ODFW Eggs to Fry Program

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife manages this program, which involves bringing salmon and trout eggs into the classroom to be raised by the students in an aquarium and then released. Hundreds of schools throughout Oregon participate in the program every year, introducing thousands of students not only to the biology and life history of trout, salmon and steelhead but also to a broad range of environmental science and stewardship concepts. You can even bring your fry to be released during your Salmon Watch field trip if the timing is right! The above website also includes videos, slide decks, and other teaching resources that can be used with our without the aquarium program.

Oregon Tribal History/Shared History Curriculum

In 2017, the Oregon Legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 13, now known as Tribal History/Shared History. This law directs to Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to create K-12 Native American Curriculum for inclusion in Oregon public schools. Developed in collaboration with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Grade 4 Science unit has an excellent "Salmon and the River" lesson, including numerous additional resources. Great for 5th graders (and learners of all ages), too!

World Salmon Council Classroom Curriculum

The Salmon Watch curriculum is designed to provide a holistic, multi-disciplinary and watershed-based approach to environmental education, using the salmon as the key indicator species of watershed health and the cultural icon of the Pacific Northwest.

The learning units contain many different ideas, lessons, and supplementary resources to help in your teaching about nature, salmon, water quality, and human choices. Resources include student hand-outs, sample lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and more.

Salmon Watch Streaming

This “virtual field trip” series includes six eye-catching short films created by award-winning filmmakers at Freshwaters Illustrated, interactive online quiz games, 360° Virtual Tours that bring the river to you, and more. Access all of these resources for FREE by clicking “I’m an Educator” and then completing the request form. You can also sign up for the World Salmon Council newsletter for more information about all of the great work they do!

Secret Lives of Salmon Program

“Secret Lives of Salmon” is a place-based educational curriculum developed by the Cascade Head Biosphere Reserve, Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the Lincoln County School District. This 3rd Grade program explores the life cycle of Pacific salmon species, providing students an overview of wild salmon adaptations and habitats, how they differ from hatchery-raised fish, and ways that humans affect aquatic species.

Resources within this program include a video series which guide students through the salmon life cycle in the awe-inspiring Cascade Head Biosphere Reserve on the Central Oregon Coast. This video series is a learning journey paired with interactive activities, providing the tools needed for a complete lesson plan. This program will provide hands-on opportunities for learning and exploration about local species, human- environment interactions, ecosystem interconnectedness, and more.

Online Student Pre- and Post-Assessment

World Salmon Council has created an online Salmon Watch assessment form that makes it easy to gauge students’ knowledge both before and after the program. The assessment includes questions about each field trip station, their beliefs about conservation, and their understanding about the importance of salmon in the ecosystem. Direct each student to the link above, and make sure when they are done, they hit SUBMIT. Their responses will be used by World Salmon Council to assess the Salmon Watch program.

Alternatively, Benton SWCD has created a Google Forms version of the above assessment that you can use. Unlike the WSC form above, this version allows both the teacher and our Salmon Watch Program Coordinator to access student responses. (Responses will be e-mailed to all participating teachers at the conclusion of Salmon Watch season). Access the Google Form student assessment here.