Where does my water come from?

Engagement

1-2 Class Periods

To set the broad scope for the unit, read one of the picture books listed above to the class. Ask students to give a signal for a personal connection as they listen to the story: thumbs up if something reminds you of something you’ve seen before or know something about, two thumbs up if this brings up a question. Stop intermittently or at the end of the book to allow students to share connections and ask questions.

Record questions on the board, on chart paper, or by a class scribe.

Acknowledge questions and tell or remind students that scientists make their life work from the asking of questions. Ask students to write a science notebook entry brainstorming questions about a local water body that they thought about during the reading.

Crumpled paper watersheds
Give each child a piece of white paper, or a piece of butcher paper with the shiny side down. Ask students to fold the paper so that a deep crease (bottom of the watershed) forms in the center of the paper. Ask them to imagine a river system, or even their neighborhood as the center of the paper and make all the hills and mountains by crumpling up the paper on either side of the crease.

Once students have made a rough three-dimensional surface, have them color the peaks and ridges with water-soluble color markers. Ask them to sketch and label their crumpled paper landscapes in their science notebooks.

Next, students should use a spray bottle to wet the colored marker until it runs down the peaks, and sketch and describe what happens in their science notebooks.

After the sketches are complete, stimulate reflection with questions like the following:

• What did you notice when you sprayed the water on your model?
• In what ways is this similar to or different from what happens when it rains in your neighborhood or around the river you were thinking of?

If students reflect in writing, allow time for group (or pair sharing) of their entries.

Introduce the term “watershed,” noting how the colored ink was “shed” or run off from the high places and collected in at least one common fold or body of water.

Watershed definition: An area of land from which rainwater and snowmelt drain into a particular river, stream, or lake, which is the lowest point in the surrounding landscape. All watersheds are connected, directly or indirectly, to the ocean.

Ask students to write the definition of “watershed” in the glossary section of their science notebooks.

The teacher may conclude this engagement sequence by using a topographic map or Google Earth to trace the area around the school, showing connections to the crumpled paper activity.

Exploration

2 class periods

Ask students to find out where the water in a glass of water comes from at their home. Ask them to sit down with someone at home and share a drink of tap water, then ask that person where the water comes from. Have them record the answer and draw a map/diagram showing where the water comes from, on a sheet to be pasted into the science notebook.

Lead the class in a graphing activity of the categories of answers. (Answers might range from the tap or the well to the creek or city water system, to the sky, ocean, etc.) Pose this question to the students: “How will we find out if our answers are correct?” Lead them in completing a Think-Pair-Share activity.

Help students construct a plan to investigate the sources of home drinking water in the area. Plans might include:

• A visit from or with the community water caretakers (or village elders) or department.
• A visit from or with a commercial well driller or water service contractor/engineer.
• A field trip (or virtual field trip via the Internet, if necessary) to the local water utility.

To prepare for the visit, field trip, interview, or Web search, students should compose questions in their science notebooks. Encourage them to think of questions that will help them understand how the water gets from its source (the sky, creek, etc.) to their house.

Explanation

15 minutes

After the visit, field trip, interview, or Web search, students should revisit their original maps showing how water gets to their homes. Ask them to use a different color pen or pencil to add to their original maps, and/or create a new map to show what they think is the accurate path. Ask them to explain changes or why they made a new map AND to list any questions the new map raises for them.

Elaboration

1 class period

Choose one or more of the following activities to help students apply and extend their knowledge of watersheds:

• Generate questions that lead to interconnections to other water systems, and investigate.
• Revisit the story you read at the beginning, to discuss who lives in their watersheds and how those organisms interact to form a system.
• Compare watershed or water supply observations with another community or even another school via the Internet. The Global School Net Foundation hosts a Project Registry as a way to find project partners from afar.Allow students to play the Watershed Game at Minnesota’s
• Bell Museum, to learn more about why watersheds are important and how they can be protected.

Evaluation

By sharing sample science notebook entries (from volunteers), students and teacher can design a simple rubric for science notebook activities.

The rubric might include the following:

• Notebook setup (dates, page numbers, “lines of learning,” etc.).
• Evidence of completion of home inquiry and classroom observation activities.
• Evidence of reflection.
• Quality of reflection.
• Evidence of questions.
• Quality of questions.

A sample rubric has been provided.

Extension

• Add a chart titled, “How does a fish compare to a human?” Students can complete the chart, showing how fish compare to humans regarding their different systems, i.e., respiratory, digestive, reproductive, nervous, circulatory, etc.
• Find out about obtaining a permit to incubate salmon fry in your school and release them into a nearby stream through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Salmon in the Classroom. Also available through the UAF Cooperative Extension/4H Program: Salmon in the Classroom Program for Rural Alaska.
• Learn both names for the five types of Pacific salmon.
• Dissect a salmon.

Curricular Connections

Math. In addition to graphing responses to the question of where water comes from, students might do activities to track water consumption.

Art. How do local landscape painters show contour with value?

Social Studies. Are there any relationships between major watersheds in your region and the routes that people travel(ed) now or in the past? Do ancestral trading routes follow watersheds? How do and did indigenous peoples manage and regard the water in your area?