Neighborhood - An Introduction to the National Parks Invasive Weeds Curriculum. A middle school invasive weeds curriculum, adaptable to other levels. Covers ecosystems, plants, invasion and spread, impacts, controls, classification, teacher's outline, glossary, resources.

Aquatic Invasive Species Education and Outreach Materials from Portland State University—Center for Lakes and Reservoirs. A searchable inventory of AIS outreach materials available to all users with a dynamic web interface that allows registered users to input their own education and outreach materials. Materials are peer reviewed.

Botany: Celebrating Wildflowers. From USDA Forest Service, with contributions from every Region, Forest, Grassland and Prairie. Includes Pollinators, Beauty of it All, Native Gardening, Just for Kids, Teacher Resources, and more.

Bug and Weed Project from Townsend, Montana, School District. User-friendly, downloadable lessons for all grade levels to help transform students into knowledgeable future land stewards. Includes Ecosystems/Native Plants/Weeds, Weed Management, Weed I. D., Dichotomous Keys, and other topics. All the lessons (units) are matched to Montana education standards.

BLM'S War Against Weeds in Nevada. How to make a difference by getting involved, learning to identify invasive plants, and preventing their spread. Discusses financial impacts of weeds, BLM's management efforts, and more.

California Weed Education Clearinghouse of Educational Materials. A source for many education and outreach products and resources, and a place to contribute your own weed education product.  

Captain Planet Foundation. The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to fund and support hands-on, environmental projects for children and youths. The foundation's objective is to encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities.

CIPM Invasive Plant Resource Guide An online reference to materials that support invasive plant management and education. Topics range from national weed management strategies, to natural resources, to "working with people" skills. Each item is accompanied by a brief description and source information. Most items are available at no cost.

CIPM's Activities and Ideas for Students K-12  Eleven activities to introduce students to weed identification, invasiveness, adaptation, and seed characteristics—developed for specific age groups by education specialists at the Center for Invasive Plant Management.

Classroom Gardening Resources for Teachers. From Howtodothings.com. Many gardening projects for the classroom.

Designing the Perfect Plant: Activities to Investigate Plant Ecology. Written by MSU faculty under an NSF grant.

Environmental Inquiry is a website and curriculum series developed at Cornell University to help high school students conduct environmental science research. Together with the National Science Teachers Association, they publish a curriculum about Ecology of Invasive Species, with an accompanying book, Invasion Ecology.

Explore Montana's Ecosystems. K-12 education site from MT Fish, Wildlife, & Parks. Teachers' Guide, Ecosystem Glossary, field toolkit, videos, and many more resources.

Great Basin Invasive Weeds Website
This website was developed at Utah State University primarily for students and teachers in grades 7-12; however, it can be used by other audiences, including land managers and the general public.

Illinois Natural History Survey site contains educational materials on insects and biological control (video, insect photo identification cards, posters).

Invasive Plants: Taking Root in Alaska, 9-12 Curriculum, from the Homer Soil and Water Conservation District. The curriculum includes a variety of modules including labs and an online mapping exercise in which students can view local maps of invasive ornamental plants in Alaska. Introduces core concepts of invasive species biology. Developed for Kenai Peninsula science teachers but much of the material is appropriate for use statewide.

Invasive Species Integrated Curriculum Unit Developed for middle school teachers, the curriculum integrates the topic of invasive Phragmites into six subject areas.

Junior Master Gardener An international (U.S. and Canada) youth gardening program of the University Cooperative Extension network. In the Operation Thistle module, middle school and junior-high students learn about plant growth and development with the invasive plant bull thistle as an example.

kNOweeds: K-12 Montana Noxious Weed Curriculum Produced by the Missoula County Weed District, this curriculum incorporates scientific inquiry into teaching K-12 students about noxious weeds. Many of the 46 lessons can be modified and used for informal edcuation. The curriculum will soon be posted online so check the website.

Montana War on Weeds will educate you about Montana State Noxious Weeds in a user-friendly, how-to series of pages packed with information, links, and pictures. The students of Whitehall High School, who researched and wrote over 90% of the site, are dedicated to Integrated Pest (Weed) Management.

Montana Weed Awareness Campaign provides education and outreach materials for weed education in Montana.

The Montana Weed Project Teachers Handbook, an interdisciplinary environmental weed education curriculum for grades 5 through 12, is available through the Missoula County Conservation District. There is a charge for mailing the curriculum.
Montana Weed Project
Missoula County Conservation District
3550 Mullan Road, Ste. 106
Missoula, Montana 59808-5125
Phone: (406) 829-3395

National Invasive Species Information Center Educational Resources. General resources for students K-12; also species-specific information. Many links to invasive species websites by universities, state governments, organizations, and others. The National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC) is the gateway to invasive species information from Federal, State, local, and international sources.

NBII Kids Pages. The National Biological Information Infrastructure offers activities, games, and projects for kids.

National Science Teachers' Association: Global Environmental Change: Introduced Species (Grades: 9 - 12) is one of four books in the Global Environmental Change series, a joint project of the National Science Teachers Association and EPA. The other books in the series are Biodiversity, Deforestation, and Carrying Capacity.

Plant and Fire Ecology video class. Amy Ballard of the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota offers four programs to middle-school students on plant and fire ecology via video-teleconferencing. This live broadcast technology allows two-way communication between Amy, the instructor, and students from many schools simultaneously. If you are interested in bringing this program to schools in your state, contact Amy Ballard at aballard@fs.fed.us or 605-343-1567.

Plants in Peril A guide to exploring biodiversity and rare native plant conservation for middle school educators. From the Center for Plant Conservation.

Posters from the Regional District of Central Okanagan (BC). A search on "weeds" leads you to posters, brochures, and other resources.

The Purple Pages website, offers a comprehensive guide focusing on wetland stewardship, habitat protection, and biological control of purple loosestrife. A secondary school activity set can be downloaded. Order the PLP Cooperator's Handbook for more info and elementary school lessons.

Pushy Plants and Alien Animals. Produced by the North Carolina Museum of Natural History, this teacher's guide uses the school grounds as an invasive species teaching resource. K-12 students use survey forms for collecting data.

Return of the Natives is a restoration education project of the Watershed Institute of California State University-Monterey Bay. Includes A Curriculum and Online Toolbox for the Restoration of Native Plants and Eradication of Invasive Weeds and other teacher resources, calendar of educator training events, and more.

Roaming Invasive Species Kits (RISK trunks). A versatile and easy to transport weed education trunk from the Ravalli County Weed District. Trunk includes curriculum binder, easy to use PowerPoint presentations with notes, plastic weeds, tightly-sealed jars of weed seeds, biocontrol agent mounts, Montana weed guide booklets, the Montana Weed Wrangler Game, leafy spurge roll out, weed tattoos, and much more. Designed for grades K-9, curricula and activities can be adapted for other ages. Cost: $280 for the complete trunk or $180 without leafy spurge roll out. To order the RISK trunk, contact: Ravalli County Weed District, 329 Stevi Airport Road, Stevensville, Montana 59870. 406-777-5842. melissa.rcwd@yahoo.com.

Science 4 Kids, developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, includes ideas for science fair projects and activity packets for teachers. "Bridging the gap between science, agriculture, and you."

Science NetLinks from Thinkfinity, an educational partnership that includes the AAAS, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Council on Economic Education, the National Geographic Society, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The site provides a wealth of standards-based resources for K-12 science educators.

WA Noxious Weed Control Board Education Page provides the Noxious Weed Coloring Book (pdf), handouts on invasive ornamentals, alternatives, non-invasive garden plants, and more.

Weedbuster Game from Western Australia Dept. of Agriculture Weedbuster program—students learn that weeds are not just a regional problem.

Whitehall Biological Weed Control Project. High school students rear insects to control invasive plants. The project is among those featured in the video, "Success Stories From Montana's Noxious Weed Trust Fund."

The Wisconsin Fast Plants Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a plant growth and development curriculum for all ages with complete teaching guides covering a variety of Fast Plants topics and activities.

Science Fair Projects

Where to start (comprehensive sites):

IPL: The Internet Public Library. Science Fair Project Resource Guide. Produced by University of Michigan. Emphasizes understanding scientific method; assessing what makes a good project; choosing a topic. Includes many links. Some of the sites listed Under "Choosing a topic" are listed below.

Science Fair Central from Discovery Education offers a wealth of information, and suggests projects on plants and gardening, among many other topics.

Other sites:

Ag Science projects from USDA Science for Kids

Ag in the Classroom Science Fair Projects

USDA/ARS Agricultural ideas for Science Fair Projects

Bug Info. Projects for those interested in insects, from the Smithsonian Institution.

Photosynthesis Science Fair Projects from Arizona State University. Includes links to many photosynthesis resources on the web.

A list of project ideas from Betsy Ross Arts Magnet Middle School, New Haven CT. Includes diagram on how to set up a display.

Science Fairs Homepage from CLLI, The Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation, Newfoundland and Labrador Dept. of Education. Includes useful links.

Science Fair Resources from CA State Science Fair. Includes links to resources by subject and What Makes a Good Science Fair Project? Guide written by judges from CA state science fair.

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