For the duration of 1 school semester, Lynne and Peko were teaching together
as a team once a week. Lynne is a 7th grade science teacher at the Charleston
County School of the Arts.
Peko is a 2nd year graduate student at MUSC in Pharmacology - Marine Biomedicine.
Together they developed a lesson plan to illustrate the concepts of watersheds.
Objectives of the lesson:
- Students will be able
to understand concept of a watershed including groundwater, runoff, drainage
divide and drainage basin.
- Students will be able
to infer what happens to water that does not soak into the ground
- Students will be able
to model a watershed
- Students will be able
to make connections to environmental impact
- Students will be able
to communicate the concept of watershed
Description of Lesson:
Lynne and Peko showed a map of South Carolina to show watersheds
In groups of 5, students created a model of a geographic area
in a large pan (aproximately
36"x 24"x 2") by balling up newspaper
and randomly placing the balls of paper
within the pan.
Then the students
covered the pan with plastic creating a contoured landscape.
Students used
spray bottles filled with slightly blue colored water to rain on the landscape
and observed how the water flowed.
Students drew a map of the area showing relief and water flow. The
students were to:
¤ Identify bodies of water and name them.
¤ Identify from where the water came to
fill those bodies of water.
¤ Name those bodies of water.
Using miniature toy (Monopoly®) houses, each student placed
a home somewhere on the landscape. Each house had a lawn (sponge).
As individual groups (community), the students decided which body of
water they would use for drinking water (reservoir).
The students placed a piece of filter paper in the bottom of that reservoir
to indicate any possible pollution (color change).
As a community, the students also decided where the landfill would
be located. The landfill was a piece of sponge soaked in red food
coloring.
The students then sprayed the landscape again (rain) and observed
their model.
A Lawn care salesperson ( Lynne's Oscar® performance)
tried to sell individuals in each community fertilizers, insecticides
and herbicides
for a "beautiful lawn". Each member of the community made the decision
to use these chemicals or not. Students then rained again and observed
the
flow of pollutants and what occured during flooding.
Students then drew what is happening on their map. As a group,
the students answered critical thinking questions on the handout (passed
out after
the project had been completed).
Students were encouraged to visit other "communities" in the classroom
and to discuss what had happened and why it happened.
***** see the students in action, and watch the whole movie! *****
click on the picture above to start