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LessonSummary WatershedWisdom

Funding and support for the Watershed Wisdom Lesson provided by

WATERSHED WISDOM

LESSON SUMMARY

As is the case with many states, North Carolina has suffered its share of flooding, and its citizens have coped with fairly significant periods of drought and toxic spills. With environmental issues such as extreme weather events on the rise, everyone—and especially students—should understand that water is a natural resource that needs to be valued and protected.

This resource was developed in partnership with North Carolina Sea Grant, Project Wet, the North Carolina Watershed Stewardship Network, and the North Carolina Water Resources Institute.

Designed for alignment to North Carolina 4th-and 5th-grade science standards but appropriate for all students regardless of age and location, Watershed Wisdom is a blended lesson that combines interactive components with hands-on projects. With enough content to fill 2 full weeks of class time, the lesson begins with a host of Engage activities to introduce students to the topic, including River Avengers, a short animation featuring 4 youngsters who pose an inquiry to the class: What ideas do students have to keep the river near their school safe and clean?

The rest of the lesson helps students gain the knowledge they will need to solve that inquiry, through creative design-thinking tasks, group events, an interactive map activity provided by the EPA’s EnviroAtlas website, and other rich content that serves not only to educate students about water, but to inspire them to take action to protect this valuable resource.

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Paula Edelson

https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu

https://www.projectwet.org

http://ncwatershednetwork.org

http://ncwatershednetwork.org

https://wrri.ncsu.edu

https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/f2df1341-e8dc-4b7b-9634-603798e28ef0/river-avengers/

https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas


LessonSummary WatershedWisdom

Funding and support for the Watershed Wisdom esson provided by

Watershed Wisdom includes two activities and accompanying resources from Project WET, an international network of water educators with headquarters in Bozeman, MT. Project WET offers workshops for educators, publications to teach students about a variety of water-based topics, and advocacy for water education worldwide. To access and download (for free) these exclusive Project WET activities, follow the provided links. Once you gain access, click on “Conserve Water” or “Healthy Natural Environments” to find the specific activities included in this unit.

UNC-TV is proud to include Ways of Watersheds, an interactive component that itself features an animated glossary, three short animations (on the water cycle, introduction to watersheds, and watershed management), and interactive quizzes and projects, as part of the Watershed Wisdom blended lesson. You can access this component here, or by clicking on the link in the Explain portion of the 5E lesson that begins on the next page. Ways of Watersheds presents some key information that will help students form solutions to the inquiry problem. The blended lesson ends with a suggested Evaluate assignment that will turn students into temporary teachers who share the information they have learned about valuing and protecting water with younger classes, and with an Extend activity presenting examples of young activism and opportunities for further engagement.

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https://www.projectwet.org

https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/defeb65f-eec8-4f2d-abc4-b3cb26b7a984/ways-of-watersheds/#.XefcTS2ZON8




5ELessonPlan WATERSHEDWISDOM


WATERSHED WISDOM

5E LESSON PLAN

For full standards click here

Science Standards Alignment

North Carolina Essential Standards 4.L.1 Understand the effects of environmental changes, adaptations and behavior that enableanimals (including humans) to survive in changing habitats.

4.L.1.3 Explain how humans can adapt their behavior to live in changing habitats (e.g. recyclingwastes, establishing rain gardens, planting trees and shrubs to prevent flooding and erosion).

5.P.2 Understand the interactions of matter and energy and the changes that occur

5.P.2.1 Explain how the sun’s energy impacts the processes of the water cycle (including,evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff).

Next Generation Science Standards

5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas toprotect the Earth’s resources and environment.

DCI ESS3.C: Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individual and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments

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Lesson Outcomes

After completing this lesson and the accompanying interactive lesson Ways of Watersheds, students will be able to

• Define watersheds• List the four phases of the water cycle• Explain how the water cycle is powered• Describe the threats watersheds and water face• Describe the actions people can take to protect and promote watershed health.

Opportunities for integrating technology are noted throughout the lesson. The entire lesson will take 5 to 10 class periods to complete.

For a teacher’s viewpoint on why teaching elementary school children about the value of water and watersheds is important, click here.

ENGAGE

Students will complete the following three ENGAGE activities:

1 WATER REPORTERS 10-minute intro, take-home assignment

• Provide students with the Water Reporters Student Handout and invite them to become “waterreporters.” Ask students to interview a family member or friend about a favorite water-relatedmemory, and to reflect about their own relationship(s) with water.

• Optional opportunity for tech integration: Students can use a program like Flipgrid to videotapetheir interview with a family member or friend and share their videos with the class.

2 WADDED WATERSHED 15-30 minutes

• Using the Wadded Watershed Teacher Handout, have students work alone or in groups tocreate model watersheds and observe the movement of surface water across “land.”

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https://youtu.be/tEfZFTm-OsQ




3 RIVER AVENGERS 12-15 minutes

• Show students the animated, 3-minute video River Avengers about a group of friendsinvestigating the effects of storm-water runoff on their playground. Let the students know thatthey will revisit the problem posed in this video later in the lesson.

• Ask students what they think might be causing the problems posed in the animation and whatsome possible solutions might be; remind them that they will return to this question later in thelesson.

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https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/f2df1341-e8dc-4b7b-9634-603798e28ef0/river-avengers/



EXPLORE

Students will complete the following six EXPLORE activities:

1 HUNT FOR H20 BINGO! Lab activity, 45 minutes

• Attach the provided Bingo Card Student Handout to string or twine so that students can wearthem as necklaces (to prevent bingo card litter on the playground!). Provide each student with abingo card necklace and pencil, and ask them to cross off each water-related item when they find iton their playground.

• Accompany children outside and, as a class or small group, go on a “walk-about” around schoolgrounds, searching for each item on their bingo cards. At the end of the activity, return to theclassroom and talk through students’ findings. If it has not rained recently, ask students wherethey’ve noticed water on their playground after previous rainstorms (i.e. Where does rainwatercollect? Where have you noticed a little bit of water? A lot of water? Pause and reflect).

• Optional: During your outdoor investigation, ask students to pay attention to “downhill” areas ontheir playground, where water might flow or collect. These topographical observations willconnect to the Beneath the Surface activity below, in which students consider the best placementof a rain garden on their school group

2 HEALTHY NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS Optional outdoor activity, 30-60 minutes

• Use the Project Wet website, and follow the process below, to access instructions and handouts.The Healthy Natural Environments activity is an interactive simulation of surface runoff, designedfor teachers and students to participate in together.

Step 1 Click Project Wet Link Step 2 Complete form with your name/email/type of educator you are Step 3 Click: Healthy Natural Environments

• Video Extras: You can view the Healthy Natural Environment activities performedin sunny, rainy, and post-storm conditions.

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: https://www.projectwet.org/cleanandconserve/download-form


https://youtu.be/DyXNQJiPRWc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1ojtVs0O4E

https://youtu.be/CsaIhbqQ3s4



3 DISCOVER STATE PARKS 30-60 minutes

• Using the Discover State Parks Teacher Handout as a guide, have students divide into groupsand use Clue Cards to investigate, map, and make a mural of their state parks, as well as theunique water features within them. (Answers to the Clue Cards are here)

4 BENEATH THE SURFACE 30-60 minutes

• Using the Beneath the Surface Teacher Handout, invite students to explore the movement ofwater across pervious and impervious surfaces and consider the function of soil in a watershed.They will discover the purposes of rain gardens, study examples from North Carolina, and plot outthe ideal location of a rain garden on their school grounds using their understandings oftopography and surface-water runoff.

5 DROP IN THE BUCKET 20 minutes

• Use the Project Wet website, and follow the process below, to access instructions and handouts.The Conserve Water activity gives teachers and students an opportunity to estimate and calculatethe percentage of fresh available water on earth.

Step 1 Click Project Wet Link Step 2 Complete form with your name/email/type of educator you are Step 3 Click: Conserve Water

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EXPLORE MORE

An additional activity for students, provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EnviroAtlas.

6 EPA ACTIVITY: MAP THIS! 45-60 minutes

• Use the EPA’s EnviroAtlas website to create with students interactive maps of their watershed.Students will create 4 maps using the instructions provided in the EPA “Mapping withEnviroAtlas” student instruction worksheet.

• Using created maps, guide students through the EPA “Mapping with EnviroAtlas” classroomactivity worksheet. Note: This worksheet references another EPA activity in which students makewax paper watersheds; you can instead remind students of their wadded paper watersheds forsimilar scaffolding. In addition, please note that the final two pages contain the answer key.

• For EPA worksheets that are written in Spanish, please visit this link.

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https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documents/watershed_mapping_student_instru_page.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documents/watershed_mapping_w_instr_eng.pdf

https://espanol.epa.gov/espanol/materiales-educativos-sobre-el-modulo-enviroatlas

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-12/documents/watershed_waxpaper_w_instr_eng.pdf



EXPLAIN

Students will complete the following three EXPLAIN activities:

1 DIGITAL INTERACTIVE LESSON 1-2 class periods, or homework assignments

Allow one or more class periods for students to complete the Ways of Watersheds Interactive Lesson, which includes the following all-online components:

• Animated glossaries that define and illustrate terms that are important to the interactive lesson

• Three short animations entitled, respectively

1) The Water Cycle2) Water Cycle and Watersheds3) Managing Your Watershed

• Formative quizzes that follow each of the three animations

• A final review that can serve as a summative assignment for the Ways of Watersheds InteractiveLesson.

For details on how to use the Ways of Watershed Interactive Lesson, download the Teaching Tips from the lesson’s home page.

2 CLASS DISCUSSION: REVISIT RIVER AVENGERS 15 minutes

• Ask students to revisit the problem posed in the opening animation and discuss how runoff (aswell as flooding and erosion) increases danger to watershed ecosystems. Using the informationthat they learned in the interactive PBS learning media animations, how are their understandingsof the problem different than when they first viewed the animation?

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https://d43fweuh3sg51.cloudfront.net/media/media_files/e873ef90-203d-42ad-8801-dde82f585783/23a860d3-a439-40b5-8fc1-697087d27541.pdf


Funding and support for the Watershed Wisdom Lesson provided by 8

3 DESIGN THIS! 30 minutes

• Guide students in brainstorming solutions for how to fix climate-change related dangers towatershed ecosystems and drinking water, using interactive lessons as inspiration. Have themrecord their thinking on the Design This! Student Handout.

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EVALUATE

• Ask students to create visual and/or written calls-to-action—posters, letters, picket signs, drawingswith captions—that demonstrate their understanding of the water- and climate-related problemsaddressed throughout this lesson. How can they promote the solutions that they brainstormed ontheir Design This! worksheets? Invite them to pick the solution that they feel most passionateabout and communicate that solution through words and images.

• Instructional Note: Sometimes students dream up creative water solutions that are grounded infantasy—fire-breathing dragons, etc.—but these calls to action should be as realistic as possible. Ifa student has an idea that is fictional, guide them to its central objective (maybe that fire-breathingdragon is drying up floods) and encourage them to think about other solutions that could beimplemented right away (what can people do to prevent or solve flooding?)

• Optional school-community connection: Invite students to become “Watershed Mentors” andshare their calls to action with younger students in their school, or with the school community atlarge through assembly presentations, bulletin board displays, etc.

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EXTEND

Students can complete the following EXTEND activity:

YOUNG ACTIVISTS

• Using the Young Activists Teacher Handout, invite students to read (or read aloud to them) theTributary Tribune News article Student Handout, and then have them complete the YoungJournalists Student Handout. The third question on the worksheet asks students to build on thejournalism skills that they fostered in the Water Reporters Engage activity, and create questionsfor a hypothetical interview with a young water activist.

• Optional technology integration/research extension (30 minutes): Invite students to conductfurther research on youth water activists in preparation for their interview. They may choose tocraft questions for a child or adolescent who is not named in the provided news article.

• For further development of research skills, students could attempt to answer their interviewquestions using information that they find about youth activists on the internet, sharing theircompleted Q&A’s with the class.

Assign any or all of the following UNC-TV Sci NC segments for students to watch. Each video has accompanying discussion questions for students to answer.

We All Live Downstream

Catching the Rain

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https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/7c0aba2d-20ec-4ee9-8852-62ef689a9462/we-all-live-downstream/

https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/5e5bea1c-2c75-475f-918d-4f036150cc39/catching-the-rain/

STUDENTHANDOUT WatershedWisdom


ENGAGE Water Reporters

Calling All Water Reporters! Water plays a huge role in our daily routines. So big, in fact, that sometimes we forget how important it is. Fact is, most people who use and drink water all the time rarely stop to appreciate it. But if you asked around, you’d probably find out that water is a part of everyone’s life, and that many people have stories, and memories, about water.

So maybe you should ask around, and report on water. Using the questions below, interview a family member, friend, or important adult in your life. Record their answers—using words or drawings—in the spaces below.

Helpful Hint: Remember the “5 W’s” of journalism. Reporters ask “W” questions like “Who?” “What?” “When?” “Where?” and “Why?” to understand other people’s stories.

Ask a grown-up this question:

Tell me about a time when you enjoyed or appreciated water (ex: swimming, fishing, washing the family car).

And then follow up with some or all of these questions: you can use the next page to record your notes, in words or in drawings.

1. Where were you?2. What were you doing?3. What did you hear, see, and/or say?4. What did the water look and/or feel like?5. What did you notice about the land?

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STUDENTHANDOUT WatershedWisdom


TELL ME ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU APPRECIATED WATER.

1. WHERE WERE YOU?

2. WHAT WERE YOU DOING?

3. WHAT DID YOU HEAR, SEE, AND/OR SAY?

4. WHAT DID THE WATER LOOK AND FEEL LIKE?

5. WHAT DID YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE LAND?

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TEACHERHANDOUT WATERSHEDWISDOM


ENGAGE WADDED WATERSHED

Summary In this activity, students will use crumpled paper and markers to create model watersheds and track the flow of surface water across “land.”

Learning Objectives

After completing this activity, students will be able to:

- Define and describe watersheds- Define surface water/runoff- Describe where runoff goes- Define water pollution and identify and where it come from- Describe the ways in which geography/topography influence the flow of water across land

Materials Needed

- One or more spray bottles with a MIST setting, filled with water.- One piece of wax paper per student/group of students. Or blank paper (8.5x11’’) if water is not

used.- Brown, blue, and black water-based markers (note: permanent markers will not work).

Procedure

- Tell students that a watershed is an area of water that flow into a bigger body of water (such as ariver, lake, creek, or bay )

- Let students know what watershed your school is closest to, and what body(ies) of waters it flowsinto. (you can find your watershed by clicking on the interactive map atvisit http://ncwatershednetwork.org/)

- Pass around paper and markers to each student or group of students. You might want to tell themto clear their desks and to put away any items they want to keep dry.

- Ask students to crumple their piece of paper, then loosen it so that there are both high- and low-points (“peaks” and “valleys”) across it.

- Tell students that their wad of paper represents land. Ask them to use a blue marker to color thetops of the “peaks” on their land, drawing a line across each ridge

- Hypothesize. Ask students to think about, write about, and/or discuss what will happen to thecolored marker when it “rains.” Show students your spray bottle and ask them to consider howwater will move across their land.

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- Using a spray bottle on the MIST setting, create a “rainstorm” by gently spritzing students’wadded pieces of paper. There should be enough water on each piece of paper to create “runoff”drizzles that pool in paper “valleys.” If wax paper is not available, students can use markers totrace where water would flow downhill and pool on their crumpled 8x11 paper, without usingwater.

- Discuss: Were students’ hypotheses correct? Why or why not? How did water move across theirpieces of land? What surprised them? What does this activity tell us about our watershed?

See next page for optional extension activities.

Additional Resources

Project WET Activities, https://www.projectwet.org/cleanandconserve/download-form,HealthyNaturalEnvironments

EnviroAtlas K-12 Educational Materials https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-educational-materials.

Waves of a Watershed, Alice Ferguson Foundation https://fergusonfoundation.org/hbf-kids-zone/ways-of-a-watershed/

Expedition Northwest, Crumple A Watershed, https://omsi.edu/sites/all/FTP/files/expeditionnw/4.E.1.Crumple.pdf

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Optional Extension Activities:

1. Invite students to identify areas of their paper watersheds. Lakes are those valleys in whichspray-bottle runoff pooled. The main pathway of water is a river. Small streams that feed intothe river are called tributaries. Students can name their mountains, rivers, tributaries, and lakes,as well as their watershed as a whole.

2. Students may also use colored markers to identify areas of farmland, pavement, orresidential/urban life in their watershed. Invite them consider how the movement of watervaries across these surfaces. Based on their “rainstorm” observations, what surfaces might rainwater pass through? How might farms or cities impact the quality of the water travelingthrough them? What makes water clean? What makes it dirty?

3. Using their knowledge of the cloud-to-ocean journey that water takes throughout a watershed,students can create a “raindrop passport” using paper and markers, drawing and naming theirraindrop and listing the areas through which it will travel.

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EXPLORE STUDENT HANDOUT Play BINGO! WATERSHED WISDOM

1 Review the vocabulary below. 2 Select 24 words to place anywhere on the Bingo Card. 3 Create a necklace using this bingo card. Just carry a crayon!

B I N G O

FREE!

Vocabulary

1. Storm Drain 2. Gutter 3 Erosion 4. Exposed Roots5. Water 6. Ground Cover 7 Water Collection 8 Ground Cover 9. Water Collection 10. Impervious Surface 11 Permeable Surface 12 Puddle 13. Runoff 14. Organism 15 Catchment 16 Watershed 17. Water Pollutant 18. Soil Inhabitant 19. Sediment 20 Litter 21. Foot Path 22. Runoff Pond 23 Top Soil 24 Grass

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Funding and support for the All About Watersheds Lesson provided by

EXPLORE DISCOVER STATE PARKS

Summary: Through games, mapping activities, storytelling, and research strategies, students will plan a trip to a North Carolina State Park, taking into account the unique regional features of its topography, watershed placement, etc.

Learning Objectives: After completing this activity, students will be able to:

- Identify qualities specific to their assigned North Carolina state park, as well as those of theirpeers.

- Describe the three main regions of North Carolina (mountains, piedmont, and coast).- List and describe water-related features of North Carolina state parks.

Materials Needed:

- North Carolina state park clue cards with River Basin Map- Tri-folded paper, or computer program with ability to create tri-folded paper, for brochures.- Internet access.- Optional resource: Overview of North Carolina state parks.

Procedure:

Teacher Narrative: “Today, we get to become explorers and plan our own trip to a North Carolina state park. Has anyone ever visited a North Carolina state park before? What do you like to do when you go to a park? (Record student responses on the board—fishing, boating, exploring, etc.). Our parks are an important part of our watershed, and today we’re going to take a look at the features that make these areas in our state so great.”

Part 1: - Show a map of North Carolina state parks to students.- Divide students into groups of 4-5 and distribute NC state parks map and clue cards to each group

(every group gets one card).- Invite each group to investigate their state park clue and try to guess where on the state park map it

is located (in the mountains, piedmont, or coastal region).- Once each group has had time to learn about their park, reveal the park’s real name and have them

plot its location on a North Carolina river basin map.

Part 2: - Invite each group to create a brochure to advertise their park’s unique features. Brochures should

include the following headings:

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https://www.ncparks.gov/more-about-us/about-state-parks-system



About the Watershed (include city, address, and name of watershed) About the Water Human Impact – Examples Fun Facts Map

Technology Integration: Students can use printed resources or the Internet to browse information about their state park. Plenty of information is available at www.ncparks.gov

Optional Extension Activity with Technology Integration: Students could use the EnviroAtlas resources provided in “Map This!” to find the watershed address of their state park to provide in their brochure.

- Facilitate students’ sharing of their state park brochures, displaying them around the classroom.You might hold a State Park Tour, in which students journey through each park in their state(passing through booths with each brochure).

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https://www.ncparks.gov

NORTH CAROLINA

STATE PARK ANSWER CARD

NORTH CAROLINA

STATE PARKWatersheds

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9

4

3

2

1

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1. Singletary Lake2. Merchant’s Mill Pond3. Pettigrew4. Gorges5. South Mountain

6. Jordan Lake7. Kerr Lake8. Jockey’s Ridge9. New River

ANSWERS

NORTH CAROLINA

STATE PARK Watershed Clues

NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


Which State Park has:1. Pocosin Lake: Rich wetland that holds carbon, holds flood

waters, and provides dense habitat for animals.

2. Considered a Carolina Bay ecosystem in the coastal region.

3. The shoreline of this main water feature is 4 miles long andthe deepest point is 11.8 feet, deepest of the Carolina Baysin Bladen County.

4. The water is red and brown which is actually indicates thepresence of tanin, acid from leaf debris.

5. Today it’s only 44% of its original size and may ultimatelybe reduced to a moist bog.

Which State Park has:1. The trunks of some of the bald cypress trees that line the

shores of Lake Phelps, located in this park, are up to 10 feetin diameter.

2. Giant flocks of ducks, geese, and swans pass the winter onLake Phelps and the surrounding woodlands, making thispark a great place to go birdwatching during the wintermonths!

3. You might be lucky enough to spot a red wolf in the park -this park is part of the habitat for the only wild populationof red wolves in the world.

4. Lake Phelps is fed mainly by rainfall, making it one of theclearest and cleanest lakes in North Carolina.

Which State Park has:1. The main water feature at this State Park is more than 190

years old.

2. Home to two primitive species of fish- the long-nosed garand the bowfin.

3. At this park you can find floating duckweeds and waterfern on the water’s surface.

4. Abundant wetland wildlife as well as an ancient baldcypress swamp!

Mountain Region

Which State Park has:1. This State Park is located along the Blue Ridge Escarpment,

an area where five streams carry water to the ocean fromthe divide between the Tennessee Valley drainage and theAtlantic drainage.

2. It’s a pretty gradual descent at the top, but then the waterplunges over dramatic waterfalls and into steep gorges.

3. Several plant species native to the tropics live here because ofthe constant spray from the waterfalls. A rich variety of fernsand mosses are also found here because of the constant dampclimate.

4. Nearly 125 rare plant and animal species that occur in themountain counties of North Carolina are found in the park,in addition to 12 endangered or threatened plant and animalspecies. North Carolina’s largest known population of greensalamander is also found in the park. It lives in the dampshaded crevices of the cliffs.

Coastal Region Coastal Region

Coastal Region

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NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


Which State Park has:1. The water in this park is making its way towards the

Catawba River, and in the process has cut deep into theterrain to form rugged and steep slopes.

2. The tallest waterfall in the park, High Shoals Fall, is80 feet high.

3. In its clear streams, lined with smooth rocks, you can findabundant and diverse critters called macroinvertebrates - ameasure of good water quality.

4. In 1828, gold was discovered in a local creek - promptingone of the first gold rushes in the nation!

Which State Park has:1. Much of this state recreation area is covered by forests

2. that have regrown from timbering and farming practices inthe past.

3. The Occoneechee Indians once lived in this area until 1676.

4. This lake was created as the result of a dam installation in1952 for flood control and power generation.

5. This State Park’s water feature is actually in North Carolinaand Virginia.

Which State Park has:1. This state park hosts the most bald eagles during the

summertime.

2. Archaeologists have explored the remains of 450 prehistoricand historic sites in this area.

3. A hurricane in 1945 led to the construction of this lakeprevent downstream flooding in the Cape Fear River Basin.

Which State Park has:1. The tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic coast is a

premier location for kites, sightseeing and sunsets, with aview arcing from the ocean to Roanoke Sound.

2. A visitor center with museum and 360-foot boardwalk withexhibits explain the dune’s ecology and are a gradual entryto the massive dune field.

3. Hang gliding lessons are available at this park!

4. Geologists believe that strong water currents fromhurricanes washed sand from offshore shoals to create thispark’s focal point.

Coastal Region

Mountain Region Piedmount Region

Piedmount Region

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65

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NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


NORTH CAROLINA


Which State Park has:1. This State Park’s river was named a National Wild and

Scenic River in 1976.

2. This State Park’s river is actually believed to be one of theoldest rivers in the country.

3. This State Park’s river was named by Peter Jefferson, thefather of Thomas Jefferson.

4. Archaeologists have found artifacts from 10,000 years agoin .






Which State Park has:1. This State Park’s river was named a National Wild and Sce-

nic River in 1976.



4. Archaeologists have found artifacts from 10,000 years ago in.






Mountain Region

Mountain Region Mountain Region

Mountain Region

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EXPLORE BENEATH THE SURFACE

Summary: In this activity, students will explore the movement of water across pervious and impervious surfaces and consider the function of soil in a watershed.

Learning Objectives: After this activity, students will be able to:

- Define and provide examples of pervious and impervious surfaces.- Explain how pervious and impervious surfaces impact watershed health.- Describe the function and purpose of rain gardens and the ways in which healthy plants and

animals support watershed health.

Materials Needed: - Five clear plastic cups (that students can easily see through), approx. 8 oz. each- 8 oz. gravel/stones- 8 oz. garden soil- 8 oz. clay soil (or mulch if clay soil is inaccessible)- 8 oz. sand- Aluminum foil or plastic wrap- Rubber band- A cup, pitcher, or watering can filled with water

Procedure:

Teacher Narrative: “Today we are going to investigate the different types of land that make up a watershed. When we made our crumpled paper watersheds, we learned that rainwater takes a journey from its cloud to the ocean, passing through different kinds of land, traveling across diverse surfaces, and joining a few bodies of water before it reaches its destination. Now, we will explore what happens to water beneath the surface of five types of land.”

1. Place 5 plastic cups side-by-side in a place where students can circle around and see them. 4should be filled with gravel/stones, garden soil, clay soil, and sand (one material per cup). The 5th

should be empty but covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap secured by a rubber band.

2. Predict. Ask students to think/write/talk about their predictions regarding how water will soak intoeach surface. What will happen in each cup during a “rainstorm”? What will happen after therainstorm has ended? In what ways will each cup be different? Will any cups have similarities?What kind of land might the foil/plastic wrap represent? What kind of land might the packed claysoil represent?

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3. After students reach their hypotheses, create a rainstorm using a pitcher, cup, or watering canfilled with water. Pour the same amount of water into each cup, one at a time, pausing for amoment to have students observe, discuss, and/or take notes about what happens to the waterwhen it interacts with the contents.

4. Reflect & Discuss. Were students’ hypotheses correct? Why or why not? What were studentssurprised by? What challenged their thinking? What does this activity teach us about land in ourwatershed? What kind of land does water move across easily? On what kind of land does waterget “stuck”?

5. Introduce the terms “impervious surface” and “pervious surface” to students:

Impervious Surface: Land or another surface that does not allow water to soak into it (ex: pavement, brick, concrete sidewalks, etc.). Connect this term to students’ initial predictions about what the foil/plastic wrap might represent.

Pervious Surface: Land or another surface that does allow water to soak into it.

Ask students to imagine some of the benefits and disadvantages of using pervious vs. impervious materials in our landscape. Guide students toward the understanding that impervious surfaces facilitate water pollution (ask: “What might water ‘pick up’ on its path across impervious surfaces?”), whereas pervious surfaces act like filters, removing toxins like fertilizers and insecticides, oil, trash, etc.

6. Vote. Raise each cup, one at a time, and ask for a show of hands as to whether students would liketo label its contents “pervious” or “impervious” (hint: all materials should be pervious except forthe plastic wrap/foil)

7. Circulate printed pictures/articles about rain gardens in North Carolina (see final page of thisactivity for links to examples).

Optional Technology Integration: Ask students to research rain gardens in North Carolina,individually or in teams, and present their findings to the class.

8. Discuss: What are rain gardens? What purpose do they serve? What are they made of? Whomakes them? Where can they be found? Based on your observations during the activity, what doyou think are the best kinds of materials to use in a rain garden?

Helpful Hints:Rain gardens are planted shallow depressions that capture and soak in rainwater before it enters

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a water way or a storm drain. Just like sliding down a waterslide and splashing into a pool, so will rainwater travel into the garden, which is filled with shrubs, perennial plants, and grasses that can withstand dry conditions and don’t mind having “wet feet,” as many rain gardeners say, meaning a very wet root system. They will trap and filter rain water, clearing 90% of chemicals and 80% of sediment (www.groundwater.org), draining within one to two days and absorbing 30% more than a traditional grassy lawn. Rain gardens improve the health of the watershed ecosystem by attracting bees, butterflies, birds, and other animals. And they improve our health, too, by cleaning—not only the water that funnels into rivers, lakes, and the ocean—but the water that travels to aquifers, where we obtain drinking water (www.watereducation.org). Rain gardens mimic a natural or undisturbed vegetated ecosystem like a forest or a prairie.

Clay soil infiltrates very slowly, and when packed by construction vehicles during development it becomes close to impervious, so lawns may be close to impervious, and therefore do not have the same “filtering” effect as rain gardens.

Example Articles and Pictures of Rain Gardens in NC: Durham, NC Rain Gardens https://durhamnc.gov/787/Rain-Gardens NC Backyard Rain Garden Design http://www.ncagr.gov/SWC/costshareprograms/CCAP/documents/Chapter5-BackyardRainGardenDesign.pdf NC State University Rain Garden Manual https://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showdocument?id=17409 NC Coastal Fed https://www.nccoast.org/project/school-rain-gardens/

9. Using students’ knowledge of their school grounds, ask them to consider the best placement of arain garden at school. Are there grassy areas that water travels across on its way downhill? Wherehave you noticed water after a rainstorm? How does water move across our playground? Arethere areas that would look more pleasant with shrubs and flowers?

Optional Extension Activity: Use printed maps or diagrams of your school grounds during thisactivity. Have students draw the placement of their rain garden on the map and write one or twosentences describing their reasoning for that placement.

Optional Technology Integration: Invite students to research, individually or in teams, plants intheir region that can withstand “wet feet.” What plants would be best suited for a school-groundrain garden, and why? Have each student or team research 2-3 plants and present their findings tothe class.

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STUDENTHANDOUT WATERSHEDWISDOM


EXPLAIN Design This!

River Avengers in Action!

1. Based on the animations you have watched, list three major problemsimpacting watershed health:

Problem 1: ___________________________________________________________.

Problem 2: ___________________________________________________________.

Problem 3: ___________________________________________________________.

2. Why are the above problems important?

3. What causes these problems?

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4. Of the three problems you listed, pick one that you would like to brainstormabout:

My water problem is: ____________________________________________________.

5. Draw, label, and/or write about one possible solution to this problem. As youcreate your solution, be sure to think about these questions:

a. Who can help fix this problem, and how?

b. What tools will they need?

c. What will they need to learn?

d. Why will this solution help improve watershed health?

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EXTEND Young Activists

Summary: In this activity, students will read (or listen to their teacher read aloud) the attached news article about the global water crisis and youth activists’ efforts to make a difference. Then, they will complete a worksheet containing two reading comprehension questions and brainstorm interview questions—building on their water reporter skills from Engage—for a hypothetical conversation with one of the youth activists cited in the article.

Learning Objectives: Upon completing this activity, students will be able to:

- Describe the global challenges people face accessing clean drinking water.- Communicate the implications of the global water crisis on children.- List youth water activists, as well as their contributions to water equity.- Use reading comprehension skills to create interview questions for a hypothetical journalism

subject.

Materials Needed: - Youth activism journalism article (attached)- Reading comprehension and interview worksheet (attached)- Writing utensils

Procedure: Teacher Narrative: “We have been learning all about the importance of keeping our watershed healthy, and how our watershed ecosystem—the plants, animals, and people that live in a given area—impact water quality. During our ‘Drop in the Bucket’ activity, we learned that the amount of potable, meaning drinkable, water is just a tiny portion of the water in the world. There are many places, in our country as well as others, where people do not have access to clean water. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at those areas, as well as children who are working hard to make a change.”

- Read aloud, or invite students to read, the attached news article about the global water crisis.

- Invite students to work together as a class, in groups, or individually to complete the readingcomprehension questions on the attached journalism worksheet.

Remind students about their work as water reporters during the kickoff “Engage” assignment in this lesson plan, when they interviewed a family member about their water memories and the uses of water in their daily lives.

- Build upon those journalism skills by posing students as journalists once again, this time taskedwith preparing an interview for a youth water activist named in the news article.

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Optional technology integration/research extension: Invite students to conduct further research on youth water activists in preparation for their interview. They may choose to craft questions for a child or adolescent who is not named in the provided news article.

For further development of research skills, students could attempt to answer their interview questions using information that they find about youth activists on the internet, sharing their completed Q&A’s with the class.

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Watershed Wisdom Presents:

TRIBUTARY TRIBUNE

Issue 1, January 5, 2020

Children around the world advocate for clean water access.

“We want governments to hear that water is a right, not a privilege, and

children are an investment, not

an expense!”

--Ibrahim, 16, Nigeria

NORTH CAROLINA, United States (UNC-TV)—“Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to spare” goes the famous PBS song from 1995. Its message continues to ring true today.

From the water in lemonade to puddles in the street, it can seem—in some parts of the world—like water really is everywhere.

However, 844 million people do not have access to clean water, and more than 2 billion women and children spend a total of 200 million hours searching for potable (meaning “drinkable”) water every day. With so much time spent walking to and from water sources, at times carrying more than ten pounds of water on their heads (compared to the 45 or more pounds that teenage and adult women carry), many children struggle to attend school. And out of those who do make it to the classroom, 570 million children do not have access to drinking water while at school. What’s wrong with this picture?

Recognizing that there really isn’t a drop to spare, youth activists around the world are working to make clean water accessible to those in need.

When she was just 8 years old, Autumn Peltier started giving speeches to her community about how—and why—Indigenous communities in her home country, Canada, lack clean drinking water. Now a teenager, Peltier has achieved international recognition, receiving the Children’s Peace Prize in 2016.

Also in Canada, 11 year old Stella Bowles made a splash when her science fair project about the local LaHave River gained widespread attention. When Bowles learned that 600 straight pipes were carrying raw sewage (remember that dog shenanigans?) from bathrooms to the river, she was disgusted—and surprised. How could it be that adults knew about this contamination, yet people were still allowed to spend their summers swimming in the river?

Inspired to make a change, Bowles tested the levels of bacteria in the water, posted signs around the river, and took to social media, drawing so much attention that the Canadian government invested 15 million dollars in efforts to clean the river and

are working to reduce—and eventually eliminate—all straight pipes connected to the water.

Now a teenager, Bowles has published a book titled My River and has received an international award for her work.

In 2006, the United Nations hosted a Children’s World Water Forum in Mexico to recognize World Water Day, which occurs every year on March 22. Ten children from the African countries of Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Togo, and Malawi sang and spoke about the importance of clean drinking water in their lives, in front of an audience filled with grown-up leaders.

“‘We want governments to hear that water is a right, not a privilege,” 16-year-old Ibrahim shared at the conference, “and children are an investment, not an expense!’”

Another young activist fighting for the right to clean water access is fashion model Georgie Badiel, who grew up in the African country Burkina Faso. As a child, Badiel spent hours lugging water to her family’s home. She now runs an organization that has funded the creation of 5 wells, which will offer clean water to 100,000 people. In addition, she has taught community members how to clean and maintain the wells and, recognizing that watershed ecosystems are impacted by the health of plants and animals, Badiel has also funded the planting of 1,050 trees.

From Flint, Michigan, where unsafe lead levels led to a drinking water disaster, to persistent draughts in Spain, what many call the “water crisis” connects to all parts of the globe.

However, with young people like Peltier, Bowles, Badiel, and others working to make change in their communities, there is hope that future generations can honor the conclusion of the PBS water song:

“Keep it clean for me, and I’ll keep it clean for you.”

36



EXTEND Young Activists

PART 1

Now that you’ve read the Tribunal Tribune article, answer these questions:

1. What is the global water crisis?

2. Who does the global water affect?

3. In what ways can young people work to make clean water more accessibleto people around the world?

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PART 2

Time to use your Water Reporter skills! Imagine you are going to interview one of the youth activists listed in the Tributary Tribune piece for your own news article in the Tributary Tribune. What questions would you ask?

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

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STANDARDSALIGNMENT WATERSHEDWISDOM


SCIENCE

NorthCarolinaEssentialStandards

4.L.1Understandtheeffectsofenvironmentalchanges,adaptationsandbehaviorthatenableanimals(includinghumans)tosurviveinchanginghabitats.

4.L.1.3Explainhowhumanscanadapttheirbehaviortoliveinchanginghabitats(e.g.recyclingwastes,establishingraingardens,plantingtreesandshrubstopreventfloodinganderosion).

5.P.2Understandtheinteractionsofmatterandenergyandthechangesthatoccur

5.P.2.1Explainhowthesun’senergyimpactstheprocessesofthewatercycle(including,evaporation,transpiration,condensation,precipitationandrunoff).

NextGenerationScienceStandards

5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas toprotect the Earth’s resources and environment.

DCI ESS3.C: Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individual and communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments.

SOCIAL STUDIES

North Carolina Essential Standards

4.G.1 Understand how human, environmental and technological factors affect the growth anddevelopment of North Carolina.

4.G.1.2 Explain the impact that human activity has on the availability of natural resources inNorth Carolina.

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