In this activity, students simulate the movement of water within the water cycle with a roll of the die. Role-playing a water molecule helps students to conceptualize the water cycle as more than a predictable two dimensional path, a simple circle of water, flowing from a stream to an ocean, evaporating, condensing to the clouds, raining down on a mountaintop, and flowing back into a stream. As they ... Full description.

This Starting Point webpage describes a ConcepTest question that asks students to address the question, which location (rock unit) would have the potential for the best groundwater production? They are to address a given diagram to answer the question. The website contains additional notes and references as well as statistics for typical student answers before and after discussion. Full description.

In this activity, students analyze data from a single gage or watershed. They learn or practice basic skills in Excel such as importing data, applying formulas, creating charts, and adding trend lines. The students then assemble and analyze their individual results collectively in order to discover and discuss new issues that span multiple gages or watersheds. To conclude the project, results are ... Full description.

This site features Flash animations and QuickTime movies about watersheds and their associated waterways. Topics include watershed delineation, the hydrologic cycle, and the course of a river from its source to the sea. These resources may be suitable for integration into lectures, labs, or other activities. Full description.

This site provides an introduction to the Missouri Springs of the Ozarks, a series of large springs that occur south of the Missouri River along the Ozark Uplift. There is general information on springs, including what they are, how they form, and their connection to the groundwater system. Photographs and brief descriptions are provided for the twenty largest springs in the state. There is also a ... Full description.

This project is designed to teach students about environmental quality and problems being faced in their own communities. It requires a nearby stream to do testing, so that students can visit the stream to measure discharge, organisms, etc. Students pool their data and develop a multi-media proposal for an intervention to improve the stream's water quality. This site provides links to relevant resources, ... Full description.

In this project, students work together to learn about water supply issues and possible solutions. Students spend about six weeks researching the topic of water supply, identify a problem relating to water supply, collect and analyze data, and present the best solution to the problem using multi-media software. This site contains all necessary worksheets and instructions, research links, and instructions ... Full description.

This lesson plan has students investigate interrelationships between flowing water and topography within a watershed by: interpreting and using maps of the area, modeling a watershed, comparing modeled and actual events, predicting path of runoff, and communicating water quality information. Locations within Virginia State parks that adjoin the Chesapeake Bay are provided as possible field trip locations. ... Full description.

The basic information and terms covered on this site are associated with groundwater, including aquifers (confined and unconfined), saturation zones, the water table, impermeable layers, the water cycle (hydrologic cycle), discharge, and recharge. There is a list of groundwater facts and diagrams of two types of aquifers along with a typical groundwater system. Information on contamination includes ... Full description.

This resource has students construct a model watershed in order to understand its operation. Students will observe how water flows from higher elevations to lower elevations, and the interconnectivity of watersheds. They will understand how the placement of buildings, roads, and parking lots can be important to watershed runoff, and how careless use and disposal of harmful contaminants can have a ... Full description.