P r e v i e w

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 1

Talk about these questions with your partner. Then write your answers.

• Which is the largest of the Great Lakes?

• Which is the smallest of the Great Lakes?

• How many U.S. states and Canadian provinces border the Great Lakes?

• Which country controls more of the Great Lakes: the United States or Canada?

• What is the approximate distance from the southern end of the St. Lawrence River to Duluth, Minnesota?

0 200 kilometers

0 200 miles

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection100

100

0 200 kilometers

0 200 miles

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection100

100

U N I T E D S T A T E SU N I T E D S T A T E S

St. L

awre

nce

R.

St. L

awre

nce

R.

0 200 kilometers

0 200 miles

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection100

100

N

S

EW

Lake Superior

L

ake

Mic

higa

n Lake H

uron

Lake Erie

Lake Ontario

NiagaraFalls

WellandCanal

Soo Locks

St. L

awre

nce

R.

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois Indiana

U N I T E D S T A T E S

C A N A D A

Ohio

Pennsylvania

New YorkMichigan

Ontario

Quebec

ChicagoCleveland

Toronto

Duluth

TCI5 370 GA_ISN_04-PRE-1.epsFirst Proof

The Great Lakes Region

P r e v i e w

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 2

Talk about these questions with your partner. Then write your answers.

• Which Great Lake is the deepest?

• Which Great Lake is the shallowest?

• Why does water flow from Lake Superior into the St. Lawrence River and out to the Atlantic?

• Which lake do you think people could pollute most quickly? Why?

St. Marys River

LocksWelland Canal

Niagara Falls

St. Lawrence River

Atlantic Ocean

St. Clair River Detroit River

Niagara River

LakeSuperior

LakeHuron

Lake Erie

LakeOntarioLake

Michigan

Locks

Elevation601 ft.

Depth1,333 ft.

Depth750 ft.

Depth210 ft.

Depth802 ft.

Total distance = 2,200 miles

Depth923 ft.

Elevation578 ft.

Elevation572 ft.

Elevation569 ft.

Elevation243 ft.

Profile of the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 3

G e o T e r m S

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Read Sections 1 and 2. Then create an illustrated dictionary of the Geoterms by completing these tasks:• Create a symbol or an illustration to represent each term.• Write a definition of each term in your own words. • Write a sentence that includes the term and the words Great Lakes.

Geoterm and Symbol Definition Sentence

ecosystem

food chain

food web

freshwater

watershed

The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 4© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

r e a d i n G n o T e S

Pollution in the Great Lakes EcosystemRead Section 4. Then follow the steps below.1. On the diagram, draw and label these things:

• two examples of point-source pollution • one example of non-point-source pollution • two ways that pollution is still a problem in the Great Lakes

2. List positive and negative information from your book and the matching station in the room.

Positive Signs Negative Signs

The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 5© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

r e a d i n G n o T e S

Invasive Species in the Great Lakes EcosystemRead Section 5. Then follow the steps below.1. On the diagram, draw and label these things:

• one way invasive species enter the Great Lakes • two examples of invasive species • two solutions to the invasive species problem

2. List positive and negative information from your book and the matching station in the room.

Positive Signs Negative Signs

The Great Lakes: The U.S. and Canada’s Freshwater Treasures 6© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

r e a d i n G n o T e S

Habitat Loss in the Great Lakes EcosystemRead Section 6. Then follow the steps below.1. On the diagram, draw and label these things:

• two ways habitat was lost • two ways habitat has been restored or protected

2. List positive and negative information from your book and the matching station in the room.

Positive Signs Negative Signs