Basin Teacher Resources

What does it mean to be a good steward? Middle school environmentalists learn to care for their state's waterways through research, a guest speaker, and poster activity. Groups must locate and learn more about a river basin and the human...

Covering 23% of the continent and holding 64,900 cubic kilometers of water, the Great Artesian Basin is the primary source of water for much of inland Australia. Using detailed student worksheets, experiments, and case studies, young...

High schoolers research the hydroelectric plant removal project that is underway on the Klamath River. They consider the replacement of hydroelectric dams with geothermal power plants and form an argument based on their viewpoints. Since...

Learners use watershed maps to explore the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in Louisiana. In this geography lesson plan, students identify important features such as elevation, vegetation, cultural, historical and land use on a map of Lake...

Students log news articles about the changes in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. In this wetlands and news lesson plan, students track articles about the wetlands area around Lake Pontchartrain, write brief summaries, include pictures, and...

Students view a video about how human actions impact the environment. They design a set of experiments to address some of the problems and issues raised by the video.

Students explore four Native American tribes from Nevada. In this Native American history lesson, students identify and generate important corresponding attributes of the Southern Paiute, Northern Paiute, Washoe, and Western Shoshone...

With about 70% of the earth's surface covered in oceans, it's fair to say that we live in a very wet world. Young scientists gain a better appreciation of this fact as they use maps to identify the world's ocean basins in the first...

Students define surface water, drainage basin or watershed. They investigate what affects runoff in a drainage basin. They complete lab sheets and worksheets.

Learners design a project for solutions for pollution problems at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. In this pollution instructional activity, students research the pollution problems and solutions for Lake Pontchartrain. Learners answer the...

Students, after researching a Texas coastal basin, map and graph the information they collect and then translate it into a short report to be presented to their classmates. They brainstorm unique ways to maintain Texas estuaries as well...

Young scholars explore cultural history of immigrant groups that settled in the Columbia River Basin from 1850 to World War II, and examine various primary sources to explore role cultural and social customs played in keeping alive...

Students research the Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive (CRBEHA) and use a variety of primary sources to explore the history of blacks in the region.

How prevalent is pollution in the water system? A hands-on activity focuses on one area that is prone to pollution. Learners use game chips to represent clean water and polluted water and complete an activity that demonstrates how...

High schoolers identify that the crust of the earth is constantly moving and that with the exception of faults accompanied by earthquakes, this rate of movement is far too slow to notice. Then they print a copy of cross-section map A and...

Students examine the major paths of water on the Earth's surface, and to investigate the many factors that contribute to those paths. Students demonstrate their understanding of a watershed by identifying the defining features of a...

This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...

Students research and produce an iMovie documentary about the human and natural history of a stream basin (watershed).

Students use this WebQuest to be able to comprehend the natural history and biological diversity of the Mono Basin, an environment directly affected by the needs of humans. They explain what makes Mono Lake unique, including the extreme...

Students examine the attributes of the tribes that inhabited the Columbia River Basin. In this Lewis and Clark lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation that requires them to participate in a seasonal round, in which they...

Work on your map skills with a packet of activities about the river basins in the Democratic Republic on Congo. Learners study the maps provided before answering the geography questions and writing an acrostic poem about the region.

In this surface water worksheet, students review water runoff, drainage basins, and river erosion. This worksheet has 7 multiple choice and 3 fill in the blank questions.

Students examine the influence of the end wall. They find a basin size and wind speed such that a given wall height is overtopped. Then, increase the wall elevation until overtopping stops. Students explain the difference in results.

Students use fossil leaves and a mathematical formula to study climate change. In this climate change and fossil lesson plan, students determine the differences in temperatures during two different times during the Cenozoic era using...