Students locate the Mayan Riviera on a map, watch a demonstration to understand the concept of groundwater held in underground rivers and aquifers, and discuss pollution in the area.

Students discuss what freshwater is and use maps to predict and identify places around the world where it is scarce. They read about the role of water use and consumption in the generation of electricity. Based on a scenario, they research and analyze the impact of a specific energy resource in a specific location on the availability of freshwater

In this virtual resource, students will model the function of a watershed, and apply these concepts to an investigation of how water flows on their school grounds.

The wakelet site features videos demonstrating hands-on activities for students to complete at school in small, socially-distanced settings. Activities may also be adapted for at-home learning. Some activities incorporate an outdoor component, acknowledging the need to balance screen time with green time to support mental health. Tips for taking your students outside can be found here: https://education.eol.org/cnc_materials/TipsForTeachingOutside.pdf

Students use an Earth image database (Space Shuttle images) to find places on Earth where there is ice and snow.

In this lesson, students will work together to map out the strengths and limitations of potential solutions to some important water use and conservation issues. This lesson is part of a larger unit whereby students practice different steps in design thinking within the context of issues surrounding our global water system. In this exercise, students will practice comparing potential solutions in order to prepare for the culminating activity of the unit: a design thinking challenge.

In this lesson, students will learn about the natural movement of water through a watershed and how human activity can be either detrimental or beneficial to the stream environment.

Students will read information about several different countries and complete a Global Water Awareness Chart.

In this lesson, students research where their local drinking water comes from and explore pollution and other risks to drinking water sources. Students will investigate methods of water treatment and the relationship between water treatment and public health.

Students use their understanding of the states of water and apply this understanding to a lesson on water purification and the water cycle. Specifically, students will construct a model that both simulates the water cycle and purifies water by changing the states of water from a liquid to a gas and then back to a liquid.

Students will participate in a hands-on simulation that will enable students to take on the roles of hydropower managers by manipulating and reacting to three essential variables: precipitation and runoff, power production needs, and spillage.

Students will investigate, describe, and map the flow direction of streams and rivers in the United States and around the world.

Students explore maps to discover the distribution of fresh water resources on Earth, and they examine graphs to discover how fresh water supplies are used by humans.

This lesson uses Landsat imagery to introduce students to remote sensing as a tool that is used by water resource managers to understand land use and hydrologic changes. Students will investigate the water budget for Falls Lake, NC from 2007-2009 by analyzing satellite imagery and hydrologic data from the US Army Corp of Engineers and will learn about the interrelationship between hydrologic and human systems.

Students work in small groups to test an isolated variable in rivers. They will test either the amount of water, velocity of water,or steepness of the river bed to determine how those variables affect the size and shapes of rivers.

In this lesson, students will define "nonpoint source pollution" and identify examples of it. They will also describe what storm water is and explain the purpose of a storm drain. Students will design an effective PSA to show how to reduce nonpoint source pollution and then work collaboratively to design a system to remove pollution from a simulated river.

Students use satellite imagery to learn about flood risks and natural disasters around the world, taking as an example the floods caused by the Rhone and the Elbe rivers.

This unit, from the Watershed Dynamics curriculum, uses National Geographic FieldScope as a key tool for investigating water availability. The unit is designed to teach students about water availability and the impacts of human activity on the watersheds we live in. Students and teachers learn to use geographic information system (GIS) tools and various data sets to answer questions about the environment.

This interactive water cycle diagram illustrates and describes how water moves through and between locations on Earth.

Students will collect data to reinforce the concept that most of the earth is covered in water. The cycle of that water, and the other phases that it exists in, will be studied using the Canopy in the Clouds media and small modeling demonstrations.

This notebook provides five lesson plans developed to help educators discuss the subject of ground water with students in grades 6-8. Topics include: aquifers, porosity, permeability, and wells.