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Lakeland Elementary's Learning Journey with Salmon

Lakeland Elementary's Learning Journey with Salmon

Exploring Salmon's Cultural Significance: Lakeland Elementary's Journey with “Storming the Sound with Salmon”

Lakeland Elementary School fourth graders during a Storming the Sound with Salmon unit. April, 2025

Lakeland Elementary fourth graders are diving into "Storming the Sound with Salmon" lessons! They're exploring the cultural significance of salmon to the Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and other Coast Salish peoples through storytelling, language, art, and history. 

During this multi-day journey, students learn about what salmon need to thrive and how we can protect them. Plus, they learn about the Lushootseed language, drawing connections through art, movement, and stories. 

Teacher Nicole Heldt shared, "It's crucial for students to see that Native American culture is alive and vibrant, and many in our school community are part of it."

These series of lessons began in December when the school, as all the other schools in our district, began growing their own group of Coho salmon.

Annual Tradition: Storming the Sound with Salmon at FWPS

Every December, schools across the district, and our own Educational Service Center (ESC) for the first time this year, receive a special Coho salmon-egg delivery from the City of Federal Way. Each school is equipped with a fish tank that offers optimal conditions for the salmon to hatch and grow into inch-long fry (young salmon). Around late April, at the lesson’s culminating event, third through fifth grade students release these fries into the West Hylebos Wetland.

Throughout this months-long program, students engage in various learning experiences like those at Lakeland Elementary.

They explore the salmon life cycle, observe their daily growth, develop data collection skills and learn about interrelationships in ecosystems, environmental stewardship, and the economic and cultural significance to our region.

This program is offered to FWPS scholars in partnership with the City of Federal Way.

Introducing New Enhanced Curriculum:

Our Storming the Sound with Salmon program continues to expand each year, incorporating innovative curricula and perspectives while deepening the connection to local cultural wisdom.

In the Storming the Sound with Salmon unit, fourth-grade students across the district are learning about sčədadx (salmon) through both scientific and Indigenous perspectives. This innovative curriculum weaves together environmental science, tribal sovereignty, and Lushootseed language learning into one powerful educational experience.

Guided by the John McCoy (lulilaš) Since Time Immemorial legislation, our curriculum meaningfully incorporates tribal perspectives and Lushootseed language teachings. Students explore the deep connections between salmon life cycles, stormwater protection, and Pacific Northwest tribal knowledge, creating a rich tapestry of cultural and environmental understanding.

Through this multidisciplinary approach we are building cultural bridges. Students engage with Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Native Education while developing a profound appreciation for our region's ecological and cultural heritage. The embedded Lushootseed language lessons bring authentic Indigenous perspectives to life in our classrooms.

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