Michigan Reach Out
Ocean in a Bottle
At this site students will discover what happens when oil or liquid detergent are dumped into our earth's water supply.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Ocean Planet
A series of lesson plans designed to be used with the Smithsonian Ocean Planet exhibit (available online). Lesson topics include marine ecosystems, pollution of ocean water, animal strandings, and literature.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Tad the Tadpole
Tad the Tadpole is designed to demonstrate how pollution in various areas affects wildlife in their native habitats. The lesson is designed to stress the importance of conservation for animals and their surrounding environment. Upon...
University of Arizona
University of Arizona: Pulse: Cultures and Cycles: Arsenic and Human Health
Interdisciplinary unit about the risk of exposure to arsenic in public drinking water. Math, language arts, social studies, and science are incorporated into the lessons.
PBS
Pbs News Hour Extra: Tracking the Health Effects of Natural Disasters
Students examine the impact of natural disasters, such as flooding, on public health, and study diseases and other secondary conditions associated with stagnant water. Lesson includes resources for students to research epidemics and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: On the Move
Looking at models and maps, students explore different pathways and consequences of pollutant transport via the weather and water cycles. In an associated literacy activity, students develop skills of observation, recording and reporting...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Who's Down the Well?
Drinking water comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. Environmental engineers analyze the physical properties of groundwater to predict how and where surface contaminants will travel. In this lesson,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: You Are What You Drink!
Contamination in drinking water sources or watersheds can negatively affect the organisms that come in contact with it. The affects can be severe - causing illness or, in some cases, even death. It is important for people to understand...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Epa: Excuse Me, Is This the Way to the Drain Pipe? [Pdf]
Ever wonder where your drinking water comes from? And what happens to it after you're done? "Excuse Me, Is this the Way to the Drain Pipe?" is a great story and lesson plan about a drop of water going through the water cycle and through...
The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute Online: Slick Sea Spills
Use this site to promote environmental awareness in your classroom with this lesson on the effects of oil spills on water habitats.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Can We Revive Lake Erie's "Dead Zone?"
This Ohio Sea Grant website features a WebQuest-like activity that explores the development of a dead zone, an oxygen-deprived area where there is no life, in Lake Erie. The activity aims to teach students about the processes that...
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Virginia Institute of Marine Science: Ghostbusting in the Chesapeake
Because abandoned crab fishing pots can create havoc in the marine ecosystem, scientists and fishermen are researching ways in which to collect them. In this lesson students will explore catch data collected by the watermen from the...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Epa: Build Your Own Watershed
How can you learn to build your own watershed? This site features an activity to illustrate the basic properties of a watershed. Don't miss out.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: An Underground River
Groundwater is one of the largest sources of drinking water, so environmental engineers need to understand groundwater flow in order to tap into this important resource. Environmental engineers also study groundwater to predict where...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Oil Spill
This lesson will allow learners to explore an important role of environmental engineers: cleaning the environment. Students will learn details about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which was one of the most publicized and studied...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Young scholars are presented with examples of the types of problems that environmental engineers solve, specifically focusing on air and land quality issues. Air quality topics include air pollution sources, results of poor air quality...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is an interesting and somewhat publicized environmental problem. A swirling soup of trash up to 10 meters deep and just below the water surface is composed mainly of non-degradable plastics. These...