{"id":15460,"date":"2021-09-20T12:48:53","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T16:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=15460"},"modified":"2024-08-19T12:16:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T16:16:39","slug":"coastwatch-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/coastwatch-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastwatch Classroom: The Watershed Wisdom Lesson Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Christy Perrin serves as sustainable waters and communities coordinator for North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Water Resources Research Institute. She helps run the statewide N.C. Watershed Stewardship Network (WSN) in partnership with N.C. Division of Water Resources. Perrin, Paula Edelson of PBS North Carolina, and Lauren Daniel of N.C. Division of Water Resources Water Education led a WSN team that recently won a national APEX Grand Award for Publication Excellence for The Watershed Wisdom Lesson Plan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the pandemic continues to affect K-12 learning models, several thousand North Carolina teachers, students, and families already have accessed the free Watershed Wisdom<\/em> online lesson plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watershed Wisdom<\/em> provides a thorough introduction to the value of water and maintaining healthy watershed ecosystems. The lesson plan includes guidance for elementary school teachers and a wide range of activities for North Carolina students. In addition, a companion \u201cLearning from Home Guide\u201d highlights activities that teachers can assign online to accommodate remote learning across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We designed Watershed Wisdom<\/em> to support North Carolina teachers by providing them with an easily accessible lesson plan that meets required N.C. Essential Standards. We created it to get students outdoors, empower them, teach them about their local watersheds, and prompt student-parent interactions with the concepts at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our PBS North Carolina partners helped us to achieve this and more. They led development of Watershed Wisdom<\/em>, including a completely interactive online component, \u201cWays of Watersheds.\u201d The lesson plan makes a wide range of tools available, from videos to maps to interviewing activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portions of the lesson plan are below. Watershed Wisdom<\/em> is available in full at no cost by opening a free Learning Media account<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"image:<\/a>
Courtesy of NC State University Photos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Watershed Wisdom<\/em> Lesson Plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is the case in many states, North Carolina has suffered its share of flooding, and its citizens have coped with fairly significant periods of drought and polluted waterways. With environmental issues such as extreme weather events on the rise, everyone \u2014 and especially students \u2014 should understand that water is a natural resource that needs to be valued and protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed for alignment with North Carolina 4th-grade and 5th-grade science standards, but appropriate for all students, regardless of age and location, Watershed Wisdom<\/em> is a blended lesson that combines interactive components with hands-on projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With enough content to fill two full weeks of class time, the lesson begins with a host of activities to introduce students to the topic, including River Avengers<\/a>, a short animation featuring four youngsters who pose an inquiry to the class: What ideas do students have to keep the river near their school safe and clean?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Watershed Wisdom Lesson Plan includes \u201cRiver Avengers,\u201d an animated video.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rest of the lesson helps students gain the knowledge they will need to solve that inquiry through creative design-thinking tasks, group events, an interactive map activity provided by the EPA\u2019s EnviroAtlas<\/em> website, and other rich content that serves not only to educate students about water but to inspire them to take action to protect this valuable resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time allotment<\/strong>: Seven to 10 class periods for the entire lesson plan. Each activity takes a class period or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning objectives<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n