Lesson Plans

Energy. A topic that can divide, puzzle, inspire. Future Energy Systems is a research program out of the University of Alberta studying all aspects of the energy transition. Future Energy Systems researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are making home-learning resources available for students of all grade levels, as well as for members of the public. Content includes lab tours, at home experiments and crafts, mini talks, full lectures, storytimes with associated worksheets, and The Energy Adventures of Tommy and Remi, an educational children's book series! Register for weekly notifications of new videos and access to all content. 

Earth School by TedEd is a collection of short videos and lessons organized by the following topics:

• The Nature of Our Stuff
• The Nature of Society
• The Nature of Nature
• The Nature of Change
• The Nature of Individual Action
• The Nature of Collective Action

The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley has downloadable lesson plans about wildlife, conservation, and climate change for Kindergarten to Grade 9 science and social studies curriculum. They continue to improve these plans, including an ongoing collaboration with the Nakoda Youth Council to weave together Indigenous and Western perspectives and will continue adding lessons to the page. The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley truly welcomes teacher input and feedback for improving these resources. 

Furthermore, the Biosphere Institute is excited to visit teachers' digital classroom through your preferred online platform. They are happy to deliver short presentations in topic areas related to climate change, sustainability, and human-wildlife coexistence and are happy to work with teachers on a one-on-one basis to meet their classroom needs. Explore the programs here. Teachers can email education@biosphereinstitute.org to book a program or to reach out with any questions.

Another program is WildSmart, which teaches residents and visitors to live smart with wildlife. Programs include bear spray training sessions, wildlife awareness talks, classroom programs and interactive booths for youth, families, outdoor educators, people employed in the recreation and tourism industry, and outdoor recreationalists.

Classroom Resources includes online dissection alternatives, Animal Cams, and the Five Needs of animals video series. 

AnimalTales is a free book lending program with online resources and pre and post activities for Kindergarten to Grade 6. 

The following discussion questions and activities foster curiosity and link to Language Arts and Science curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 7+. See past themes here, including kindness, respect, compassion, and responsibility. 

There are also Class Action Project ideas and guides to help animals, people, and the environment. Classes who complete projects can also end up on the Kindness Map. 

See CTS course offerings related to Equine, Animal Basics, and Animal Husbandry and Welfare. Teachers can complete the course as a class or a student can individually work through the course. 

The Seven Sacred/Grandfather Teachings include a teachers' guide and student activity booklet for Grades 1-2 and 3-6. 

There are over 700 scientifically credible resources in the CLEAN (Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network) collection. Every item in the CLEAN collection is rigorously peer-reviewed by teams of educators and scientists. Resources include information, lesson plans, and activities for teaching about climate change and energy. All resources are free and available online.

Canadian Geographic's giant floor map program is a free resource offered to K-12 teachers. Each floor map comes with a teacher guide with at least ten curriculum-linked activities will help bring the map to life.

Maps include:

Energy Production and Transmission: This map gives students the chance to explore and learn Canada’s energy story, highlighting where Canada’s energy is produced and where it goes.

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada: This map shows the locations of Indigenous communities, residential schools, reserves and more. Rather than political borders, Canada is broken up into Indigenous language groups.

Polar Knowledge Canada: This map looks at the world from a circumpolar perspective. Use this map to explore the Arctic region and discuss why the Arctic circumpolar region is so important.

Canada from Space: This map, comprised of images taken by Canada’s RADARSAT-2, teaches students how Earth observation satellites monitor Canada’s environment, climate and borders.

ChangeMakers is a community/network providing learning opportunities, events, social connection, and a platform to grow your network and champion ecojustice for all. 

Climate Game Changers is an interactive resource to help guide climate learning for students, adults, and teachers. With a ‘choose your own adventure’ style of learning, and ways to take climate action. 

Bring Nature Home Toolkit for parents, students, and teachers to support outdoor and wildlife education. The tool lets you filter activities by Grade and Topic.

Forest Stewards provides information about the relationship between fires and forests, logging, and hydrological processes. 

CPAWS also has an action project map to discover what actions are being taken by students around Alberta in order to preserve the integrity of our parks and protected areas. Have you done any projects recently? Add your actions to the map!

The En-ROADS simulation model is a tool for seeing how policy can be used to limit warming to less than 2°C. This student assignment gives youth the opportunity to create their own vision for how we can reach this goal, while ensuring a healthy economy, promoting equity among all people, and addressing other environmental challenges. Students can play with parameters such as coal, oil, renewables, energy efficiency, deforestation, and carbon price. 

The City of Airdrie, Waste and Recycling Services (WRS) provides schools, homes and community groups with educational opportunities that teach sustainable waste management behaviour that can help reduction and diversion efforts. 

WRS provide in-class and online presentations, including Recycling (Gr. 3-6), Circular Economy (Gr. 5+), and What Happens in Our Community (Gr. 2), which takes a look at what happens at the Airdrie Recycle Depot. 

There are also activities available to do pre, post or on their own by request. Topics include food waste reduction, home waste audit, and an eco-art challenge. Contact the City of Airdrie, Education Coordinator for more information; education@airdrie.ca 

Ask Nature provides a variety of biomimicry and engineering unit plans, lesson plans, and design challenges. The website also features professional development online courses to help teachers embark on design challenges with their students.