Rivers Unit Part 1: Rivers and Watersheds

Part 1 is all about Rivers and Watersheds and includes 6 lessons of about 50 minutes, and a 15 page work bundle that has students fill-in critical notes, conduct exciting hands-on activities, answer questions, complete quizzes, and much more. Students use stream tables with simple materials and identify parts of a river, design a river project, explore watersheds, and much more as they move through the work bundle.

his PowerPoint begins discussing watersheds with a color coded red slide which means it is important. A picture of the Mississippi River watershed is shown. Next a picture of the continental divide in the U.S. is shown. Over the next series of slides, arrows and paint effects are used to show how water that falls on one side will travel to the Pacific, and if it falls on the other it will drain to the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Basin is addressed with a special focus that it is salt water and does not flow to the ocean. A series of challenge based question follows and has the students choose from a series of pictures. Rivers of the United States are then addressed. A blank map of the United States that only has rivers is shown. An arrow points to a river and the students try and name the river. Each slide uncovers the name of the river. The major rivers in the United States are addressed. This activity repeats itself several times allowing students to learn the rivers through repetition. Students build upon this new understanding of Rivers in the U.S. and learn how several rivers can join together to create a watershed. In a step by step process, the majors rivers are shown and watersheds are color coded in the United States. The question of where rivers start is asked to the class. Mountains and some pictures of headwater streams are described. A series of challenge questions have the students learn some basics of how smaller rivers join bigger rivers, tributaries, and other neat brain teasers.

The parts of a river are then described (Headwaters, Downriver, Floodplain, Mouth/Delta) Each section has a red slide definition and supported pictures. An activity is described that uses Google Earth to follow a river from its headwaters to the ocean. Special references are made to estuaries during the Mouth / Delta. Stream order is then described in a step by step process. Students sketch a picture of a stream in their journal / notebook. In a step by step process students determine the stream order placing a 1 at all of the headwater streams. Then slide by slide, students are shown how when two headwater streams come together it becomes a stream order of 2. The activity concludes at a stream order of 4. Students are then asked a series of challenge questions about stream order. A really neat activity follows that has the class create a giant river on the floor. The class is divided into four different groups (headwaters, downriver, floodplain, Mouth/Delta) Each member gets a sheet of white paper. Each group elects a person to collaborate with another group so that the headwaters join to the downriver, and the downriver to the floodplain, and the floodplain to the mouth/delta. Pictures and descriptions of these sections have been covered throughout the PowerPoint and a provide information allows groups members to add some information to their section of the river. Some links with additional info is also provided. When the students put all of the sheets together, they have a really neat river. To help the students, parts of a river are addressed in the slideshow. Students learn in the parts of a river in a step by step process. A sketch of a basic river is provided. Students then add labels to their sketch as they learn a new part of a river. Paint images accompany each new part of the river that is learned. Images and descriptions of each part of the river are provided. (Erosion, Deposition, Cut-bank, Riffles, Pool, Point Bar, Meander, Oxbow Lake (Formation covered in a step by step process) Old Channel, Terraces, Riparian Area, Braided Stream, Estuary, Alluvial Fan). Constant reminders of how erosion occurs in the headwaters, is transported down the river, and deposited in the floodplain are spread throughout. Challenge questions are provided after many of the above terms to help students review / apply points learned. A 1-10 visual quiz is then provided. Students see a picture and need to record the correct part of the river. The answers are then provided after the quiz. The question is previewed one last time before the answer is revealed. A stream table activity is provided which requires trays, sand, water, some old books/stand, and plastic containers with a hole punched in them, or plastic tubes that can be used to siphon water. A clay ball can help plug the hole when needed. Students run the stream table and need to point out the terms that were covered on the quiz. A series of pictures of stream table features require students to identify some stream table features on the big screen. Three hidden box games wrap up the PowerPoint that have the students guess a picture that is hidden beneath boxes. Each slide reveals more of the picture beneath while the students try to guess. This is a really neat PowerPoint that is full of great activities and visuals. The quiz at the end and built-in activities constantly review prior knowledge. The stream table is a great wrap up of the activity. Please see my entire Rivers, Lakes, and Water Quality Unit described below before purchasing this unit.