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Watershed

We Are All Connected

Middle

Description

In this three part lesson, students grow their understanding of the term "watershed" and how their everyday activities can have an impact on the world's oceans. 

In the first activity, the students create a watershed using a shower curtain, their bodies and water in an outdoor location. They will discover how pollution upstream affects water quality in another location. They will discuss point and non-point pollution and will experiment with how pollutants travel through a watershed.

In the second activity, the students will attempt to clean "polluted" water by brainstorming an experimental plan and then acting on their plan.  They will write a report in the format of their choosing to detail their results.

In the third and final activity the students will observe pollution in the school's watershed by walking around the neighborhood and recording their observations. The students will create a brochure to be distributed in the community to raise awareness of watershed pollution.

General Assessment

What skills does this resource explicitly teach?

The resource is structured in a manner to raise awareness and not teach skills.

Strengths

  • Interesting and engaging activities
  • Easy to implement

Weaknesses

  • No strategies for struggling learners

Recommendation of how and where to use it

Watershed: We Are All Connected is best suited for the middle school Science classroom.  The resource and its activities help to address the outcomes related to water, biodiversity, human impact on habitats and ecosystems. It would be best suited towards the end of an unit on these topics so that the students would have background information to draw upon for discussions and report writing.

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

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  • Alberta
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    • Grade 6
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      • Science
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        • Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions
    • Grade 7
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      • Science
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        • Interactions and Ecosystems
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        • Freshwater and Saltwater Systems
  • British Columbia
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    • Grade 6
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        • Science 6: Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment.
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        • Diversity of Living Things
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        • Water Systems on Earth
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        • Wayfinding: Making sense of your world: Learning and Living Sustainably
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        • Science 7 Earth Surface Processes: Learning and Living Sustainably
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        • Diversity of Life
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        • Water Systems on Earth's Surface
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        • Life Systems: Diversity of Living Things
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        • Interactions and Ecosystems
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        • Freshwater and Saltwater Systems
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        • Science 6: Diversity of Life
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        • Science 7: Environmental Action
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        • Life Systems: Diversity of Living Things
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        • Interactions and Ecosystems
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        • Freshwater and Saltwater Systems
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        • Diversity of Life
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      • Science
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        • Interactions Within Ecosystems
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      • Science
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        • Water Systems on Earth
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        • Science 6: Life Science: Diversity of Living Things
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        • Science 7: Life Science: Interactions within Ecosystems
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        • Science 8: Water Systems on Earth
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        • Science 6: Multicellular organisms rely on internal systems to survive, reproduce, and interact with their environment.

Themes Addressed

Waste Management (2)

  • Liquid Waste
  • Source Reduction

Water (3)

  • Marine Environments
  • Water Quality
  • Watershed Protection

Sustainability Education Principles

Principle Rating Explanation
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives Very Good

Through the resource's activities, the students are allowed to explore the topic and learn about the potential pollutants and threats to a healthy watershed.

Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
  • Satisfactory: absence of bias towards any one point of view
  • Good: students consider different points of view regarding issues, problems discussed
  • Very good: based on the consideration of different views, students form opinions and  take an informed position
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions Satisfactory

The resource does a wonderful job exploring the environmental aspect of the problem of watershed pollution.  The teacher will have to supplement the resource with information on the economic and social dimensions of the issue.

Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions:

Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.

  • Satisfactory: resource supports the examination of  these dimensions
  • Good:  resource explicitly examines the interplay of these dimensions
  • Very Good:  a systems-thinking approach is encouraged to examine these three dimensions
Respects Complexity Very Good

Through the discussion questions, the students learn that pinpointing the source of pollutants and cleaning up the water are not easy tasks.

Respects Complexity:

The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected.

Acting on Learning Very Good

The final activity of creating a brochure to be distributed in the community allows for innovative action toward positive change.

Acting on Learning:

Learning moves from understanding  issues  to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community,  or for the planet

  • Satisfactory: action opportunities are included as extensions 
  • Good: action opportunities are core components of the resource
  • Very Good: action opportunities for students are well supported and intended to result in observable, positive change
Values Education Very Good

Through the discussion questions and the observations made, the students have opportunities to express and clarify their beliefs.

Values Education:

Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values.

Empathy & Respect for Humans Poor/Not considered

This is not a focus of this lesson.

Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.).
Personal Affinity with Earth Very Good

The resource creates an understanding of the importance of water and working towards protecting it.

Personal Affinity with Earth:

Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.  

  • Satisfactory: connection is made to the natural world
  • Good: fosters appreciation/concern for the natural world
  • Very Good: fosters stewardship though practical and respectful experiences out-of-doors 
Locally-Focused Learning Very Good

The final activity allows the students to make observations of the watershed in their own neighborhood.  This results in a brochure being created that will be distributed in the community to raise awareness.

Locally-Focused Learning:

Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community. 

  • Satisfactory: learning is made relevant to the lives of the learners
  • Good: learning is made relevant and has a local focus
  • Very Good: learning is made relevant, local and takes place ‘outside’ , in the community 
Past, Present & Future Very Good
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future.

Pedagogical Approaches

Principle Rating Explanation
Open-Ended Instruction Very Good

The activities are structured so that the ideas around a watershed and its pollution are made clear to the students.  Although the correct answers must be sought, the students are allowed to gather the information to make informed decisions.

Open-Ended Instruction :

Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer.

Integrated Learning Satisfactory
  • Literacy
  • Science
Integrated Learning:

Learning brings together content and skills  from more than one  subject area

  • Satisfactory: content from a number of different  subject areas is readily identifiable
  • Good:  resource is appropriate for use in more than one subject area
  • Very Good:  the lines between subjects are blurred 
Inquiry Learning Good

The students are guided through the activities by questions from the teacher, and the students work to gather the necessary information to find answers.

Inquiry Learning:

Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.   

  • Satisfactory: Students are provided with questions/problems to solve and some direction on how to arrive at solutions.
  • Good: students, assisted by the teacher clarify the question(s) to ask and the process to follow to arrive at solutions.  Sometimes referred to as Guided Inquiry
  • Very Good:  students generate the questions and assume much of the responsibility for how to solve them.  . Sometimes referred to as self-directed learning.

 

Differentiated Instruction Good

The activities are very engaging and address the needs of a variety of learners. There aren't any suggestions for strategies for learners with difficulties.

Differentiated Instruction:

Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.

  • Satisfactory:  includes a variety of instructional approaches
  • Good: addresses  the needs of visual, auditory &  kinesthetic learners
  • Very Good: also includes strategies for learners with difficulties
Experiential Learning Very Good

The hands on nature of the activities coupled with the experience of observing the school's own watershed, allows for the students to have a real world experience with the concept of watersheds.

Experiential Learning:

Authentic learning experiences are provided

  • Satisfactory: learning takes place through ‘hands-on’ experience or simulation
  • Good: learning involves direct experience in a ‘real world context’
  • Very good: learning involves ‘real world experiences’ taking place’ beyond the school walls.
Cooperative Learning Satisfactory
Cooperative Learning:

Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.

  • Satisfactory:  students work in groups
  • Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught and practiced
  • Very Good: cooperative learning skills are explicitly taught, practiced and assessed
Assessment & Evaluation Good

The resource does offer evaluation suggestions.  No rubrics are provided.

Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc.
Peer Teaching Satisfactory
Peer Teaching:

Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.

  • Satisfactory: incidental teaching that arises from cooperative learning, presentations, etc.
  • Good or Very Good: an opportunity is intentionally created to empower students to teach other students/community members. The audience is somehow reliant on the students' teaching (students are not simply ‘presenting')
Case Studies Poor/Not considered

The lesson plan is not structured in this manner; although the teacher could research "Yellow Fish Road" and share with the students what this project entails.

Case Studies:

Relevant case studies are included.  Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore  concepts in an authentic context.

Locus of Control Good

There is some limited choice for a report format; however, most of the resource and its activities are decided for the student.

Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue.

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