Curriculum Materials

Many women in Northeast Ohio were active members of not only their communities but in the activist movements of the late 1800s and early 1900s. In this lesson, students will discover the life of Harriet Keeler.

Citizen Science is the involvement of everyday people in making scientific observations of the world around us. These observations address real world problems and contribute to scientific research projects. Citizen Science initiatives provide opportunities for the public to collect data in the field and report findings to databases used by professional scientists. Introduce your students to this growing field, in which amateur scientists can contribute meaningful observations to science.

The Cuyahoga River gained national attention when TIME magazine published the infamous burning river photograph in 1969. Though the incident helped propel improved standards in water quality nationwide and ultimately helped inspire the Clean Water Act, we continue to struggle as a nation with water quality issues. Explore the topic of water quality with your students and help them discover that water quality issues are a global environmental problem.

Water quality is measured using many physical, chemical, and biological assessments. In this lesson, introduce your students to five water chemistry tests. Students will become familiar with pH, nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen and turbidity and their relationship to the Cuyahoga River Watershed. They will begin to understand acceptable test value ranges, make connections between water quality and the biological community and become familiar with the causes of poor water quality.

Macroinvertebrates can be found in bodies of water buried in sediments and detritus or attached to rocks or plants. They are visible without magnification and can be used by scientists to measure water quality. In this lesson, introduce your students to these organisms and to the use of a dichotomous key. Students will hone basic identification skills to increase the reliability of data they may collect during a visit to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Use this lesson to teach about the creation of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

By investigating how the Civil War impacted one small canal town in Ohio, students find connections to the history of their own hometown, which may help them look to the future.

Materials for educators who teach about prehistoric Native Americans in Ohio.

Materials for educators who teach about Ohio history or canals.

Materials for educators who teach about northeast Ohio geology or earth science.

Materials for educators who teach about wetlands or associated wildlife.

We invite teachers, students, writers, and community members to craft poems based on the stories of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Themes include the first people in the valley, the park’s geologic history, and the Ohio & Erie Canal. Learn more about this powerful tool for creative expression developed by the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University.

Listen to a lecture by Dr. Brian Redmond of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History examining the pre-contact archeology of Northeast Ohio.