Teachers' Guide
How to Use this Guide: Water topics are arranged around themes and within each theme are sequenced to build on prior learning. The order of themes is not meant to be done chronologically as they overlap and interconnect with one another. As this curriculum is nature-based many of the activities involve going out to a creek regularly. If this is not something accessible for your class, there are still many schoolyard and class activities that hang together within the framework of the curriculum.
Printing – How to Print Specific Pages: Some of the Acrobat PDF documents herein contain student handouts. You could print the entire PDF and then take out the student handout pages and photocopy them the number of times you wish, for example 20. Alternatively, you can print specific pages of Acrobat PDF documents and make multiple copies. If the PDF contains a student handout, you can print just those pages, for example, print page 4 20 times. To do so, on the screen after “Print” is selected, first set Copies to 20, and Pages to 4, then press the Print button. If the student handout is more than one page, you can, for example, set Pages to say 2-3 and, if your printer is duplex capable, set duplex on so it prints double-sided. |
Theme: The Water Cycle To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
The Water Cycle |
All water is part of the water cycle. |
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Rain pathways |
The 4 pathways of rain |
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Run-off |
The downhill pathway of surface run-off |
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Infiltration/Percolation |
Water through soil – it’s not all the same Different land surfaces = different rates of infiltration |
Theme: Creek Habitat and Salmon Enhancement To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
Creek Orientation |
See the creek for the first time, wonder My wonder of water |
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Salmon Enhancement |
Understand fish and creek connection |
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Creek Rehabilitation |
Hands-on work for habitat enhancement |
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Creek Time |
Make a personal connection with nature |
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Inspired by Nature |
Be in the presence of the creek |
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Water Bugs & Others |
Life in freshwater |
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Riparian Zone |
A creek needs a good riparian |
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Stream of Dreams©TM |
The art of salmon |
Theme: Sustainability To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
Taking Note |
Critical thinking around what is important about water |
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Questions for Guest Speakers |
Research techniques |
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Waste Water Management |
Discovering where the poop goes |
Learning from the Expert - Local Waste Water Operator, Municipal Government |
Water Pollution |
It’s blue and green and in the lake |
Learning from the Expert - Local Water Ecologist (Limnologist) |
Community Water Use |
Is there enough water for us all? |
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Home Water Flow |
Household Watersheds |
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Home Water Audit |
How much water do we use? |
Theme: Watershed To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
Walking a Watershed |
It flows downhill |
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Mapping our Watershed |
From source to sea |
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What is a Watershed? |
The shape of the land defines a watershed |
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What is your watershed address? |
We all live in a watershed |
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Build a 3-D Watershed Model |
To see our watershed is to understand it |
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Seaquaria |
It’s all connected: the creeks and rivers lead to the ocean. |
Theme: Water Monitoring To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
pH |
What is pH? |
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Water quality measurements |
Water quality protocols & stream characteristics |
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Creek monitoring |
How can the creek be described? |
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Data analysis |
What does the creek monitoring show over time? |
Theme: Water Stewardship & Community Connections To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
Shoreline Cleanup |
Making a difference in the community |
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Popular writing |
Telling our story with popular writing |
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Art and science |
Telling our story with visual images |
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Earth Day demonstrations |
Telling our story to our community |
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Local Governance |
Taking a stand to be heard |
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Voices of nature sing |
Finding voice |
Theme: Global Water Awareness and Active Citizenship To top of page
Scope & Sequence Unit |
Objective |
Activity |
Introduction – Global Water - Setting the Stage |
Activate student thinking related to Global Water Awareness |
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Non-Fiction Reading – Shapes Summary Structure |
Non-fiction research strategy and organizer |
Introduction to ‘Shapes Summary Structure Organizer’ – review of non-fiction articles. |
Non-Fiction Reading – How to be a ‘Thief’ |
Using THIEVES as a strategy for previewing non-fiction text |
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Non-Fiction reading – Internet Research |
Using organizer to guide internet research |
Research Internet websites and use adapted Shapes Summary Structure to organize research. |
30 Second Speeches and Waterdrops Hall Display – Part 1 |
Organizing and summarizing research completed to date |
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Individual 30 second speeches – Part 2 |
Distilling the research – what is the most important message? |
Students write, practice and present 30 second speeches.
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Podcasts/Active Citizenship |
Using technology to show the learning |
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Making the world a better place through active citizenship |
Active Citizenship – an example of one boy’s dream |
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Active Citizenship – local Guest Speaker |
Audience and interview skills |
A local example of active citizenship
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Closure – Global Water - Reflecting back |
Critical thinking and reflection of learning |
End of Table