Great Lakes Teacher Resources

A collection of documents that explores the maritime history of Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Public Museum provides this introduction to the Native American oral tradition and oral literature of the Great Lakes region. Describes common themes and characters, including trickster characters and windingo (ice...

A history of the iron ore industry with a focus on the Great Lakes Region. Well written and interesting.

Learn about the Erie Canal, one of the most famous man-made bodies of water in the world. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the port of New York City on the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes transforming trade, industry, and...

This site provides facts, illustrations, and more about the largest Great Lake. Includes descriptions of wildlife and industry. For grades 4-8.

Great Lakes

This site provides information on the Indians that inhabited the Great Lakes Region upon settlement by Europeans.

Great Lakes

Map highlighting the Great Lakes of North America.

A map from the 1920 Automobile Club of Rochester showing automobile routes in the Great Lakes Region, around western Lake Ontario, and the Canadian portion of Lake St. Clair and southern Lake Huron. The map shows route numbers, mileages...

A map from 1906 of the Great Lakes Region, showing major cities and ports, canals (including the Erie Canal), rivers, and steamship routes across the lakes, including routes of the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain.

A map of the Great Lakes region at the outbreak of the War of 1812, showing the sites of initial English successes, including Fort Mackinaw, Fort Dearborn (Chicago), and Detroit, which was surrendered to the English by General Hull.

Have the Great Lakes been cleaned up? Is there no longer any fear for its future? The answer is no. Recent studies reveal that problems still exist, and these are addressed in the article.

Listen to a discussion abut how far a state should go to prevent an invasive species from colonizing the Great Lakes.

This video on the Great Lakes region explains the impact that invasing plant species can have on an ecosystem. [6:46]

Discover the "Great Lakes State." Learn all of the different nicknames for Michigan. Library of Congress website gives us a wide range of information.

This site is designed to assist the educator in teaching concepts and processes related to freshwater environments and to increase stewardship of these important resources. There are links to resources regarding the Great Lakes...

Embark on a virtual field trip that covers three main components: coastal wetlands, algae, and lake sturgeon. The videos are short and targeted at middle schoolers.

Major groups of diatoms listed. Also genera list. A comprehensive site on diatoms.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This historical passage discusses the relations between the French and Native Americans in the Great Lakes Regions during the 1700's and 1800's. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that...

Links to the Gulf Point, endangered species and habitats, and Great Lakes declining amphibians. There are links to events, laws, species and related resources.

Details about the Rush-Bagot Treaty that demilitarized the Great Lakes region.

Showing area along the Upper Mississippi and around the Great Lakes.

Here is a short biography and a analysis of "Summer on the Lakes" by Margaret Fuller. It also contains links to the online text for this essay describing her trip to the Great Lakes in 1843. Text can be viewed on a page-by-page basis in...