Important Information for Teachers

Wings and Water is more than just a field trip and lesson guide.  It's a comprehensive package that allows you to take advantage of Utah’s unique Great Salt Lake wetlands as a platform for an unforgettable educational experience. You and your students will benefit most from Wings & Water by fully participating in all stages of the program. When you sign up your class for this program, you will be asked to:

Use the Student Discovery Guide
At every stage of wetlands education, the Student Discovery Guide should be used to enhance and assess your students’ understanding of key concepts.  It is designed to work seamlessly from the classroom to the Naturalist-Guided Tour to help you create fun, interactive lesson plans that address state core curriculum.  When you schedule your tour with The Nature Conservancy, you will be sent a copy of The Discovery Guide for each student to use before, during and after their Wings & Water Tour.  You will also receive a Teacher's Guide to help you assess your students' learning.

Prepare Students Using the Pre-Tour Activities
To help your students get the most out of their Naturalist-Guided Tour, we’ve provided guidelines and suggested activities that explore key concepts before the tour.  An orientation to wetlands, adaptations, interrelationships and student tour preparation are included in these easy-to-use Pre-Tour Activities. Wings & Water Pre-Tour activities offer vocabulary, teacher background information and topic-based ideas for using the Student Discovery Guide to help you plan innovative and effective lessons. These activities will be most effective if they are completed before the scheduled field-trip.

Participate in a Naturalist-Guided Tour
Together with the pre- and post-tour activities, the Naturalist-Guided Tour serves as an exciting, hands-on foundation to your students’ wetlands education.  During this tour, your class will explore many themes including habitat, soil, wetlands plants and animals, adaptations and conservation as they discover the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake. 

Re-Visit Concepts and Assess Learning Using Post-Tour Activities
Immediately after your students experience the wetlands first-hand, you should incorporate the Post-Tour Activities. These activities use the Discovery Guide, games and worksheets to help students to reflect on their visit and review important concepts related to wetlands education.

Give Feedback
You will be asked to share your thoughts and ideas about the effectiveness of the Wings & Water Wetlands Education Program with The Nature Conservancy. Taking the time to give honest and constructive feedback will help us provide the most valuable educational services to your students.

Nature picture credits: Photo © Bruce Thompson