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Arizona STEM

Acceleration Project

Watersheds

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Watersheds

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A 4th grade STEM lesson

Kay Kelly

4/22/2023

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Notes for Teachers

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  • This lesson takes place in a classroom for one or more hours.
  • It is a teacher-guided lesson and hands-on activity as well.
  • Branching Out Activity- Gather the materials needed before conducting the activity.
  • After the lessons, play the assessment on Kahoot. You can copy the questions and transfer them into document. I prefer Kahoot, it is the best play to do formative assessment.
  • Let the students know by the end of the lesson that they are expected to write an informative essay. List down important information to support the essay.

List of Materials:

  • Branching Out Watershed Activity
    • paper and markers
  • Watershed Assessment is on Kahoot

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  • Watershed STEM Sheet

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  • Additional Resources:
    • Enrichment Activity: Importance of Water
    • Remediation (How to write an Informative text videos):

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Arizona Science Standards

Science Standards:

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4.4.E1U3.9 Construct and support an evidence-based argument about the availability of water and its impact on life.

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Science and Engineering Practices

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  • ask questions and define problems
  • develop and use models
  • analyze and interpret data
  • construct explanations and design solutions
  • engage in argument from evidence
  • obtain, evaluate and communicate information

Arizona ELA Standards

4.RL.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

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RI.4.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

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4.W.2.Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

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4.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly

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Objective:

Today we will develop an understanding of watersheds and their importance.

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Did you know that 70% of the earth is covered by water? Water is everywhere!

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Water is a major necessity to life. Without water, life on earth would not even exist! And that includes all life– not just humankind.

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Watershed

What is a watershed?

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Watershed

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A watershed is the land area that drains water into a particular stream, river, or lake.

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It is a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevation between two areas on a map, often a ridge.

What is a watershed?

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Because we all live on the land, we all live in a watershed — thus a watershed condition is important to everyone.

What is a watershed?

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Can you see the watersheds in this map?

Watershed

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How many watershed do you see?

There are four watersheds!

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Which way does the water flow?

Everywhere!

Watershed

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Watershed

What are its parts?

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Parts of the watershed

The areas of high elevation in a watershed.

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Parts of the watershed

What is a place where freshwater and saltwater meet called?

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Parts of the watershed

When all the streams and rivers that combine and eventually flow into the bay.

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Salt River Watershed Map

  • Main stem = blue/purple
  • Primary tributary = green
  • Secondary and beyond� = red/orange

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Arizona Watershed

  • Main stem = blue/purple
  • Primary tributary = green
  • Secondary and beyond� = red/orange

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Watershed

How do they interact?

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Branching Out Activity (part 1)

Watershed Interactions

Using a piece of paper and coloring materials create a watershed.

  • This is a raised-relief map/physical map.
  • Include the following details:
    • Ridges (along upfold) = Green
    • Valleys (along downfold) = Blue
    • Farms (colored area) = Brown
    • Old Mines (*) = Red
    • Cities (#) = Purple
  • Predict how water will flow

on your model

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  • Main stem = blue/purple
  • Primary tributary = green
  • Secondary and beyond� = red/orange

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Branching Out Activity (part 2)

  • Main stem = blue/purple
  • Primary tributary = green
  • Secondary and beyond� = red/orange

Watershed Interactions

Take the models outside and spray with water.

Ask:

  • What is a watershed?
  • What are its parts? How do they interact?

Do a gallery walk of all of the maps.

  • How are they the same?
  • How are they different?

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Turn and Talk

  • Primary tributary = green

Why do watersheds need to be protected?

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Why do watersheds need to be protected?

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Assessment

Links for the assessment:

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https://create.kahoot.it/share/watershed/b443b21e-47a3-422a-b9d3-1274625b321f

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ELA Assessment

Informative text is a nonfiction writing used to provide information about a particular topic.

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Write an essay about why do watershed need to be protected? What can we do to protect it?

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They can use their science journal notebook or you can use this STEM sheet. Link here

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Differentiation

  • Students who are struggling to start their informative essays, put them together as a group and review the importance of watershed. Use a bubble map to list ideas together.
  • Review how to write an informative essay. Links here:
  • Help students to create a hook in their essay.

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Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students who are successful right away can read this informative text about the importance of water. Read the text and ask the students to write a summary about the text.

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Importance of Water

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Watch the video

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Video 1: https://youtu.be/rEJ5yuFR3f8

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