Teachers: Use these activities and background materials about Minnesota natural resource topics in your classroom. For outdoor lessons, see outdoor lessons for K-12 students.
Fish and Wildlife
- Wildlife education – Fact sheets, web cams, teaching guides, lessons, activities, and games
- Fish and fishing education – MinnAqua activity guide with 39 detailed, illustrated lessons, including a macroinvertebrate keys that you can use in the field for grades 3-5
Forests
- Forest education – Facts about invasive & native species, biomes, leaf colors, history of forestry, careers
- Teachers' Guide to Arbor Month – Nine lessons spanning grades K-8 about trees that can be used any time of the year
- All About Minnesota’s Forests and Trees: A Primer - Full PDF of a book about forests in Minnesota that covers tree biology, biomes, forest history, and current uses of trees. Grades 5 and up.
- Wildfire Prevention - Download Smokey Bear materials (K-8) and learn about Firewise Communities: Reducing the Risk of Wildlife (9-12) lessons.
Land and Natural Resources
- Ojibwe and Dakota PLT lessons – Lessons on the natural world through an indigenous lens for grades K-8
- Prairies – Fact sheets about Minnesota’s prairie biome
- Minnesota Conservation Volunteer Magazine Young Naturalist articles with teachers guide - Stories about Minnesota plants, animals, and nature written for grades 3-8, with teacher’s guides
- Land Acquisitions - Matching Game – The DNR manages 5.6 million acres of public land for the benefit of people, natural resources, and local economies. Scroll through the quiz game to check your knowledge of Minnesota’s public lands and maybe learn something new!
Minerals
- Public Land and Mineral Ownership: A Guide for Teachers – Resources to supplement 9-12 grade discussions on Minnesota’s history, government, and geography.
- Mining Lessons and Activities – Includes fact sheet and activities: cookie mining, layer cake core drilling, birdseed mining, and bingo game.
- Geology of Minnesota: A Guide for Teacher – Guide for 6-8 teachers and others who have an interest in understanding Minnesota’s geology.
- What's Under Your House – Explore the soils, glacial geology, and bedrock under your house or location. Search by an address or with Google Maps to learn more about Minnesota's geology.
Water
- Water conservation educations – Minnesota-based activities, games, and lessons