Lesson Plans & Activities
A Changing Climate: Understanding Drought in Colorado
This lesson is best taught at the beginning of a HEART Force unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to drought in Colorado.
Students build an understanding of drought in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw activity.
HEART Force Flood Response Game
This lesson is best used after the Colorado Flood lessons in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical flood in their own community.
This interactive game has students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme flooding event by using available individual and community resources.
The Vocabulary of Hazards
We suggest teaching this lesson to introduce the unit as it will benefit students in their understanding of natural hazards throughout the entire HEART Force Unit.
This lesson uses a matching game to build students' understanding and familiarity with different terms used in the world of resiliency planning.
Envisioning a Resilient Future
We suggest teaching this lesson to introduce the HEART Force Unit.
In this lesson, students create a vision for the future of their community and identify what resources are most important to them as a starting point for resilience planning.
A Changing Climate: Understanding Floods in Colorado
This lesson is best taught at the beginning of a HEART Force unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to floods in Colorado.
Students build an understanding of flooding in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw format.
A Changing Climate: Understanding Wildfire in Colorado
This lesson is best used as part of the HEART Force curricular unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to wildfire in Colorado.
Students build an understanding of wildfire in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw format.
Hourglass Lake Fire Challenge - El reto del incendio del lago Hourglass
This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical wildfire in their own community.
In this interactive game, students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of a wildfire event by using available individual and community resources.
HEART Force Drought Game
This lesson is best used after the Colorado Drought lessons in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and respond to a hypothetical drought in their own community.
In this interactive game, students work in three "resilience teams" to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme drought event by using available individual and community resources.
Flood Resilience in Colorado StoryMap
This is a lesson that can be used to get ideas and prepare for the Community Resilience Expo.
Students interact with a flood StoryMap to explore the Colorado Resiliency Framework.
Wildfire Resilience in Colorado StoryMap
This is a lesson that can be used to get ideas and prepare for the Community Resilience Expo.
Students interact with a wildfire StoryMap to explore the Colorado Resiliency Framework.
Exploring Local Hazard Mitigation Plans
This lesson is part of the Community Resilience Expo, a culminating event for the HEART Force curriculum unit, where students will share what they’ve learned during the hazard lesson and the role-playing game.
In this lesson, students will explore their county Hazard Mitigation Plan to gain understanding about the hazard in their area (flooding, wildfire, or drought), including historic hazards, probability of future occurrences of the hazard, and vulnerability of the area to the hazard.
Design a Resilient Future
This is a lesson that can be used to get ideas and prepare for the Community Resilience Expo.
In this lesson, students will work in small groups to develop an idea to increase community resilience, utilizing Design Thinking.
How Can We Decrease Our Impact on the Earth’s Climate at our School?
This is the first lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which was designed to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.
In this design challenge lesson students explore the Denver Public School District’s solid waste plan and discuss how their school can save or decrease emissions by reducing solid waste at our school.
How Does Our School Food System Create Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
This is the second lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.
In this design challenge lesson, students examine their school food system and develop an investigation about food waste in order to know what should change.
How Can We Understand Waste and Emissions in Our School's Food System?
This is the third lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.
This lesson outlines for students how to design and carry out an investigation to audit their school’s food waste system.
How Can We Reduce Emissions Associated with Food Waste in Our School?
This is the fourth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.
In this activity students utilize the data that is collected and propose solutions to mitigate food waste in their school.
How Can We Present Solutions for Food Waste and Emissions at School?
This is the fifth lesson in the Climate Resiliency Education Design Challenge Unit which is meant to follow the middle or high school Climate Resiliency Education units.
This lesson provides guidance for students to create and practice a presentation about their design challenge results that they developed in the previous lessons and how to present it to the school administration.
Adapting to Extremes: Exploring the Science of Floods in Colorado
This lesson is best taught at the beginning of a HEART Force unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to floods in Colorado.
The way we choose to design our communities has impacted community risk and vulnerability to flooding; in this lesson, students will explore this concept by analyzing environmental data to classify patterns and practice communicating their findings.
Adapting to Extremes: Exploring the Science of Wildfire in Colorado
This lesson is best used as part of the HEART Force curricular unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to wildfire in Colorado.
Students build an understanding of wildfire in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw format.
Wildfire Virtual Expo
This lesson provides a virtual alternative to the HEART Force Expo curriculum.
This is a streamlined lesson for students to prepare for a Community Resilience Expo, focusing on wildfire.
Flood Virtual Expo
This lesson provides a virtual alternative to the HEART Force Expo curriculum.
This is a streamlined lesson for students to prepare for a Community Resilience Expo, focusing on flood.
Drought Virtual Expo
This lesson provides a virtual alternative to the HEART Force Expo curriculum.
This is a streamlined lesson for students to prepare for a Community Resilience Expo, focusing on drought.
Communicate Existing Plans
This is a guide that can be used for a pathway for the Community Resilience Expo.
In this sub-unit, students will learn more about their community’s resilience plans, choose a specific topic to focus on, and develop a product to communicate the plan to their peers and/or their community.
HEART Force Curriculum Overview
This unit consists of several lessons and can take anywhere from 1 to 6 weeks to teach, depending on which lesson teacher choose to incorporate.
The HEART Force curriculum builds understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Adapting to Extremes: Exploring the Science of Drought in Colorado
This lesson is best taught at the beginning of a HEART Force unit, but it can also act as a stand-alone lesson to introduce students to drought in Colorado.
Humans have been affected by severe drought throughout history; in this lesson students explore this concept by analyzing environmental data to classify patterns and practice communicating their findings.
Waste, Water, and Wastewater
Project EXTREMES lessons were written to be stand alone lessons but can be incorporated into a larger unit.
In this lesson, students will apply what they know about how to separate a mixture by designing a wastewater treatment facility that effectively removes contaminants.
Middle School Wildfire Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the Middle School Wildfire curriculum.
The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Middle School Flood Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the Middle School Flood curriculum.
The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
Middle School Drought Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the Middle School Drought curriculum.
The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
High School Wildfire Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Wildfire curriculum.
The HEART Force Curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
High School Flood Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Flood curriculum.
The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of wildfire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
High School Drought Unit
This HEART Force curricular unit includes all lessons for the High School Drought curriculum.
The HEART Force curriculum builds an understanding of fire, flood, or drought in the context of place-based community resilience.
HEART Force Wildfire Resilience Game
This lesson is best used after the wildfire hazard lesson in the HEART Force curricular unit, for students to apply their learning and recover from a hypothetical wildfire in their own community.
In this scenario-based role-play game, students play the role of community members planning for wildfire resilience in their community. After a wildfire occurs, they see how resilience and recovery efforts pan out in their hometown based on their planning efforts.
ReVisioning Hazards
This is the first lesson in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, but can be used for any introduction to natural hazards curriculum.
In the first lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards Unit, students read a poem written by a local fire survivor, and utilize a visualization practice to build personal resilience.
Cascading Hazards
This is the second of four lessons in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit.
In the second lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, students dig into local stories and datasets, and learn about the connections between natural hazards.
Take Action
Actions that will help families prepare for the next disaster can take a few minutes, and make a big difference when the time comes. Students will create a social media post or a short video to share what they are doing to prepare and encourage their friends to be prepared too.
In the last lesson of the Lake County unit, students develop ideas to increase resilience to hazards in their community.
Lake County Cascading Hazards Unit
The unit has four lessons in total.
This unit builds an understanding of five natural hazards and their connections in the context of place-based community resilience.
Social Vulnerability to Natural Hazards
This is the third of four lessons in the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit. This lesson can also be used in the HEART Force Curriculum.
In the third lesson of the Lake County Cascading Hazards unit, students learn about social factors that might make one group more vulnerable to a hazard than another.
Voices of Resilience: Collecting Stories of Survivors
This lesson is best used as part of the HEART Force curricular unit, but it can also be used as part of a unit on natural hazards.
Students collect stories from community members about their experiences with hazards.
