Overview
In this lesson students will learn that they live in a watershed and what’s needed to become a steward to protect it. They will experiment with soil and water to analyze soil drainage. Using the New Mexico watersheds as the case study, students will review the components of watersheds and their function. They will contemplate the negative and positive impact humans have on their watersheds.
Grade Level
8th-12th Grades
Essential questions the lesson will address:
● Does our new knowledge that we live in a watershed change our definition and perception of our community?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
● Articulate the importance of watersheds as a source of drinking water.
● Utilize the provided maps and figures to identify the location and components of the Upper Pecos Watershed.
● Be able to assess and explain how various components such as soil and plants function in a watershed.
Common Core State Standards (9th Grade)
Common Core State Standards (9th grade)
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.3
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.9
Water Warriors Glossary and Concepts
● Watershed: an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel.
● Infiltration: the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.
● Precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.
● Soil Drainage: the rate at which water moves down through the soil.
● Groundwater: water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.
● Soil:top layer of the earth's surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic matter.
International Document Reference
Formative Assessment Strategies (What will you be looking for in their work, and how?)
The teacher can make note of:
● Student participation during the soil demonstration.
● Class-wide discussion during the map exploration activities.
Materials for Instructor
● SmartBoard or Projector
● Beaker/Glass filled with soil
● Water
● Water Warriors Glossary Board (Physical or Virtual)
● Watershed Vocabulary Worksheet
● Major Watersheds of New Mexico Map (Figure 1) to project
● Map of the Pecos River (Figure 2) to project
● Watershed: Components and Functions Worksheet
● Watershed: Components and Functions Worksheet Answers
Materials for Students
● Water Warriors Journal
● Impact of Human Activity on Watersheds Handout
LESSON PLAN
I. Introduction and Discussion (10 min.)
Show students a beaker with soil. Ask students to share aloud what they think will happen if water is poured into the soil. After students share their responses, begin to pour some water into the beaker with the soil.
After pouring water into the beaker and students see what happens, ask students to respond aloud to the following discussion questions:
● Why and how does water travel through the soil?
● Do you think the water would have traveled in the same manner if the beaker was filled with marbles? What if the beaker was filled with concrete?
Project the Watershed Vocabulary Worksheet for all students to see.
Review the vocabulary definitions (precipitation, infiltration, soil drainage, groundwater, and soil). Connect the new terms to the questions the class answered above and the beaker demonstration. Ensure students understand how water travels through the soil before continuing on in the lesson.
II. New Mexico Watersheds (25 min.)
Step One. (10 min.)
Now that students have reviewed how water travels through the ground, introduce them to the definition of a watershed.
Watershed: An area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel.
Explain to students that watersheds provide our supply of water
To support students’ understanding of a watershed stream this 1 minute and 17-second video: What is a watershed.
Following the video, project the worksheet, Watersheds: Components and Functions, and lead the class to match the components.
Step Two. (5 min.)
*Note to Teacher: The Pecos Watershed is used as an example in this lesson. However, you can adapt the following activity and use your local watershed as the example. The homework following this lesson will guide students to investigate their own community’s watershed so the adaptation is not necessary, only an option.
Project the map of the Major Watersheds of New Mexico (Figure 1). Tell them that each area outlined in gray represents a watershed.
Ask students: How many watersheds are in New Mexico?
Share with students that in New Mexico mountain ranges separate a watershed from adjacent watersheds. Mountains collect snowpack and raindrops and supply rivers with running water throughout the seasons.
Step Three. (5 min.)
Support students in their understanding of watersheds by offering the following example of a watershed: A small brook flows into a river and the river then flows into a lake. All the land that surrounds the brook, river, and lake are in one watershed because all the water in the area flows into the lake.
Continue to project the Major Watersheds of New Mexico Map and determine which watershed serves New Mexico’s capital city of Santa Fe (Answer: The Rio Grande-Elephant Butte).
Then ask students to share if they think New Mexico supports the Atlantic or Pacific watershed. This is a bonus question. The answer is both! The Continental Divide passes through the western third of the state. Precipitation that falls in the Upper San Juan, Little Colorado, and Upper Gila Watersheds flows to the Pacific Ocean while water that falls in the remaining watersheds flows to the Atlantic Ocean.
Step Four (5 min.)
Project the Map of the Pecos River (Figure 2). Notice that it is a tributary of the Rio Grande. Ask students to consider the following questions:
● Where does the Pecos River flow when it leaves the Upper Pecos Watershed?
● What other New Mexico communities depend on clean and abundant water from the Upper Pecos River (Answer: Santa Rosa, Fort Sumner, Roswell, Artesia, and Carlsbad)?
● What populations outside of New Mexico depend on the improvement, maintenance, and protection of clean and flowing water from the Upper Pecos River? (Answer: Texas, Mexico)
III. Impact of Human Activity on Watersheds (10 min.)
Project the Impact of Human Activity on Watersheds worksheet and pass out a copy to each student. Begin to fill in the worksheet with the class and have them continue to answer them on their own as part of the homework assignment.
IV. Homework (5 min.) Take a few minutes to explain the homework assignment.
There are 3 parts to the homework assignment:
Complete the Impact of Human Activity on Watersheds worksheet
Identify the local watershed where your clean water is located
Write a short essay answering the following question: As a steward of your watershed are there any changes you plan to make in your daily routine or lifestyle to support it to stay protected and safe?
Note for Teacher:
New Mexico Watersheds Activity:
The Pecos Watershed is used as an example in this lesson. However, you can adapt the following activity and use your local watershed as the example. The homework following this lesson will guide students to investigate their own community’s watershed so the adaptation is not necessary, only an option.
Additional Resources:
● The USGS Water Science School