Objectives
- Students will conduct online research and answer questions to build
an awareness of important water quality issues and discuss the effects
of groundwater contamination. Teacher questions will encourage students
to engage in analyses such as: compare and contrast, pro and con, cause
and effect during the research process.
- Students will describe habitat characteristics of riparian areas
and wetlands and state the importance of these areas to wildlife and
humans.
- Students will complete a graphic organizer showing the importance
of water quality in everyone's lives.
- Students will identify a local water quality issue, explore a broad
range of perspectives, and make predictions for the future.
- Students will identify a service learning project and work as partners
with others to develop a community-based solution.
Activity Summary
- Students will work with a partner to complete online research as
part of a scavenger hunt activity.
Ask students to think of at least two additional research questions.
Students can number a paper or word processing document from 1 to 10
and record answers to the questions.
- Students will draw a concept
map to showing the importance of water quality in everyone's lives.
Students may use Inspiration
software to design their concept maps.
- After completing the research activity, students will write an investigative
article summarizing the key points using the draft, revise, edit, and
publish process. A sample evaluation
rubric is provided. Ask students to contribute to the assessment
rubric by determining criteria for a rating of "compelling, gets the
readers attention".
Tips For Teachers
For some students, the number of research
questions may be too challenging. You might consider asking some students
to research pre-selected questions or the even numbered questions.
Graphic
Organizer Examples
Encourage students to contact a local department of natural resources
office, EPA, or state geological bureau with additional questions about
water quality in your community.
The University of Wisconsin Give
Water a Hand project describes steps to focus on during a local environmental
service project.
Download it for
free.
Students should be encouraged to use a database program to store and
to retrieve information. This will provide a concrete context for discussing
relationships, hypotheses, and conclusions.
Extension Activities
The
Global Water Sampling Project
Students gather and share data to compare the water quality of a local
river, stream, lake or pond with other fresh water sources around the
world. Projects run in the fall and spring each year. This project is
sponsored by the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education
(CIESE) located at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The Watershed
Atlas Project
The Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University sponsors
a ten-week interdisciplinary project for students to identify and define
the boundaries of their watershed and create and implement an action plan
for a local watershed improvement project.
EPA
- World in Our Backyard
Fabulous experiments on wetlands and water quality issues to help students
understand the effects of pollutants on lakes, rivers, and streams. (PDF
format is used to provide instructions for each activity.)
Ask G.W. Gecko
Students can ask groundwater question and email GW@groundwater.org
or write to:
Ask G.W.
c/o The Groundwater Foundation
P.O. Box 22558
Lincoln, NE 68542-2558, USA
Exploring
the Environment: Water Quality - Bear Creek Watershed
This 4-star simulation developed at the NASA Classroom of the Future™,
Wheeling Jesuit University, features problem-based learning (PBL) and
provides students with tools to investigate aspects of a controversial,
authentic water quality problem. Situation:
"The
fish in a section of Bear Creek have been dying. Your company has
been hired to figure out what is causing the fish deaths, where the
pollutant is coming from, and how to restore the stream habitat."
Teacher Resources
Water Quality
Data in Iowa
Games and Water
Facts
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water provides word finds,
water trivia, water Q&A, water facts, drawings of the water cycle.
Water Experiments-Safe
Drinking Water
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Ground Water & Drinking
Water provides water experiments, hands-on investigations, fact sheets,
reference materials, and a glossary of terms.
Kids
in the Creek Curriculum
Resources and curriculum ideas provided by the Bonneville Power Administration
for teachers and students.
Know Your Watershed
Purdue University's Conservation Technology Information Center provides
information about what it means to live in a watershed: the science of
watersheds, how to help put together watershed plans
Project WET (Water Education for
Teachers)
Promotes awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water
resources through the development and dissemination of classroom-ready
teaching aids and through the establishment of state and internationally
sponsored Project WET programs.
Project WET Resources
Iowa Project WET
Resources
Iowa Project WET is hosted by the Iowa Academy of Science at the University
of Northern Iowa includes Your
Water Questions Answered
Give Water a Hand
University of Wisconsin sponsors a national watershed education program
designed to involve young people in local environmental service projects
focusing on controlling water pollution.
EPA
- Wetlands Reading List
Annotated reading list for primary, elementary, intermediate, and secondary
Water Science for
Schools
U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) provides pictures, data, maps, and an
interactive center where students can give opinions and test their water
knowledge.
Magnificent
Groundwater Connection
The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission has compiled
water-related curriculum activities such as the water cycle, water distribution,
treatment and stewardship.
Nitrate
Nitrogen: Iowa's Unintended Export
Protecting
the Source of Your Drinking Water
Iowa Geological Survey Bureau provides this article from Iowa Geology
1998, Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Water Quality
and Agriculture
The Iowa Geological Survey Bureau provides a list that evaluates nonpoint
source pollution and the movement of nitrate and pesticides through various
geologic materials.
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Teacher's Overview
