Science teachers are always on the lookout for a good water quality lesson. There are many sources of water quality lessons on the Internet. Here are a few of the better ones.
The internet has a wealth of great information teachers can use. Water quality is such an important subject that it would benefit students and the planet if teachers offered a lesson on it.
The Hach Company's H20 University is a water quality resource for K-12 students and teachers. It includes information about testing water, factors that affect water quality, important safety information, the "Teaching Water Science" online newsletter, posters, product information, and more. Hach Company is a manufacturer of water quality testing equipment and supplies, so it knows something about the subject of good water quality lessons.
LessonPlanet.com, "the search engine for teachers", contains over 1,000 water quality lessons. A search for "water quality" yields listings such as "Testing Water Quality", "Water Quality Monitoring", and "Water Conductivity And Total Dissolved Solids Water Quality Sampling". A typical description of a water quality lesson plan is as follows:
Students discuss the differences between non-point and point source water pollution then relate it to fluctuations in the total dissolved solids present in a body of water. They practice conductivity testing on known samples and then create contaminated samples for another group to test.
More detailed reviews of each water quality lesson plan are available at a mouse-click. Each water quality lesson plan summary provides an indicator of the appropriate grade level, and a five-star system of ratings made by teachers.
The Carey Institute of Ecosystem Studies (www.ecostudies.org) has a complete curriculum of water quality lesson plans for K-12 teachers. The focus of the Carey Institutes’ water quality lesson plans is the Hudson River, but the principles taught in the water quality lesson plans are applicable to any body of water. Five lesson plans are presented:
- The Hudson River Ecosystem: A great place to start!
- Invasive Species: Students investigate two major change agents in the river.
- Weather & Climate: What happens when extreme weather and climate change arrive in the Valley?
- Pollution: How has the Hudson River's health changed over time?
- Land Use Change: What did the Hudson Valley look like in the past?
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Clemson University offers a water quality lesson plan for students in grades 4-8 that includes classroom work and a field trip to provide hands-on experience in water quality measurement. The water quality lesson plan includes colorful slideshows, and handouts for students and teachers:
Students identify the abiotic (non-living) factors (such as water flow, temperature, pH and turbidity) which influence a river or stream and examine the biotic environment by identifying the aquatic organisms they collect. They then assess water quality with the Pollution Tolerance Index, a tool that uses the pollution tolerance levels of certain “indicator organisms” to gauge the health of a stream. The lesson plan contains helpful background information and explains how to collect and identify organisms. A PowerPoint slide show adds close-up photographs of organisms likely to be encountered.
Download the class or study materials to use for your water quality lessons.
The Web abounds with water quality lesson plans for all grade levels.
