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CURRICULUM ELEMENTS <br />Curriculum elements will be developed using the NAAEE <br />K-12 Environmental Education Guidelines for Excellence <br />and other best practices resources available through <br />Project WILD, Project WET, and Next Generation Science <br />Standards. These include: <br />• Questioning,Analysis, and Interpretation Skills <br />o Questioning <br />o Designing investigations <br />o Collecting information <br />o Evaluating accuracy and reliability <br />o Organizing and analyzing information <br />o Working with models and simulations <br />o Drawing conclusions and developing explanations <br />• Earth's physical and living systems <br />• Environment and society <br />o Human -environment interactions <br />o Resource distribution and consumption <br />o Places <br />o Change and conflict <br />• Skills for understanding and addressing <br />environmental issues <br />o Identifying and investigating issues <br />o Sorting out the consequences of issues <br />o Identifying and critiquing alternative solutions <br />and courses of action <br />o Workingwith flexibility, creativity, and openness <br />• Decision-makingandactionskills <br />o Formingand evaluating personal views <br />o Evaluating the need foraction <br />o Planning andtakingaction <br />o Evaluatingthe results of actions <br />• Personal and Civic Responsibility <br />o Recognizing rights and responsibilities <br />o Recognizing efficacy and developing agency <br />o Accepting personal responsibility <br />Curriculum for programs targeting middle school age <br />learners (pre -teens / teens in 6th through 8th grades) <br />will involve youth in a variety of on -site opportunities <br />designed to bridge their earlier school -based experiences <br />with the Zoo's animal collection and science content with <br />real -world conservation actions. This could include an in- <br />depth animal behavior and wildlife observation course; <br />assisting USGS with head -starting mountain yellow legged <br />frogs; and investigating urban wildlife such as coyotes, <br />raccoons, and opossums. A lab -based program focusing <br />on different animals each session is another possibility. As <br />students graduate out of this series of programs, they will <br />be well-equipped to enterthe Zoo's existingteen volunteer <br />program, available for ages 14 and up in the areas of <br />education and animal care. <br />Individually and collectively, all of these touchpoints will <br />contribute to chi Id ren's lifelong learning in science, inspiring <br />curiosity about the world, fostering creative thinking and <br />problem solving, and encouraging collaborative learning. <br />19C-26 <br />