CAEP Teacher Resources

The following resources are designed to assist teachers with aquatic education concepts related to the Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP), such as fish life cycles, watershed science, climate change and human impacts. 

For information on how CAEP correlates with specific education standards, view the following reference document:

• CAEP Correlations to NGSS

Student Webinars

• CDFW Student Webinar Series: Go with the Flow: Explore Salmonids and Watershed Science
• 2025 Student Webinar Series in partnership with CA State Parks: Watersheds & Wildlife Across California
  • Program 1: The Sierra Foothills (Video)
  • Program 2: The High Desert (Video)
  • Program 3: The North Coast Rivers (Video)
  • Program 4: The San Joaquin Valley (Video)
• Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) Program from California State Parks
  • Salmon and Sediment: Fueling the Redwood Forest (Zoom Registration Link) 

Videos

• General Aquatic Education Informational Videos
  • Ask a Biologist (CAEP) (Video)
  • Examining Our Ecosystems: Learn about Trout Habitat (CAEP) (Video)
  • More About Fish: Salmonids in the Wild and in the Classroom (CAEP) (Video)
  • Think Tank Time! A Fun Series about Hatching Trout Eggs (CAEP) (Video)
  • Steelhead in the Classroom Season 1: Week by Week Curriculum (CAEP) (Video)
• Fish and Water Health Videos
  • Something's Fishy at the River (Video)
  • In Our Hands: Salmon and Steelhead On the American River (Video)
  • California's Central Valley Chinook Salmon (Video)

Featured Publications

Return to the Red - Board Game (PDF)

Life Stages of the Rainbow Trout Poster (PDF)

Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Coloring Book (PDF) Published by USFWS

Curriculum Guides

The Salmon Source - A Classroom Aquarium Education Curriculum Manual (PDF)

• Lower Elementary
  • Salmon and Trout Go to Preschool and Kindergarten -- A Thematic Unit (PDF)
  • Salmon and Trout Go to First Grade -- A Thematic Unit (PDF)
  • Salmon and Trout Go to Second Grade -- A Thematic Unit (PDF)
• Project WILD
  • Macroinvertebrate Mania (PDF)
  • Classroom Aquarium Education Program (CAEP) and Project WILD correlation of activities

Tank Set-Up and Care

• Tank Cleaning Instructions (PDF)
• Basic Tank Setup Instructions for Teachers (Videos)
• Setting up your tank with an airlift system (Video)
• Setting up your tank with the outside power filter (Video)
• Setting up your tank with the power head system (Video)

Field Trip Guide

• Fry Release and Field Trip Guide (PDF)

Worksheets, Coloring Books and Handouts

• Fish Anatomy
  • External Anatomy in Color (PDF)
  • Internal Anatomy in Color (PDF)
  • Internal Trout Anatomy Handout, with labels (PDF)
  • Internal Trout Anatomy Handout, without labels (PDF)
• Data Collection Tools
  • When Will They Hatch? worksheet (PDF)
  • Final Trout Journal and Release Data (PDF)
• Coloring Pages
  • Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Coloring Book (PDF)
    • Published by USFWS
  • Life Cycle of a Trout Coloring Book (PDF)
• Activities
  • Return to the Red - Board Game (PDF)
  • Trout Hats (PDF)

Posters

• Life Stages of the Rainbow Trout Poster (PDF)
• Don't Let It Loose - What To Do With Pets When You Can No Longer Care For Them (PDF)
• A Trout's Anatomy (PDF)
  • Órganos Internos de la Trucha (PDF - Español)
• A Trout's Habitat (PDF)
  • El Hábitat de la Trucha (PDF - Español)
• A Trout's Diet (PDF)
  • La Dieta de una Trucha (PDF - Español)