During the COVID-19 school shutdown, we made our fifth grade water education materials available online to teachers, students, and parents. The materials include slide shows, videos, and handouts about polluted stormwater runoff and water conservation.
Please email Outreach & Communications Director, Nancy Fyler, if you need additional materials or have any questions.
Self-Paced Slide Show Presentations
These presentations are based on MA fifth grade science standards and the content has been used successfully in classrooms across the Neponset Watershed for the past 12 years.
Water Conservation Presentation
- Description of water distribution systems and infrastructure (pumps, wells, tanks, pipes)
- Explanation of surface water and groundwater
- Water distribution in homes and measuring daily usage (gallons per minutes, gallons per flush)
- Ways to conserve water
Stormwater Pollution Presentation
- Description and causes of polluted stormwater runoff
- Stormwater infrastructure, storm drains, outfall pipes
- Methods to prevent polluted stormwater runoff
Additional Water Conservation Resources
- Use this Water Calculator to see much water your family uses and try to conserve more!
- Learn 100 Ways to Conserve Water
- Water Conservation Game – Tip Tank
- Discover the Role of Water in our lives using this fun and interactive website
Projects
Printouts
- Water conservation and protection checklist
- Promise to conserve water
- Family water use audit
- Water conservation word search
- Make an “edible” aquifer – Learn about aquifers in a yummy way!
- Water cycle coloring sheet
Videos
- What is groundwater?
- Learn why it’s important to conserve groundwater (from singing groundhogs!)
- Get a fish-eye view of stormwater runoff from a scuba diver
- Learn about watersheds from pirates
- Watch a stormwater demonstration
- Tour the Neponset River Watershed
Additional Resources
- Book – “A River Ran Wild” by Lynne Cherry – An environmental history and a history of technology. It will aid in the teaching of values and philosophy (i.e. Are humans part of nature? Are they apart of the food chain, or separate and independent from nature?)
- Website – Project WET – Explore Watersheds! – a fun & interactive way to learn about watersheds
- Website – Test Your WaterSense!
