Crossword on Chinook Salmon
Being a keystone species, Chinook salmon are vital to the biodiversity of their ecosystems. Test your students’ knowledge about salmon with this crossword puzzle.
Singapore Green Guardians Blog
Environmental literacy, community action
Being a keystone species, Chinook salmon are vital to the biodiversity of their ecosystems. Test your students’ knowledge about salmon with this crossword puzzle.
Watersheds sustain natural ecosystems and are important for the health and safety of our communities. This week we feature environmental education programs and resources on the impact of human activity on watersheds and ways to protect them.
This lesson series is about how the combination of human activity and climate change have affected the life cycle of salmon and what Nimbus Fish Hatchery is doing to mitigate these problems.
Lesson Overview
This lesson series is about how the combination of human activity and climate change have affected the life cycle of salmon and what Nimbus Fish Hatchery is doing to mitigate these problems.
Coastal & Marine Education, Watershed Education, Environmental Justice, Environmental Sustainability, Land Ecosystems, Pollution Prevention, Climate Change
For a summary of the environmental literacy principles and concepts embedded in this lesson series, please visit Green Guardians Environmental Literacy Core Principles.
ELA: RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.8, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, SL.3.3, SL.3.4, SL.3.6, RL.4.1, RL.4.4, RL.4.7, W.4.7, W.4.8, W.4.9, SL.4.1, SL.4.2, SL.4.3, SL.4.4, RL.5.1, RL.5.3, RL.5.4, W.5.7, W.5.8, W.5.9, SL.5.1, SL.5.2, SL.5.3, SL.5.4
History-Social Science: HSS-3.3.2, HSS-4.1, HSS-4.2.1, HSS-4.3.3, HSS-4.4.4, HSS-4.4.7, HSS-5.8.1, HSS-5.8.2
Science: 3-LS1, 3-LS2, 3-LS3, 3-LS4, 4-LS4, 4-LS1, 4-ESS2, 4-ESS3, 5-LS1, 5-LS2, 5-ESS2, 5-ESS3
This project may easily be extended into optional family discussions and activities around biodiversity, water use, fish hatcheries, and the effects of human development on the environment. To facilitate this engagement, a family guide has been created which teachers may choose to forward to interested parents and guardians.
Three lessons of 40-60 minutes each.
On a camping trip, Dean and Bruno went to Nimbus Dam and learned about the history behind the Folsom and Nimbus dams—namely, rapid population growth, environmental degradation during the Gold Rush, and the need for flood control in the Sacramento area. While the dams solved one set of problems, they created another—threats to ecosystems, especially wildlife.
To learn more about Chinook salmon, Dean and Bruno went to Nimbus Fish Hatchery and was greeted by Mr. Jason. He tells them the extraordinary journey salmon take to complete their lifecycle and how the dams cut off their journey back home. As a keystone species, salmon also play a crucial role in their ecosystems.
In the third lesson, Mr. Jason shows Dean and Bruno the fish ladder at Nimbus Fish Hatchery. The hatchery enables 10-20% of the entire salmon population to spawn if they have gotten this far without being able to nest in the river. Jason explains how the combination of dams and climate change affect salmon’s survival, making the boys wonder how they can help improve salmon’s natural habitat.
In the last lesson, Dean, Bruno, and their friends go on a fishing trip on Folsom Lake. While the experience is fun and informative, the little anglers get a glimpse at water pollution when Poppy keeps “catching” trash in the lake.