Teaching Products

Plants, Pollinators and Imposters (grades 7-12)

• Students will understand the diversity of possible interactions between invasive plants, pollinators and native plants, and the need to investigate these interactions in Alaska.

Pollinator Attraction I: Pollinator observation field study (grades 4-12)

• Students will understand the effects of invasive plant species on pollinator abundances and diversity. Student will conduct a controlled field experiment observing pollinators in plots with and without flowering invasive species.

• Link to Interior Alaska Pollinator photo guide.

• Link to Student Lab worksheet.

Pollinator Attraction II: Pollen Detectives Lab (grades 4-12)

• Students will understand the effects of invasive plant species on pollinator abundances and diversity. Student will conduct a controlled field experiment collecting stigmas from a native plant species in plots with and without flowering invasive species then conduct a microscope lab analysis of pollen loads and pollen diversity.

• Link to Interior Alaska Pollen photo guide.

• Link to Student Lab worksheet.

Link to full curriculum guide "Weed Wackers: K-6 Educators Guide to Invasive Plants of Alaska" by Katie V. Spellman and Christine P. Villano

Unit 1 - Invasive Plants In Alaska

• Students will learn basic plant biology, important terminology for the study of invasive plants, how to identify native and non-native plant species, how invasive plants succeed, and the potential impacts that invasive plants can have on Alaskan habitats.

Unit 2 - Experimenting with Invasive Plants

• Students will use science inquiry methods to investigate properties of problem invasive species in Alaska. Many of the questions investigated in the following lessons are important research questions that scientists in Alaska are only beginning to study. Students can contribute their meaningful results to Alaska’s understanding of invasive plants in our rapidly changing ecosystems.

Unit 3 - Humans and Invasive Plants: What Can Alaskans do?

• Students will explore the relationships between human society, culture, and invasive plants in Alaska.

Invasive Plant Management Dilemma: Mapping Infestations and debating management priorities

• Students will learn how to conduct a field survey of invasive plants, record data on the populations found, and record population locations using GPS units and maps.

• Students will debate a variety of approaches that could be taken to control the mapped infestations and use the data collected to develop an appropriate management plan for the area.

Invent-An-Invasive: Investigating plant adaptations to the invasive lifestyle

• Students work in a team to act out an invasive adapted to taking over a habitat.

• Studuse their bodies and a variety of crazy props to create an invasive plant that has special adaptations needed to out-compete other plants in the habitat.

Reed Canarygrass Tag and Population Simulation

• Students will demonstrate the effects of an invasive plant on Alaskan salmon streams in a population simulation game.

• Students will gather data throughout the game and graph population changes through time to assess potential invasive plant impacts on salmon.

Know your enemy-Invasive Plant Jigsaw Activity

• Students will learn about their focal invasive species prior to conducting a service learning weed pull.

• Students will learn the biology and best control methods for their focal plant species.

Weed Wanted Poster Activity

• Students will investigate an invasive species and learn its identifying features and impacts to ecosystems.