THE RED RIVER
FOOD SOURCE

Grade Level:
6^th-8^th

Standards Integration:
Minnesota:
Grades 4-5: Inquiry and Research: Media, Observation, and Investigation
B. Media sources, including selecting a topic and framing a question; accessing information from any or all of electronic media, print, interviews, and other sources, recording and organizing information, and reporting findings in written, oral, or visual presentation.
Grades 6-8: Inquiry and Research: Accessing Information
4. Gathering information from multiple sources.
5. Evaluating the relevance of the information.

North Dakota:
Grades K-4: Science: Life Science
4.4.3 Understand the relationships between organisms and environments.
4.4.4 Understand how changes in life forms have occurred over time.
Grades 5-8: Science: Life Sciences
8.4.5 Understand the cause and significance of diversity and adaptations of organisms.

Materials:
Flat board, magnet, long pole, string, paperclips, and cutout fish

Objectives:

Through study of the fish native to the Red River, the students will develop critical thinking and decision-making skills.

Background:
Material on the different fish in the Red River can be found on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website, as well as the United States Geological Survey website at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1998/norbasin/table3.htm. Examples of fish currently found in the Red River include lamprey, walleye, bullhead, common shiner, catfish, perch, bass, bluegill, muskellunge, sturgeon, and sauger.

Pre-Visit Activity:
Create a fishpond using a flat board and a fishing pole using a long pole, a string, and a magnet. Cut out different fish, mark them with names, and attach them to paperclips. Have the students “fish” from the Red River. Discuss whether or not people today fish in the Red River. Ask the students why people fish and how they use the fish they catch. Ask them to consider pollution (herbicides, pesticides, human waste) and whether or not certain cultures catch and eat fish from the Red River while others do not. Ask the students to do some research on the type of the fish they have caught, paying particular attention to whether or not the fish is edible, if it still can be found in the Red River, and other significant facts.

Post-Visit Activity:
Have the students share information about each fish with the class. Discuss whether fish are (or were) a significant food source for people in the area. Lead the students into a discussion about the river’s ecology to help them understand pollution and discuss ways in which it can be reversed or prevented. For more information on the river’s ecology, visit the United States Geological Surveys website or invite an ecologists (e.g., Riverkeepers) from your community into the class.