Maine Classroom Citizen Science Projects
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Biology, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Gulf of Maine Research Institute
What it is
- This collection of citizen science projects includes data collection projects Maine students can participate in to help with the status of various native species, invasive species, and sea level rise.
- Most of the projects include detailed instructions, worksheets, and opportunities to submit your data.
- Through data collection, analysis, and discussion, students will understand how climate change is increasing the populations of certain invasive species, harming species native to Maine, and causing coastal damage
Teaching tips
Positives
- These projects provide students with an authentic purpose for practicing things like species identification and data collection.
- Students will love getting outside and exploring the world around them like a scientist.
Prerequisites
- Students should know how to use an identification guide to identify different plants and animals.
- If teachers want to do these projects as a class they may need transportation to travel to the data collection sites.
- Depending on the project, teachers will need to collect materials before having students do the project.
- Before doing fieldwork, students should understand how to collect data without harming or disturbing the natural environment.
- The link to the "Know Your Catch" guide is broken. Teachers can find the full guide here, with smelt on page 15.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Math students can practice graphing by creating data visualizations from their class's findings.
- Students in language arts classes can write informational texts to describe the process of their citizen science projects.
- Older students can analyze the existing data and discuss how climate change is impacting the populations of native and invasive species.
From the scientist review
This resource from Gulf of Maine Research institute provides teachers with individual and group activities to learn more about Maine's ecosystems. Ten activities are provided that engage students in current research being done into Maine's ecosystems, students can view data collected and notes from the scientists. The data provided in each module is reliable and mostly up to date. This site could be valuable resource for educators seeking to enhance climate-related learning experiences, concerning ecosystems in the classroom.
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Hosted on investigate.gmri.org
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