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All components of the program are provided at no cost to participating schools. A bilingual Program Educator is provided to the school if necessary. All student pages, worksheets and parent communications are available in Spanish and English. Mission Statement
The mission of W.I.N.-W.I.N. is to foster an appreciation of wildlife and their habitats and the conservation of these natural resources through a variety of wildlife-related learning experiences. Components 1. In-Class Visits
During the school year, each class receives four to seven classroom lessons provided by a W.I.N.-W.I.N. Program Educator. | The content of each lesson correlates with Colorado Model Content standards requirements. These hands-on, inter-disciplinary lessons include science resources not always available to the classroom teacher. Many lessons taught by W.I.N.-W.I.N. include student interaction with live animals and plants. After each lesson, students reflect on the day's activities by writing or drawing in their W.I.N. - W.I.N. journals. | |  |
Program curriculum varies by grade level. Each grade level chooses the W.I.N.-W.I.N. unit which best supports the school curriculum. The program curriculum focuses on a specific theme taught throughout the year. Current themes and topics for W.I.N.-W.I.N. curriculum are: Unit Early Childhood
Education Theme: Sensing the Wonder of Nature
Lesson Topics: colors, shapes, numbers in nature and how animals use their five senses to survive.
Unit Kindergarten
Theme: Survival
Lesson Topics: Living and non-living, importance of senses, color, and habitat to plants and animals.
Unit One
Theme: What's Wild?
Lesson Topics: uses of plants, diversity of animals, wild and domesticated plants and animals, native and non-native wildlife, recycling, and animals and their young.
Unit Two
Theme: Variety and Change in the Natural World
Lesson Topics: animal locomotion, seed dispersal, animal and plant relationships, habitat, seasons, and people's effect on nature.
Unit Three
Theme: Life Cycles
Lesson Topics: plant and animal life cycles, pollination, vertebrates and invertebrates, food chains, and predators.
Unit Four
Theme: Relationships
Lesson Topics: plant and animal classification, adaptations, photosynthesis, and people's relationship to the environment.
Unit Five
Theme: Ecosystems of Colorado
Lesson Topics: eight ecosystems in Colorado: urban, semi-desert shrublands, grasslands, montane shrublands, montane and sub-alpine forests, alpine tundra, and wetlands.
2. Pre-Visit and Post-Visit Activities
A curriculum guide is provided by W.I.N.- W.I.N. to each classroom teacher participating in the program. These manuals contain pre- and post-visit activities to support the in-class lessons taught by the W.I.N.-W.I.N. Program Educators. All materials and supplies needed for these activities are provided upon request by the W.I.N.-W.I.N. program at no cost to the school. 3. Field Site Visits
W.I.N.-W.I.N. also provides each student with two field site visits.
| The site visits are designed to take students to various natural settings, state parks and museums in and around the front range. Field site curriculum supplements what students learn during the in-class lessons. Field site availability differs for each W.I.N. - W.I.N. unit. A list of field sites available to each W.I.N.-W.I.N. unit is given to schools (The italicized partner organizations listed below are W.I.N.-W.I.N. field sites.) | |  |
4. Family Day
A Family Day is organized by W.I.N.-W.I.N. once per year for each school participating in the program.
| Family Day is a chance for students to share their enthusiasm and knowledge learned in W.I.N. - W.I.N. with their families and to inform families of the opportunities to visit wildlife facilities. The program involves activities students have participated in during in-class lessons, and interaction with live animals. | |  |
5. Community Leadership Project
| The W.I.N.-W.I.N. Community Leadership Project (C.L.P.), is the newest component of W.I.N.-W.I.N. The C.L.P. encourages students to collaborate with community members on planning and implementing an environmental project that will directly impact the immediate neighborhoods of their schools. The projects are initiated by students and completed with the assistance of W.I.N. - W.I.N. staff, W.I.N. - W.I.N. partner organizations and community members. | |  |
W.I.N. - W.I.N. Awards W.I.N - W.I.N has been recognized by several organizations for excellence in service and programming. These organizations include: - National Association for Interpretation (1997)
- Interpretive Media Award in the category of Interpretive Program Curriculum (3rd place). The award specifically recognized Unit 2 of the W.I.N - W.I.N program.
- American Zoo and Aquarium Association (1998), Significiant Achievement Award in Education. This award recognized W.I.N. - W.I.N for overall program design and implementation.
- El Pomar Award for Excellence (2001), Henry McAllister Award for Special Projects (finalist). The award recognizes excellence in organizations that strive to conduct unique and appropriate work vital to a community and its citizens.
- Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (2001), Government Partnership Award. The award recognizes a government organization that has partnered with others to achieve an environmental education goal.
W.I.N.-W.I.N. Partner Organizations
Italics denote site-visit partners aMAIZEing Farm Events@Anderson Farms, Audubon Society of Greater Denver, Barr Lake State Park, Bear Creek Lake Park, Bluff Lake Nature Center, Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center, Cal-Wood Conservation Education Center, Castlewood Canyon State Park, Chatfield State Park, The Children's Museum, Clear Creek History Park, Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Foundation for Agriculture, The Colorado Mountain Club, Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado Wildlife Federation, Denver Botanic Gardens/Chatfield Nature Preserve, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Zoo, Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, Front Range Earth Force, Grounds for Learning, Keystone Science School, Littleton Historical Museum, Lookout Mountain Nature Center, Morrison Natural History Museum, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy of Colorado, Ocean Journey Aquarium, Plains Conservation Center, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Rocky Mountain National Park, Roxborough State Park, South Platte Park-Carson Nature Center, The Wildlife Experience,Tri-R Recycling, Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History For information on becoming a W.I.N. - W.I.N. partner site, please contact Matt Herbert, W.I.N. - W.I.N. Program Coordinator. For information on becoming a W.I.N. - W.I.N. partner site, please contact Matt Herbert, W.I.N. - W.I.N. Program Coordinator. W.I.N. - W.I.N. Partner Schools
Alicia Sanchez (Boulder Valley RE-2), Barrett (Denver County 1), Brown (Denver County 1), Colfax (Denver County 1), Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer (Boulder Valley RE-2), Escuela de Guadalupe (Denver County), Federal Heights (Northglenn-Thornton 12), Fort Logan (Sheridan 2), Foster (Jefferson County R-1), Greenlee/Metro Lab (Denver County 1), Holly Hills (Cherry Creek 5), Holly Ridge Primary (Cherry Creek 5), Johnson (Denver County 1), Katherine L. Gust (Denver County 1), Kemp (Adams County 14), Loyola Catholic Grade School (Denver County , Maddox (Englewood 1), Marrama (Denver County 1), Meadow Point (Cherry Creek 5), Monaco (Adams County 14), Park Lane (Adams-Arapahoe 28J), Saint Francis de Sales (Denver County), Saint Rose of Lima (Denver County), Schenck (Denver County 1), South Street (Douglas County RE-1). |
