Watershed Dynamics: Overview

I am exploring the Google Classroom available through our School, Winchester Academy.  Next week, we have a special program scheduled on Tuesday to introduce the project.  On Tuesday, the students in grades 6-12 will take part in a series of workshops, activities, and training modules.  I am borrowing an Enviroscape model to introduce the watershed concept, doing Color Me A Watershed, inviting guest speakers, looking at Musselman High's former watershed program, The Incredible Journey, Bingo, activities at Cacapon Institute's Potomac Highlands eschool, and graphing exercises.

Okay, Tuesday's half-day workshop went pretty well.  The speakers could not come; we had plenty of activities and my son was home to help.  I planned about five hours of activities.  The kids created Paper Bag watersheds before we reviewed watershed principles with the Enviroscape model.  We borrowed our model.  Many conservation districts have access and will come out and do a presentation.  The conservation districts offer sponsor Envirothon, a competition in which teams of student test their knowledge of soils, wildlife, water quality, etc.  The conservation district's education representative can make a pitch.  Some districts can deliver presentations with a groundwater model or a lesson on soil assessment.  Both make excellent activities during a watershed program.  We used several ideas fro Project Wet and still need to go over National Geographic's Fieldscope program, GLOBE, GIS, IHMC, and Cacapon.

One thing we did do was have the kids set up their  Science Bingo boards and play bingo at the end of the morning.  I wrote twenty-five terms related to Watersheds on the board: load, riparian buffer, EPA, GIS, Field Scope, NOAA, impervious surface, point, non point, Cacapon, watershed, fence out streams, winter cover, macro invertebrates, rain garden, bioswale, rain barrels, runoff, any related terms.  Be sure to have the kids write their terms in different orders on their bingo boards.  We played several versions: Letter H for high school, four corners, postage stamp, to vary the game.