In this lesson, students will learn how to mitigate the impacts of climate change through several example projects being implemented at the National Estuarine Research Reserves.

Students will experience a simulated oil spill and try various methods of clean-up. Instructions for the teacher in creating a materials kit is included.

Students learn about the process of wastewater and sewage treatment. In an associated activity, students will observe what happens when different sized particles are settled in water by creating a model sedimentation tank to see how sludge and effluent are separated.

VLab: Stream EcologyInvestigate how pollutants affect a stream's temperature, dissolved oxygen, and inhabitants.

In this field study lesson, students will investigate a nearby stream. Students will develop a procedure for the investigation and collect data at the stream based upon their particular protocol over a period of nine weeks.

Students identify stresses that threaten the health of ocean ecosystems, explain natural and human-caused processes that contribute to these stresses, and discuss actions that may be taken to reduce these stresses.

Students analyze data and maps to understand how increased population growth impacts the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Then they explore how the health of the Bay affects its animals.

Students identify cause-and-effect relationships between sugar cane production and the health of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

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 model bioaccumulation of toxins in marine animals. They participate in a food web game where feeding decisions determine their survival.

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.

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 will design and test a method for treating wastewater. Students use common household materials and compete to create the cleanest possible water from their sample.

Students will define wastewater and list components of wastewater. They will also describe the function of a wastewater treatment plant and create a wastewater treatment model and use it to clean water.

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.