Toolkit Standards Alignment

Student looking at macroinvertebrates in a container
Storm drain clogged with leaves
People looking at rock hardened shoreline
Student looking at something up close while laying down on pavement
Student writing on notepad and looking at water from a bridge
Students walking down long staircase on a dune

Connection to Standards

MWEEs are not meant to be added as "extra" lessons or units; MWEEs can become the foundation for the standard curriculum you offer your students. A MWEE can become the pedagogical approach and content focus for supporting your students to meet the required academic standards for your subject area and grade level. NOAA has created a standards alignment document to aid educators with this effort, and many of the lessons found in the curriculum anchor of this toolkit have been aligned to state education standards. 

Connecting your MWEE to the Standards

Your MWEE will be customized to your student's needs, school or community needs, and learning space, so, there is not a one-size fits all state education standards alignment available. Check out the resources below that exist to help align your MWEE to your classroom. 

DEVELOPING STUDENT OUTCOMES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY IN K-12 EDUCATION

You can align your MWEE to standards using the Developing Student Outcomes for Environmental Literacy in K-12 Education document. NOAA created this document for educators who are developing and implementing environmental education programming with K-12 students. The student outcomes were modeled after, and aligned with, standards-based frameworks for K-12 education including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the College, Career, and Civic Life Standards for Social Studies (C3). 

Students by river
students sitting in the woods
students planting native plants

Anchor your MWEE with State Education Standards
duckweed covering pond

Communities for Clean Water

The standards alignment below is organized by lesson within the Communities for Clean Water lesson series. You can also visit the Communities for Clean Water page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit to find the full lessons. 

Watersheds Nonpoint Source Pollution

  • Michigan K-12 Science Standards
    • MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Large tree in field

Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences

The standards alignment below is organized by lesson from the full Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences Unit document. You can also visit the Creating Meaningful Outdoor Experiences page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit. 

Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Stewardship and the Great Lakes 

  • Michigan K-12 Science Standards 
    • Earth’s Systems: MS-ESS2-4 
  • Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards 
    • 6 – G1 .3 .3 
    • 6 – G5 .1 .3

person putting together a hester dendy sampler

River Rewilding Series

A standards alignment has not been completed for the River Rewilding series. You can visit the River Rewilding page within the Curriculum Anchor of the MWEE Toolkit to find the full units. 



Page last modified September 29, 2024