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Lesson Plans & Activities

Peer-reviewed, classroom-ready NGSS-aligned lesson plans, activities, data puzzles, virtual field trips, and design challenges covering environmental hazards, climate change, mental health, Earth systems, community resilience, and more.  

Lesson Plans & Activities

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Avista Fire Resilience Challenge - El Reto de Resiliencia al Incendio Avista

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. 

 A Bilingual, Scenario-Based Role-Play Game developed for Middle & High School Classrooms and Informal Education Settings
Game
Middle School
High School
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Flood game community map with labeled Zones A, B, and C
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.
Game
Middle School
High School
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Colorado Mountains covered in snow in the background with orange and yellow trees in the foreground on rolling hills
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.
Lesson
Game
Middle School
High School
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Illustrated poster for a bilingual wildfire response game titled El Reto del Incendio del Lago Hourglass / The Hourglass Lake Fire Challenge. The scene shows a wildfire burning through a forest near mountains at sunset. A helicopter drops water on the flames while birds fly across the sky. In the foreground, two officials stand beside a rescue truck and a “Road Closed” sign blocks access. The text at the top reads: “Limited resources, critical choices: A bilingual wildfire response game / Recursos limitados
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.
Game
Middle School
High School
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Drought game spinner with largest section being purple and assorted other sections of orange shades, blue shades, green and gray.
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. 
Game
Middle School
High School
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Illustration of two people high-fiving in a work environment

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