Kindergarten to Grade 3 Educational Resources
Living things and life cycles, adaptions and water are some of the big concepts for K-Grade 3 science education. We encourage you to use these sturgeon resources to bring a local example to your classroom.
Most of the resources and all the activities provided here are geared towards younger learners. We always appreciate feedback and ideas on how to improve on and add to our resource library. Please email us with your comments and ideas.
Click on the resource link buttons, or on the image below each section to get to the resource.
For the Classroom
Classroom Calendar 2023-2024 K - Gr 3
- This calendar keeps your class engaged throughout the school year. Please bookmark the Classroom Calendar and refer back to it regularly to links to activities, resources, websites and videos to support learning.
- If you want to show how big the Nechako Watershed is, or need help in pointing out different communities in the region, use this map on your Smartboard. It shows where Nechako white sturgeon live in the watershed.
- Great graphic timeline takes your class from the age of the dinosaurs to today, linking sturgeon evolution and life cycle to major events through time in our region.
- Maybe more for you the educator, this handy Nature Guide to the Nechako Valley is a great resource to take with you on field trips, or to have on hand in the class. It covers all the different habitats in the Nechako Valley, from forests to agricultural lands and wetlands, and talks about some of the species you'll find in each habitat. This resource is also available as a hardcopy for you. Please reach out to your school principal to get a copy, or email us! Shown below.
Videos
The NWSRI has a growing library of videos about sturgeon, including our own YouTube Channel! Please Subscribe to our Youtube Channel to stay connected when we publish new videos.
Every Sturgeon Counts
Every Sturgeon Counts focuses on First Nations and sturgeon, the Boat Kit Program, conservation and habitat of sturgeon. Download the video resource sheet to help you navigate the content of the video. We encourage educators to view the video before showing to young learners to ensure the content is at a level suited for you students.
- Every Sturgeon Counts: Video Link Resource Sheet
Sturgeon Series
This video series has content that would support educators of young learners to understand Nechako White Sturgeon better. The content of these videos was geared more for older student, and may be too advanced for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. We encourage educators to watch the videos to learn about sturgeon and find the ares that their students would benefit from.
Video 1 Conservation Centre Overview - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 2 Spawning, Life Cycle, and Sturgeon Release - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 3 Watershed, History and Human Impacts on Sturgeon - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 4 Predation-What is eating sturgeon? - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 5 Changes in the Watershed - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 6 Recovery of the Nechako White Sturgeon Population - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 7 Monitoring Programs - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 8 Nechako White Sturgeon in the Winter - Video Link Resource Sheet K-3
Video 9 Life Cycle (animated) - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 10 Sturgeon Hatchery (animated) - NEW 2023 - Resource Sheet K-3
Video 11 The Nechako Watershed (animated) - NEW 2024
Activities - Life Cycle
The sturgeon life cycle is different compared to pacific salmon, like Chinook and sockeye salmon that spawn in the Nechako River. Below are some resources that get students thinking about the sturgeon life cycle.
- For your Smartboard, this slideshow has lots of detail of the sturgeon life cycle. Use this to pick key aspects of the sturgeon life cycle for young learners.
- MAZE: A printable fun game for learners to get from egg to adult! Also shown below.
Sturgeon Life Cycle Cut Out Printable or download for Smartboard
- CUT OUT: Have fun getting kids cutting and pasting life cycle stages. Also shown below.
- DRAW the CYCLE: To reenforce the life cycle, have students draw images at each stage. Also shown below.
Venn Diagram for Salmon and Sturgeon Life Cycles
- SALMON and STURGEON: Compare the two different life cycles in this Venn diagram. Teacher notes included!
Activities - Survival, Food and Animal Interactions
Sturgeon need to eat to survive like all other animals. Because sturgeon go through such extraordinary change from larvae to adult, their food is different too at each life stage. These resources reinforce the life cycle stages while introducing how sturgeon interact with other species to survive.
- This fun game helps students identify different types of food for sturgeon, but also gets them counting and tallying! Also shown below.
- We've provided the template for endless variations of cards to get your classroom playing sturgeon food Bingo. Comes with named and unnamed food sources for different aged learners. Also shown below.
Who Doesn't Belong also for Smartboard
- Combining life cycle and animals that are common food for sturgeon, this is a simple activity for young learners. Also shown below.
Habitat Details also for Smartboard
- This activity has students thinking about who eats sturgeon and where sturgeon can hide from predators in their habitat at the different life stages. This activity adds another layer to how living creates interact with their environment. There are teacher notes with this activity, and for more details, view the Slideshow on Life Cycle.
Other Fun Activities
- Fun for practicing counting and coordination, use this sturgeon Dot-to-Dot anytime! Shown below.
- For older students, find key sturgeon related words in this word search. Shown below.
Outside and Field Trips
Field Kit (for loan)
We have a Field Kit available on loan to teachers in SD91. This kit is great for in-classroom as well as outdoor classroom lessons on sturgeon biology and life history, stream health, and aquatic invertebrates. Appropriate for all grade levels. Click here to see the list of items in the kit.
Hatchery Tour
Feel free to stop by the Nechako White Sturgeon Conservation Centre or book at tour, to more about sturgeon biology, the hatchery and the watershed by circulating through the outdoor information signs.
Interpretive Signs
The NWSRI has a collection of interpretive signs throughout the watershed, in different locations on Fraser Lake, Stuart Lake and the Nechako River. View these interpretive signs to help you plan your next field trip.