In this lesson, students will observe, measure, and describe water as it changes state. Students will investigate evaporation rates by measuring the water levels in open and closed containers over time.

In this lesson, students will observe, measure, and describe water, chocolate, and margarine as they change state. Students will make observations about the amounts of these materials before and after freezing and melting.

Students are asked to design methods to filter water using ordinary materials, while also considering their designs' material and cost efficiencies. They learn about the importance of water and its role in our everyday lives. They come to understand what must occur each day so that they can have clean water.

In this STEM lesson, students are challenged to create and test a water filtering system. The STEM activities in this lesson focus on water recovery and management. Students will design and build a water filtration device, test the device, make observations, and collect data. They will collaborate as they analyze results and attempt to idenity the best filter media to use. Based on their analysis and on study of other filtration devices, they will make modifications to their model and repeat the process in an effort to produce the most effective filtration apparatus possible. Lastly, students will compare individual results and communicate their results to the larger community.

In this issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explore what the polar regions can teach us about the water cycle and the states and changes of matter. Find lesson plans about the many forms of water, ice, and snow found in the polar regions and how to use science notebooks to integrate literacy and science.

This article assembles free resources from the Water, Ice, and Snow issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine into a unit outline based on the 5E learning cycle framework. Outlines are provided for Grades K-2 and 3-5.

This article highlights children's literature about states of matter, phase changes, the water cycle, and glaciers and icebergs for use in the elementary classroom.

Students observe a model waterwheel to investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine. Students work as engineers to create model waterwheels while considering resources such as time and materials, in their design. Students also discuss and explore the characteristics of hydropower plants.

Students measure the effectiveness of water filters in purifying contaminated water. They prepare test water by creating different concentrations of bleach (chlorine-contaminated) water. After passing the contaminated water through commercially available Brita® water filters designed to purify drinking water, students determine the chlorine concentration of the purified water using chlorine test strips and measure the adsorption of chlorine onto activated carbon over time. They graph and analyze their results to determine the effectiveness of the filters. The household active carbon filters used are one example of engineer-designed water purification systems.

Students learn the history of the waterwheel and common uses for water turbines today. They explore kinetic energy by creating their own experimental waterwheel from a two-liter plastic bottle. They investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work, and experiment with how weight affects the rotational rate of the waterwheel. Students also discuss and explore the characteristics of hydroelectric plants.

Students learn about physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. During the activity, students create their own groundwater well models using coffee cans and wire screening. They add red food coloring to their models to see how pollutants can migrate through the groundwater into a drinking water resource.

This activity is designed for students to gain understanding of how much water is located in our oceans, compared to polar ice, saltwater lakes, underwater sources, and fresh water.

The engineers at Splash Engineering (the students) have been commissioned by Thirsty County to conduct a study of evaporation and transpiration in their region. During one week, students observe and measure (by weight) the ongoing evaporation of water in pans set up with different variables, and then assess what factors may affect evaporation. Variables include adding to the water an amount of soil and an amount of soil with growing plants.

In this problem set, students learn about rainfall rates and how to convert them into the volume of water that falls.

Come join us on an adventure exploring our important waterways from the mountains to the sea. As we travel down these waterways, we will be using biofacts and live animals to connect our native wildlife to these vital ecosystems.

We have created helpful clips if you are unable to watch the whole video:
4.L.1
Salamander and Bad Water (1 min)= https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=975

5.P.2
Water Basins (2 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=152

8.E.1
Mountain Basins (1 min)= https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=199
Piedmont Basins (2 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=1822
Coastal Basins (2 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=2551

Animal Ambassador Clips:
Spotted Salamander (4 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=691
Eastern Box Turtle (5 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=1317
Gopher Frog (3 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=2375

Conservation Clips:
Keep water clean (3 min) = https://youtu.be/y3p6gTjCbCM?t=2664

Let’s find out how camels can get moisture from the air and not lose any when they breathe!

We have created a helpful clip if you're unable to watch the full video:
3.P.3 Camel Nasal Passage and Lungs (3 min): https://youtu.be/kLonW39_hk0?t=69

Let’s discover how we can have fun with polymers and where they can be found both at home and here at the Zoo!

We have created some helpful clips if you're unable to watch the full video:
K.P.2 How Polymers Change (1 min): https://youtu.be/-pnmtDL3Gfg?t=32
K.P.2 How Polymers are Used (4 min): https://youtu.be/-pnmtDL3Gfg?t=107

Let’s see how plants use capillary action to transport nutrients and water through their stems.

We have created a helpful clip if you're unable to watch the full video:
3.L.2 How plants use capillary action (1 min): https://youtu.be/50y0WR_PBpk?t=23

This is an encyclopedia entry for the term "groundwater." Groundwater is all the water found underneath the Earth?s surface. Text for this entry is appropriate for the middle and high school grade levels.

This is a comprehensive encyclopedia entry that contains information about marine ecosystems, ocean zones, ocean currents, marine resources, and environmental issues associated with oceans. Text for this entry is appropriate for the middle and high school grade levels.