The 4-H Youth Wetlands Program provides free lessons and activities that help learners to understand the issues and complexities facing our coast and wetlands. Lessons are aligned with Louisiana Student Standards for Science and BSCS's 5E Instructional Model.
We are proud to offer an online lesson delivery platform developed in partnership with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Please use the link below to register.
Lessons Overview
Grade 3 - Habitats and Survival in the Wetlands
Discover how the availability of habitat resources affects populations of living things using the clapper rail and nutria rat as model organisms. Students will also investigate and evaluate solutions to the environmental problems that have been caused by the nutria.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4
Grade 4 - Lines of Defense
Discover the lines of defense that protect our coastline against storm surges and hurricanes in order to design and evaluate natural and man-made solutions that help to preserve our coast.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 4-ESS3-2
Grade 5 - The Water Pollution Mystery
Explore what makes up a watershed, how pollutants can spread throughout a watershed, and the functions that wetlands provide in a watershed to design a solution to protect waterways from polluted runoff.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 5-PS2-1, 5-ESS3-1
Grade 6 – The Force (of water) is With You
Explore how the force of water influences the creation of bends in rivers and impacts erosion along riverbanks. Students will apply Newtons Third Law to design a solution to building homes near a river and identify where force is applied in a watershed.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 6-MS-PS2-1 (partial), 6-MS-PS2-2 (partial), 6-MS-ESS3-4
Grade 7 - The Never-ending Journey of Water
Investigate the roles of a watershed and wetlands in the water cycle while exploring the different stages of the water cycle, the energy that drives the cycle, and how natural resources can be purified through the movement of the cycle.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 7-MS-ESS2-4
Grade 8 - The Mysterious Disappearance of Cat Island
Investigate the mysterious disappearance of Cat Island years after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Oil affects the environment in numerous ways and is difficult to remove from water because of its physical properties. Students will explore these concepts as they evaluate and test methods that can help manage an oil spill and its harmful effects.
Louisiana State Science Standards: 8-MS-PS1-1 (partial), 8-MS-ESS3-3
High School - Mississippi Marble Model
Examine the issue of coastal land loss through an interactive exploration of how models of the Mississippi River are used to understand, manage, and reduce coastal land loss.
Louisiana State Science Standards: HS-ESS3-3
High School - Estimating North American Duck Population and Distribution
Students will be challenged to suggest how biologists can predict the population for species that are small, fast moving and spread out through several states along the Mississippi River using the Migratory Waterfowl Status Report.
Louisiana State Science Standards: HS-ESS3-3, HS-EVS1-1