Themed around the state’s diverse flora and fauna, Wild Washington lessons are designed to equip K-12 students with the knowledge, social, and emotional skills needed to think critically, and problem solve around natural resource issues. Activities encourage students to explore various points of view and collaborate with others to find ways to move forward on real-world challenges.
The Department is working with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to ensure lesson plans best meet state and national environmental and sustainability learning standards. Lessons are developed for educators to use in the classroom or in an outdoor learning setting, and also have modifications embedded for distance learning.
- Elementary school (K-5th grade): Kindergarten - 5th grade lessons introduce learners to relevant ecological and wildlife-based issues throughout the state. The interactive activities and lesson plans aim to increase problem-solving and critical thinking skills in a variety of disciplines. Lesson vocabulary words and several supplemental materials are available in Spanish.
- Middle school (6th-8th grade): Middle school lessons build on concepts from K-5 lessons and introduce students to careers involving natural sciences. Decision making and collaboration are key social themes as students prepare themselves for high school.
- High school (9th-12th grade): High school lessons focus on teaching students knowledge and skills that can be applied to careers in the natural sciences. Students will focus on sustainability in fish and wildlife, and apply skills in civics to solve problems facing the natural resource industry and balance community interests.
- Family learning (All ages): In addition to formal lesson plans, the Department has a variety of family-friendly activities for people to do together at home or their local green space.
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Wild Washington Lessons
Photo by National Park Service Bat, What Can We Do?
High school students are introduced to the many ecosystem services bats provide and are presented with challenges bats face regionally and globally. In this lesson, students will explore anthropogenic impacts to bats and will be asked to create their own solution for bat population declines in their community.
Photo by Megan Shchepetov Beavers, Nature's Engineers
Elementary school students swim into the semi-aquatic world of North America’s largest rodent and study how and why beavers build dams and the impacts beaver dams have on surrounding ecosystems. Students attempt to build their own beaver dam or lodge and evaluate why beaver dams don’t always work.
Photo by David Woodall Diversity of Climate Change
High school students explore how natural resource managers adapt their work to reduce species loss and plan for changing seasons, habitats, and phenological patterns.
Photo by WDFW Endangered Species of Washington
Middle school students enter the world of conservation biology as they learn about what endangered status for a species means. Students watch videos to learn about what species in Washington are considered at risk of extinction and how diverse stakeholders work together to recover species.
Photo by WDFW Estuary Webs
Students explore estuary ecosystems and the relationship between organisms and the exchange of matter in the environment.
Photo by WDFW Fisheries for the Future
Elementary school students analyze where seafood comes from, and then learn about the concept of sustainable fisheries. The lesson culminates with a research project where they discover how one of Washington’s fisheries are managed.
Photo by Teal Waterstrat - USFWS Pacific Region Herps in Washington
Elementary schools students are introduced to the cold-blooded world of reptiles and amphibians, also known as herps. Students classify reptiles and amphibians using a graphic organizer and define what it means for a species to be a reptile or an amphibian.
Photo by WSDOT Making Space for Wildlife
High school students discover the world of conservation biology and learn how people build corridors for wildlife to connect species to fragmented areas of habitat.
Photo by WDFW Monitoring Forest Health
High school students investigate different disturbances of Pacific Northwest forests and explore differences between natural and human-caused disturbance. They learn how dry, ponderosa pine forests have evolved with wildfire and the suppression of this natural disturbance has made forests more susceptible to larger, more intense fires.
Photo by Wayne Miller Protecting Cats and Wildlife
Middle school students learn various viewpoints of cat and wildlife advocates, find compromise, and create practical solutions.
Photo by Peter Pearsall - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Pacific Region Protecting Pollinators
Middle school students explore the exciting world of Washington's pollinators and learn why pollinators are important to our environments and economies.
Photo by Sean Zenishek Redband Trout and You
Young elementary school students learn about a unique interior subspecies of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri). Students explore food webs connected to redband trout and predict what might happen if species from the web were removed.-
Photo by Sean Zenishek Redband Trout and You
Elementary school students learn about a unique interior subspecies of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri). Students explore food webs connected to redband trout and predict what might happen if species from the web were removed. 
Photo by WDFW Saving the Shrubsteppe
Elementary school students explore the increasingly at-risk shrubsteppe ecosystem and learn about the various wildlife and plants that call the shrubsteppe home.
Photo by WDFW State of Salmon
This learning sequence is anchored in the phenomena: Salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest are declining. Students will explore salmonid life cycles and discover patterns among life cycles of plants and animals who interact with salmon. Students will then learn what makes healthy habitats for salmon.
Photo by WDFW Trafficking Wildlife
Middle school students explore the multi-billion dollar, illegal industry of wildlife trafficking. Students also investigate how poaching and trafficking are harmful to communities, economies, and ecosystems in an interactive discussion.
Photo by WDFW What Specialized Teeth You Have
Elementary school students discover Washington’s diverse carnivore population and explore adaptations that help carnivores find food, mate, have babies, and survive in their habitats.
Photo by WDFW Wildlife and Wildfires
Middle schools students analyze the positive and negative aspects of wildfires in Washington and learn about historical fire regimes and how Washington ecosystems and wildlife have evolved with fire over thousands of years.