Most Popular Tools & Resources
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Rather than overwhelm teenagers with the daunting challenges facing humanity, the focus of this new book is to help them move from despair to empowerment and appreciate the many solutions that are already being implemented to mitigate climate change. Developed by educators from across North America, the collection includes activities that explore basic concepts such as carbon pricing and climate change denial. Car trip reduction plans, bike-a-thons, and public transit investigations are a few of the transport-related activities. How to organize a climate change summit or share local examples of climate change with peers in other regions are two other notable activities found in the book. In an era where public opinion is shaped by emotional appeals and unsubstantiated personal opinion, never has it been more important to provide teens with opportunities to engage in hands-on, minds-on activities that allow them to explore the complex issue of climate change. The teaching strategies provided in this 80-page, large format paperback will engage students and help them develop the critical thinking skills they will need as citizens of this era. Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. 76 pages Ethical Elements: Printed on 1oo% post-consumer recycled paper, and offered in partnership with Green Teacher - a non-profit organization dedicated to helping educators, both inside and outside of schools, promote environmental awareness among young people aged 6-19. Read more about our ethical policies & practices. The Inside Scoop: We have a long and strong relationship with Green Teacher, dating back to working with Tim Grant when he was editor, and now with Ian Shanahan as the current editor. Providing resources like this one that are ‘by educators for educators’ was a no-brainer – it is wonderful to be able to share stories from the field! -
Animals Care for Mother Earth is part of the Animals Care for Mother Earth Indigenous Learning Bundle. It is written by Indigenous authors Terri Mack and Bill Helin. This set is comprised of six contemporary, interrelated stories and supporting resources for teachers. In the first story, animals cooperate to clean up a polluted pond. In subsequent stories, they care for each other in the aftermath of the pollution problem, demonstrating strength of character and social responsibility. This book can be used in elementary schools to teach—through storytelling—the value of personal strengths and community supports while incorporating Tsimshian language and knowledge into classroom lessons. It also provides many opportunities to extend the learning to other curriculum areas, including science, math, reading, writing, social studies, and art. -
A Game of Hope and Action for the Climate
Solutions was designed with educators in mind. Each solution card played requires students to actively engage with the solution, thinking critically and discussing it with their peers. Students will be having so much fun, they won’t realize they’re learning! Solutions is more than just a game: it is a learning experience for your students. After playing, students can pick their favorite solution and turn it into a real-world project. Our sample curriculum will guide you through using the game in your classroom, or provide inspiration for crafting the experience as you see fit. The curriculum includes a lesson plan and sample projects to give your students a starting point.
Each copy of Solutions can be played by more than 8 players if needed. However, we recommend keeping games to 8 to encourage participation by all students. The sweet spot for student engagement is 4-6 players. This is a great number to keep each student maximally engaged in every discussion and reduces the likelihood that shy students feel left out.
How many games do I need for my classroom?
Ages 12+. The discussions that different age groups have while playing Solutions vary in complexity, but the value in sparking discussions and creativity remains the same. We have successfully tested the game with elementary, high school, bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD students. What age students can play the game?
We’ve designed a ‘Short Mode’ specifically for teachers with tight schedules and short classes, which generally takes 30-45 minutes if students have read the rulebook as homework. If you have a longer class, the normal game takes 60-90 minutes, which lets students see more solutions and have more discussions. Please note that these time estimates are based on the average group. Because this is a discussion-based game, playing time can vary depending on how much time your students take for discussion. If students are engrossed in having long discussions, it is up to your discretion whether or not you hurry them along. However, in our experience, allowing these deep discussions can be more valuable than finishing the game. If time is running out, you can instruct students that the game will end on an earlier turn. How long does it take to play?
There are some wonderful educator resources included, developed with ClimateScience. This lesson plan will:
Includes a FREE Lesson Plan!- Guide you on integrating the game into your classroom
- Help you teach students the minimum background knowledge required to play the game
- Inspire you to use the game as a starting point for homework, class projects, and extracurricular activities
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This Indigenous Plant Memory Matching Card Game is created by Indigenous author, Terri Mack, and can be used as a stand-along teaching tool, or as part of the Animals Care for Mother Earth Indigenous Learning Bundle. This set contains 25 cards, including one instructional card and two each of the following: Bitter-root, Blue Camas, Burdock, Cat-tail, Devil’s Club, Fireweed, Kinnikinnick, Licorice Fern, Oregon Grape, Soapberry, Stinging Nettle & Tiger Lily. These cards are printed on Stone Paper. This eco-friendly paper alternative is made from stone, not trees! Stone Paper is tear-resistant, uses no lamination, and does not use trees, water, or harmful chemicals and dyes in its production. The cards are also biodegradable. While they can be used outside, store cards in the shade or away from direct sunlight. -
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The Looking Closely Kit includes 10 curated books accompanied by resources & equipment to support K-7 emergent inquiry outdoors! This kit was curated and created by teachers Megan Zeni, Sarah Regan and Lauren MacLean. Megan and Sarah are job share partners teaching entirely outdoors in a K-7 garden classroom. Megan shares these experiences of outdoor play and learning on Instagram and Twitter at @roomtoplay. Lauren is a K-7 mentoring support teacher who has a love for playing, learning, and teaching outdoors. She is the host of the Mentoring Nature Connections podcast and author of Me and My Sit Spot. Each kit includes book specific lesson sparks, guiding questions, and curricular connections for looking closely outdoors. Spend less time planning and more time exploring outdoors with your learners! This kit includes:- 10 curated picture books that support looking closely outdoors (see list below)
- 11 page PDF that includes a conceptual overview of looking closely with lesson sparks and guiding questions for each book
- 2 x Bugs & Slugs Nature Guide
- 2 x Butterflies & Pollinators Nature Guide
- 2 x Bees & Pollinators Nature Guide
- 10 x Handheld Field Magnifiers (with 'explore your world' lanyards)
- 1 x Two-way Nature Viewer
- 3 x pair of National Geographic Student Binoculars
- 3 x recycled backpacks to keep it all organized
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A Folding Pocket Guide to the Moon, Stars, Planets & Celestial EventsThis simplified guide to the night sky introduces the reader to the solar system, our moon, planets (visible with the naked eye), meteor showers and eclipses, and features seasonal GLOW-IN-THE-DARK charts to the stars and constellations! Simply shine a flashlight on the charts to illuminate them and then use your fingers to “walk” between major star groups. Laminated for durability, this indispensable pocket reference is ideal for astronomers of all ages.Ethical Elements: Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Read more about our ethical policies & practices. The Inside Scoop: We have used these guides for decades with students of all ages. And a few years ago we worked with our partners in British Columbia to get these out to test them with 200 classes, and had great reviews! -
192 pages. For educators of learners 3-8 years old. Published in 2022. Recommended by our Accessibility and Inclusion Consultant, Karen Lai. PLEASE NOTE: Due to high demand it will take us 2-3 weeks to get this title out to you. Young children with special needs often face physical, emotional, or social barriers to deep engagement with the natural world. These challenges need not prevent them from enjoying the many benefits nature has to offer. Nature is a necessity. Research tells us that we are happier, healthier, more socially engaged, and more creative when it is part of our daily lives. These benefits apply to people of all ages and abilities. In this inspiring book, Dr. Ruth Wilson explores the great potential of connecting young children with special needs to the natural world. Drawing on her knowledge of research and her decades of work with children in nature, she weaves together advice, real-life examples, and testimonies from educators and families on the healing, nurturing power of nature in the lives of young children with diverse abilities. In addition to exploring the role of nature in our lives, chapters include information on:- Nature as a teacher and play partner
- Nature for holistic development
- Nature as a healer
- The importance of risk-taking
- Horticultural therapies
- Animal-assisted therapies
- Nurturing connections between children and animals, plants, and habitats
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Tools are durable and easy to hold and handle for all ages. They are 10" in size, and composed of 70% nylon and 30% fiberglass plastic. INCLUDES:- Trowel
- Cultivator
- Transplanter
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Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis
A People’s Curriculum for the Earth is a collection of articles, role plays, simulations, stories, poems, and graphics to help breathe life into teaching about the environmental crisis. The book features some of the best articles from Rethinking Schools magazine alongside classroom-friendly readings on climate change, energy, water, food, and pollution–as well as on people who are working to make things better. At a time when it’s becoming increasingly obvious that life on Earth is at risk, here is a resource that helps students see what’s wrong and imagine solutions. “Bigelow and Swinehart have created a critical resource for today’s young people about humanity’s responsibility for the Earth. This book can engender the shift in perspective so needed at this point on the clock of the universe.” - Gregory Smith, Professor of Education, Lewis & Clark College, co-author with David Sobel of Place- and Community-based Education in Schools Ethical Elements: Read more about our ethical policies & practices. The Inside Scoop: This resource came highly recommended to us by many teachers, in particular after the Canadian Environmental Education Conference in Saskatchewan in 2019 (EECOM 2019) where Tim Swinehart spoke. We are excited to be working with Rethinking Schools to bring this resource to Canadian schools and educators! Pages 395 -
This beautiful resource book is back, and this time we are the publishers! This large-format paperback contains over 50 of the best teaching strategies and activities contributed to Green Teacher during the past decade! This provides a wealth of kid-tested ideas contributed by educators from across North America, covering a wide spectrum of environmental topics and presenting a large diversity of practical projects and learning strategies. While the book focuses on helping kids develop a strong connection with the natural world, there are many articles that focus on the social and global aspects of our environment. The book is attractively designed and organized, and, for each article and activity, the editors have identified appropriate grade levels, subject areas, key concepts, skills, and materials. The hands-on projects and learning strategies are sure to inspire all educators who are seeking innovative ideas for incorporating green themes into their programs. 240 pages
Most Recently Added Tools & Resources
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Laminated for durability, this lightweight, pocket-sized folding guide is an excellent source of portable information and ideal for field use by educators and learners alike. -
Laminated for durability, this lightweight, pocket-sized folding guide is an excellent source of portable information and ideal for field use by educators and learners alike. -
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Inspire your kids to get outside with our Nature Explorer Backpack! All of this comes in a backpack made from recycled pop bottles:- National Geographic 10x Magnification Binoculars
- Handheld Field Magnifier & Explore your World Lanyard
- Two-way Nature Viewer
- Animal Tracks & Traces Guide
- Bugs & Slugs Guide
- Pond Life Guide
- Dip Net
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This book bundle provides 10 excellent learning resources for kids to explore Métis knowledge, culture and history connected to the land. It includes translations into Michif, and offers incredibly vibrant illustrations giving insight into Métis life. Author Leah Dorion is a Métis artist, author, curriculum developer, lecturer and researcher. She has taught Métis History and Native Studies for the First Nations University of Canada, the Gabriel Dumont Institute and the University of Saskatchewan. She is also a visual artist and an instructor at the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program. This Bundle includes:- Relatives With Roots (54 pages + cd)
- The Giving Tree (31 pages)
- How the Moon Came to Be (16 pages)
- Métis and Dandelions (16 pages)
- Métis Singing Sticks: A Story About Métis Musical Traditions (16 pages)
- Pemmican Berries (16 pages)
- Poems to Honour Mother Earth (16 pages)
- The Helpful Sasquatch (16 pages)
- Métis Transport Boxes (16 pages)
- The Story of the Tamarack Tree (16 pages)
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In partnership with Strong Nations, we are pleased to offer this book bundle written by 2 authors - one Indigenous and the other non-Indigenous. Authors use both fiction and non-fiction as a unique approach to storytelling. On left-hand pages, lyrical text and colourful illustrations tell stories of young animals and their early morning spring adventures. Expertly woven into these delightful stories are interesting facts about the young animals and other plants and animals in that ecosystem. This Bundle includes:- A Spring Adventure with Robins (24 pages)
- A Spring Adventure with Deer (24 pages)
- A Spring Adventure with Beavers (24 pages)
- A Spring Adventure with Crows (24 pages)
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Sale!
The Looking Closely Kit includes 10 curated books accompanied by resources & equipment to support K-7 emergent inquiry outdoors! This kit was curated and created by teachers Megan Zeni, Sarah Regan and Lauren MacLean. Megan and Sarah are job share partners teaching entirely outdoors in a K-7 garden classroom. Megan shares these experiences of outdoor play and learning on Instagram and Twitter at @roomtoplay. Lauren is a K-7 mentoring support teacher who has a love for playing, learning, and teaching outdoors. She is the host of the Mentoring Nature Connections podcast and author of Me and My Sit Spot. Each kit includes book specific lesson sparks, guiding questions, and curricular connections for looking closely outdoors. Spend less time planning and more time exploring outdoors with your learners! This kit includes:
- 10 curated picture books that support looking closely outdoors (see list below)
- 11 page PDF that includes a conceptual overview of looking closely with lesson sparks and guiding questions for each book
- 2 x Bugs & Slugs Nature Guide
- 2 x Butterflies & Pollinators Nature Guide
- 2 x Bees & Pollinators Nature Guide
- 10 x Handheld Field Magnifiers (with 'explore your world' lanyards)
- 1 x Two-way Nature Viewer
- 3 x pair of National Geographic Student Binoculars
- 3 x recycled backpacks to keep it all organized
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This innovative and vibrant resource is filled with full-colour photographs, maps, illustrations and the names of plants listed in three Indigenous languages - Michif, Nêhiyawêwin (Cree) and Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway). Métis author and artist Christi Belcourt fuses her evocative artwork with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Western Science. With contributions from Métis Elders Rose Richardson and Olive Whitford, as well as key Michif phrases and terminology, Medicines to Help Us is the most accessible resource relating to Métis healing traditions produced to date. Along with an essay by Elder Rose Richardson on her first-hand experience using medicinal plants, this compelling one-of-a-kind resource melds Métis contemporary art and the floral motif within Métis beadword with Métis traditional knowledge. Page count: 66 + glossary, references + end notes -
Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years
Maintaining that there is no substitute for hands-on experience, David Sobel places the initial emphasis on local projects- projects that begin in students' own backyards and communities, projects that provide a sense of place. Mapmaking, as Sobel uses it, has relevance across the curriculum. In addition to appealing to social studies teachers, this book will be of interest to science teachers, language arts teachers, and math teachers looking for new ways to invigorate the curriculum. In the beginning, students stay close to home, mapping their known world. Gradually, they move on to their neighborhood, developing a sense of place, scope, and perspective. Eventually, once students are older, they explore the nation, the world, even the solar system, creating raised relief maps and contour maps to develop visual literacy and spatial reasoning skills. Vivid illustrations of the students' work are provided throughout to let you observe each stage of development. Author David Sobel is the director of Teacher certification programs in the education department of Antioch New England Graduate School. He is a frequent keynote speaker at environmental education conferences and serves as a consultant to school districts and environmental organizations. 164 pages The Inside Scoop: Ever since we hosted David on a series of in-person workshops, we were hooked! Before adding this resource to our store, we tested it with hundreds of educators with rave reviews. His philosophy, approach and ideas are deserving of his world renowned reputation. -
Whether starting a new nature-based program or "naturalizing" an existing classroom, this book is your guide to creating a successful nature-learning experience and making the most of the time children spend outdoors. This book will inspire readers with:- examples from successful outdoor programs
- the strengths of a variety of nature-based approaches
- the organizing principles of curriculum and best practices to create engaging outdoor experiences
- tools for policy development, site assessment, selection, and risk management
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Next time you head to the ocean, you can do so as a scientist! Our Ocean Explorer kit comes with all the tools you’ll need to collect baseline information about ocean water quality. Good water quality is critical to the health of coral reefs and all the habitats in the ocean. Using this kit, you can test for some general health parameters, like temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity, hardness, water clarity and depth. These give us an idea what conditions are like, and teach us that every region is different, through natural and unnatural conditions. For example, salinity and temperature affect water density! These tests, along with your observations on what you see, smell and hear, help give context to your environment. Each kit contains:- Thermometer (air temperature, water temperature)
- Secchi disc (water clarity or depth)
- Test strips (pH, alkalinity, nitrate, nitrite)
- Salinity Meter
- Sample container
- Ocean Explorer field notepad
- 3 Whirl pack bags
- Field guide
- 4 stickers and 3 badges
- Reacher stick
