We have provided a collection of free resources that we hope you will find valuable. We encourage you to use them as you would like. Please keep in mind that they are copyrighted and that you may not charge anything to distribute them and that they must be distributed in their entirety.

The following documents are published in Portable Document Format (PDF) and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat, click here to download it for FREE.

Education

A Sampler of School Challenges (lessons)

The challenges below were created by teachers throughout New York State and demonstrate the kind of challenges that will allow you to make your classroom more student centered, collaborative and experiential.

Kindergarten - Cooperation Poster
Primary - Healthy Diet
Primary - English Language Arts - Storybook Character Museum
Primary - Real Life Problem - People and Jobs
Elementary - English Language Arts/Science - Animal Survival
Elementary - Real Life Problem - Black History Month
Middle School - Science - Whale Adaptation
Middle School - English Language Arts/Social Studies - Local History
Middle School - Social Studies - Native America
High School - Regents Earth Science - Topographic Maps
High School - Regents Biology/Earth Science - Organism Classification
High School - Mathematics - Regents Course II - Dimensions on the Coordinate Plane
High School - Mathematics - Demographic Study
High School - Music in our Lives - Theme and Variation
High School - Automotive Technology - Critical Information
High School - English/Social Studies Real Life Problem - Censorship and "Lord of the Flies"
Administrators - How Will Address School Concerns?

A Blueprint for a Challenge

This packet will show you how challenges are put together and will provide a template for creating challenges.

A Sample Paper Trail of a Challenge

A collection of all the "pieces" of a challenge. This packet will take students through all phases of the experiential cycle. Included is a sample challenge with all the accompanying pieces; self & peer assessment, product quality checklist, observation, debriefing and reflection tools.

A Sampler of Wilderness Challenges

The challenges below were created by Jack Drury and used in his wilderness recreation leadership classes at North Country Community College. They are appropriate for both indoor and outdoor use.

Personal Safety & Equipment Care
Anticipating, Preventing & Coping with Wilderness Emergencies
The Ideal Outdoor Leader
Leave No Trace
Decision Making Styles: Understanding Collaboration
Overnight Trip Planning
Trip Planning
Oh The Decisions We Make Activity
The "Big Five" Camping Equipment Items

Understanding Collaboration

This handout is used to demonstrate the different collaboration/decision making styles that make collaborative work so challenging. We also have a questionnaire that accompanies it available. Please contact us if you are interested in learning more about it.

NYS Learning Standard for Career Development & Occupational Studies -Standard 3a

This is a user-friendly version of what we consider to be the most important learning standard that New York State has. Contact us to learn how this can be used in your classroom.

The Leading EDGE Educator's Catalog

A print version of the workshops we offer for educators and Eduction By DesignTM practitioners

Cooperative Games/Initiative Games
Wilderdom Group Activities, Games, Exercises & Initiatives
Northern Arizona University - Student Project on Cooperative Games
Learning For Life – Challenge Initiative Games
The Freechild Project Guide to Cooperative Games for Social Change
Freedom Valley Girl Scout Council page of games

Rubrics

Rubistar
Teachers
The Landmark Project’s Rubric Builder

Web based “Challenge” like lessons:

WebQuest

Adirondacks:

Adirondack Curriculum Project
Adirondack Forest Preserve Program (AFPEP)
AFPEP Curriculum to date
Initial Research Report

Other

Leading EDGE 2004 Annual Report