Watersheds Watersheds Everywhere

A lesson on the concept of watersheds

Teachers Guide

Note: This lesson is designed specifically for use in the seven districts in and around the Bryant Creek Watershed. If you teach outside our area, and adapt this lesson for use, please share it with us!

Grade Levels: 4-9
Subject Areas: Earth Science, Geography, Social Studies
Duration: Two 50 minute sessions. A preliminary session may be needed to introduce the subject and assign background reading.

Objectives: 
1. Students will be able to identify the watershed in which their school is located, and those watersheds in which students at their school live.
2. Students will be able to define the term watershed, and name the characteristics of a watershed.
3. Students will use a variety of maps to locate their homes and school.
4. Students will be able to name their complete watershed address.

Show-Me Standards
Process: Goal 1.4: Use of technological and other resources to locate and organize
information.
Content: Science 5: Knowledge of processes and interactions of the Earth's biosphere and hydrosphere.
Social Studies 5: Knowledge of elements of geography study and and analysis.
Social Studies 8: the use of tools of social science inquiry such as maps.

Materials and equipment:
Note: These directions assume that the lesson will be carried out in an ordinary classroom with one or two computers and standard AV equipment. If you have a Smartboard to use with a classroom computer, or other digital projection equipment, you can skip the use of the overhead projector.

1. Internet access to the Bryant Watershed Atlas for teacher and students to do background reading, and print copies of the necessary Atlas articles and maps.

2. Copies of the Bryant Watershed map for each student, and a poster map for teacher use. The maps are available from the Project. E-mail: type in the following email (not clickable image to foil spam):; allow three weeks for delivery.

3. Highlighting pens or markers for each student.

4. Overhead projector and transparency pens.

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