COM ? G N E >I T_2^ '£ E T 1 A :i C S EDUCATION 



TASK 1. DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED POND LIFE/WETLAND CURRICULDM FOR 

 CHILDREN IN PRE-SCHOOL THROUGH 3rd GRADE 



In-croduction and Project Description . 



The Clark Fork School, a pre-school through 3rd grade learning 

 center in Missoula, Montana, proposes to develoD an integrated 

 curriculum to instill in Montana students, and students throughout 

 the western United States, an appreciation for the complexity, 

 importance, and fragility of our precious water resources'. 



The goal of this project is to develop an integrated 

 curriculum for children ranging in developmental age from oreschool 

 through third grade. Tlie curriculum will be designed to enable 

 children to develop an understanding and appreciation of the 

 complexity, importance and fragility of water resources. The 

 curriculum will focus specifically on pond life/wetland areas. It 

 will provide teachers with everything needed to teach a two to 

 three week unit on pond life. It will also give children the 

 materials, projects and opportunities to enhance their skills at 

 math, science and the arts as they learn about water. The 

 curriculum will be developed for and tested on students at Clark 

 Fork School in Missoula. It will be disseminated to other early 

 childhood educational facilities in the state of Montana, and 

 ultimately, to teachers in other western states as well. 



A. Objectives. • 



1. Develop 5 educational trunks for teachers, containing 

 audio tapes with music and environmental sounds, children's 

 literature (both fiction and non-fiction) on insect life and other 

 related s;abjects, puppets, costumes, games, and other tools, to 

 help children learn about the natural processes associated with 

 pond life and wetlands. The trunks will be circulated throughout 

 Montana and other western states . 



2. Develop a curriculum guide that will contain activities 

 and directions for integrating math, science and art into the 

 process of learning about pond life. 



a) Math skills incorporated into the curriculum will 

 include such activities as sorting, graphing, and 

 counting various animals and objects associated with 

 ponds /wetlands . 



