Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose River Is It?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore the world around them through authors, poets, and artists eyes and ears as it relates to them with the river theme. They examine and interpret conditions that might affect the river. Students read books about rivers....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biography of a River

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the importance of rivers. They conduct research on a select river, and develop a river biography that includes a century report, description, interviews, and an epitaph in the form of a Cinquain.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A River Runs Through It

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students solve an environmental problem on a local river. They use their knowledge of river ecology to develop an action plan. They use river-monitoring equipment to collect river- monitoring data, including biological, physical, and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Exploring the "Our Rivers" Section

For Students 5th - 12th
In this rivers worksheet, students access a website to answer questions about the Fraser River watershed in British Columbia. This worksheet has 8 short answer questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interpreting Photographs

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars examine photographs and complete research on river transportation. They describe the beginnings and innovations of the steamboats. Students research the development of trade from the 1700s through the 1800s. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flood!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct a model of a river system. Students observe the effects caused by water rushing through riverbanks and across plains. They predict what will happen when levees are added to the model. Students test their hypothesis.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography Action! Rivers 2001- River Puzzle

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students cut out puzzle pieces and create a healthy river by putting the pieces together in a logical order on construction paper. Students begin by placing the "source" piece at the start of the river and the "mouth" piece at the end,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography Action! Rivers 2001- Human River

For Teachers K - 4th
Students create a 'human river' by arranging themselves into a river pattern. Each student selects an article to represent a pollutant such as paper, book, or pencil. Students at the source of the river pass their pollutant on to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lotic Environment Lesson Plans

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create and conduct experiments on a "classroom river habitat." They manipulate the biotic and abiotic factors so that they are able to compare an artificially prepared river model to a naturally occurring lotic ecosystem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A River Runs Through Our Town

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars conduct an interview with a town resident, asking them to describe the history, use, and their memories of a river common to their community. They create a drawing of the river using information from the interview, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Michigan Quarter Reverse: A Coin Out of Water

For Teachers K - 1st
Students examine the Michigan quarter reverse and differentiate between bodies of water. On copies of the quarter reverse, they color the land green and the water blue. After observing photos of water bodies, they complete a worksheet...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Coin Out of Water

For Teachers K - 1st
Students examine the Michigan state quarter and identify land and water on the quarter. They locate the Great Lakes and other bodies of water on a map. They compare and contrast streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans.
Interactive
Eduweb

Eduweb: Amazon Interactive

For Students 9th - 10th
Games and activities help students explore the Ecuadorian Amazon. Learn about the rainforest and the Quichua people who call it home, and experiment with running a community-based ecotourism project along the Rio Napo.
Handout
Other

A Biography of Claude Monet

For Students 9th - 10th
This great biographical timeline of Claude Monet's life. Includes images of some of his works as well as the works of those who he referred.
Website
PBS

Pbs: Journey to Planet Earth: Rivers of Destiny

For Students 9th - 10th
Journey to four major river systems - the Mississippi, Amazon, Jordan and Mekong rivers - and take a look at the challenges happening to the people whose livelihood hinges around them.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Carve That Mountain

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students further investigate major landforms (e.g., mountains, rivers, plains, hills, oceans and plateaus). They build a three-dimensional model of a landscape depicting several of these landforms. Once they have built...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Permeable Pavement

For Teachers 4th - 7th
In this activity, students investigate how different riparian ground covers, such as grass and pavement, affect river flooding. They learn about permeable and impermeable materials through the measurement how much water is absorbed by...
Website
US Environmental Protection Agency

Epa: Water Resources: Water Bodies

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about EPA's work to protect and manage water resources and what you can do to help.
Website
US Geological Survey

U.s. Geological Survey

For Students 9th - 10th
The U.S. Geological Survey reports on the latest news affecting the earth today, as well as providing a wealth of data, reports, and information.
Activity
National Geographic

National Geographic: Mapping u.s. Watersheds

For Students 2nd - 6th
Students will identify and explore major rivers and watersheds in the United States.
Handout
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Ohio Stream Management Guide: Natural Stream Processes [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides detailed and technical information and diagrams concerning stream formation, channel shapes, erosional process, and stream management.
Unit Plan
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Extension: All Star River Explorers

For Students 3rd - 5th
An interactive site to teach students how rivers are formed, how they change, and why they are important. Cross-curricular activities in language arts, math, science, social studies, and art, some of which include worksheets to download,...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Erosion in Rivers

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Students learn about water erosion through an experimental process in which small-scale buildings are placed along a simulated riverbank to experience a range of flooding conditions. They make model buildings either with a 3D printer or...
Activity
National Geographic

National Geographic: A River Puzzle

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Use this lesson plan from National Geographic Education to explore rivers and their watersheds, using where they live as an example. Necessary vocabulary for the lesson is included as well as a puzzle for students to figure out that...