CFWEP | Clark Fork Education Portal
CFWEP | Clark Fork Watershed Education Program
What is the Clark Fork Watershed?
The Clark Fork River and its tributaries drain most of western Montana. The upper river and headwaters were heavily impacted by wastes from over a century of mining. Today, the area is the largest Superfund environmental clean-up site in the nation.

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Clark Fork Education Portal > Lessons & Activities > Grades 5-8 Core Clark Fork Curriculum
The CFWEP Core Clark Fork Curriculum materials for grades 5-8 are listed below. Montana Standards & Benchmarks addressed by each lesson are included in lesson plans. Click on a lesson plan to view or download a copy. Please note that CFWEP Core Clark Fork Curriculum materials require a username and password for access. If you are interested in a restricted-access lesson, please email the CFWEP Webmaster (jringsak@mtech.edu).

Grades 5-8: Core Clark Fork Curriculum
CFWEP Core Lesson 1: What is a Watershed?
Developed by CFWEP as part of our 5-Day Core Middle School Program, this lesson covers:
  • The definition of "watershed"
  • How to describe the watershed in which you reside
  • How regional topography affects surface water
  • Water cycle basics
  • How water pollution affects humans, animals, insects, and plant communities within a watershed
  • How water carries sediment
 "What is a Watershed?" Lesson Plan (doc format)
"What is a Watershed?" Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"What is a Watershed?" Powerpoint Presentation
with Notes
"What is a Watershed?" Powerpoint Presentation
with Notes (pdf format)
"What is a Watershed?" Activity Instructions (doc format)
"What is a Watershed?" Activity Instructions (pdf format)
Download All Lesson Materials as a .zip file
CFWEP Core Lesson 2: What Happened to Our Watershed?
Developed by CFWEP as part of our 5-Day Core Middle School Program, this lesson covers:
  • Human and natural impacts to ecosystem health
  • The history of the Upper Clark Fork Basin and western Montana
  • The evironmental damages related to historic mining practices in Butte and Anaconda that occurred in the Clark Fork Watershed
  • The mining and smelting process
  • Acid rock drainage
  • Remediation and restoration
"What Happened to Our Watershed?" Lesson Plan
(doc format)
"What Happened to Our Watershed?" Lesson Plan
(pdf format)
"What Happened to Our Watershed?" Powerpoint Presentation with Notes
"What Happened to Our Watershed?" Powerpoint Presentation with Notes (pdf format)
"Getting Copper" Activity Lesson Plan (doc format)
"Getting Copper" Activity Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"Historic Timeline" Activity Lesson Plan (doc format)
"Historic Timeline" Activity Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"Historic Timeline" Activity Files (ppt format)
"Historic Timeline" Activity Files (pdf format)
"Anaconda & Opportunity" Extension Powerpoint Presentation
"Anaconda & Opportunity" Extension Powerpoint Presentation (pdf format)
Download All Lesson Materials as a .zip file
CFWEP Core Lesson 3: Measuring Watershed Health I - Biological Indicators
Developed by CFWEP as part of our 5-Day Core Middle School Program, this lesson covers:
  • Stream health assessment
  • Biological indicator species
  • Vegetation assessment
  • Riparian ecosystems
  • Macroinvertebrate (stream bug) identification
 "Measuring Watershed Health I - Biological Indicators" Lesson Plan (doc format)
"Measuring Watershed Health I - Biological Indicators" Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"Measuring Watershed Health I - Biological Indicators" Powerpoint with Notes
"Measuring Watershed Health I - Biological Indicators" Powerpoint with Notes (pdf format)
Download All Lesson Materials as a .zip file
CFWEP Core Lesson 4: Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice
Developed by CFWEP as part of our 5-Day Core Middle School Program, this lesson covers:
  • Measuring water quantity and quality in a river
  • The  parameters used to monitor water quality: temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH,  specific conductance, and metal concentration
  • The relationship between water quality and quantity parameters and how they reflect watershed health
  • Acid rock drainage
 "Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice" Lesson Plan (doc format)
"Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice" Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice" Powerpoint
"Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice" Powerpoint (pdf format)
"Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice"
Data Sheets (xls format)
"Measuring Watershed Health II - Field Trip Practice"
Data Sheets (pdf format)
Download All Lesson Materials as a .zip file
CFWEP Core Curriculum Field Trip Datasheets & Healthy Parameters (xls format)
Datasheets & Healthy Parameters (pdf format)
Plant Guide (ppt format)
Plant Guide (pdf format)
Key to Macroinvertebrate Life in the River (pdf format)
Soil Texture by Feel (doc format)
Soil Texture by Feel (pdf format)
Download All Lesson Materials as a .zip file
CFWEP Core Lesson 5: Watershed Science - Tying It All Together
Developed by CFWEP as part of our 5-Day Core Middle School Program, this lesson covers:
  • Vegetation population diversity and density
  • Macroinvertebrate population diversity and density
  • Chemical and physical water quality parameters
  • Site specific field parameters that may vary from season to season
 "Field Data Review & Tying It All Together" Lesson Plan (doc format)
"Field Data Review & Tying It All Together" Lesson Plan (pdf format)
"Watershed Science - Tying It All Together" Powerpoint with Notes (includes Field Data Review)
"Watershed Science - Tying It All Together" Powerpoint with Notes (includes Field Data Review) (pdf format)

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