Lesson Plans: (http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/36572.html)

Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson

Two worksheets explore, with the use of many photographs, the variety of birds’ beaks and of fishes’ mouths and how they are adapted to eat various foods. A third worksheet explores food chains and food webs and asks students to construct a Hudson River food web using information from the first two worksheets. A basic food chain lesson – What Do Animals Need to Stay Alive? FOOD! (PDF) 531 KB – is available for younger students.

• Student section for “Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson” (PDF) 1.2 MB
• Teacher section and answer key for “Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson” (PDF) 1.2 MB
• text of teacher section for “Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson”

Fish Communities in the Hudson

Students will use tables of fish collection data to draw conclusions about where fish live in the Hudson estuary. A basic lesson on habitats – What Do Animals Need to Stay Alive? HABITAT! (PDF) 555 KB – is available for younger students.

• Student section for “Fish Communities in the Hudson” (PDF) 460 KB
• Teacher section and answer key for “Fish Communities in the Hudson” (PDF) 530 KB
• text of teacher section for “Fish Communities in the Hudson”

Which Fish Where?

This lesson is similar to “Fish Communities in the Hudson,” but intended for older students. The tables present more data, and students explore the relationship between salinity and fish distribution in greater detail.

• Student section for “Which Fish Where?” (PDF) 200 KB
• Teacher section and answer key for “Which Fish Where?” (PDF) 270 KB
• text of teacher section for “Which Fish Where?”

Finding the Salt Front

Students will use Hudson River salinity data to create a line graph that shows the location of the salt front, and use math skills to explore how this location varies over time.

• Student section for “Finding the Salt Front” (PDF) 140 KB
• Teacher section and answer key for “Finding the Salt Front” (PDF) 210 KB
• text of teacher section for “Finding the Salt Front”

The Hudson’s Ups and Downs

Students will interpret line graphs of Hudson River water levels to learn about tides and tidal cycles in the estuary.

• Student section for “The Hudson’s Ups and Downs” (PDF) 330 KB
• Teacher section and answer key for “The Hudson’s Ups and Downs” (PDF) 450 KB
• text of teacher section for “The Hudson’s Ups and Downs”

Mapping Where Animals Live

Using actual maps from the New York State Amphibian and Reptile Atlas, this lesson asks students to use map-reading skills and knowledge of geography to determine where various species of reptiles and amphibians live.

• Student section for “Mapping Where Animals Live” (PDF) 410 KB
• Teacher section and answer key for “Mapping Where Animals Live” (PDF) 1.1 MB
• text of teacher section for “Mapping Where Animals Live”

These Maps Are For The Birds

Similar to “Mapping Where Animals Live,” but intended for older students, this lesson shows how biological data can be presented in geographical format using actual New York State Breeding Bird Atlas maps. With data sets collected twenty years apart, students will also explore how and why bird distributions have changed over time.

• Student section for “These Maps Are For The Birds” (PDF) 1.4 MB
• Teacher section and answer key for “These Maps Are For The Birds” (PDF) 480 KB
• text of teacher section for “These Maps Are For The Birds”

Science Lesson Package

Teacher and student sections for all of the lessons above in one pdf file, paginated to allow back to back copying.

• Science Lesson Package (PDF) 4.7 MB