Our Grandchildrens' Watershed
In this project, students investigate the health of our local watershed, do weekly service-learning through volunteering with Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition, and create a PSA to promote water quality awareness in our county.
Master Plan & Timeline
Driving Question
How clean will your grandchildren’s water be if they live in Cherokee County?
Learning Objectives
Skills
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Plant Identification
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Inquiry-based Research
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Video Editing
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Collaboration
Content
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EEn 2.3.2: Explain how ground water and surface water interact
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EEn 2.4.1: Evaluate human influences on freshwater availability.
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EEn 2.4.2: Evaluate human influences on water quality in North Carolina’s river basins, wetlands and tidal environments.
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EEn 2.7.2: Explain why biodiversity is important to the biosphere.
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EEn 2.7.3: Explain how human activities impact the biosphere.
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EEn 2.8.2: Critique conventional and sustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices in terms of their environmental impacts.
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EEn 2.8.3: Explain the effects of uncontrolled population growth on the Earth’s resources.
Benchmarks
Entry Event
October 20, 2015
Callie Moore, the Executive Director of the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition, will address our class with a “State of the Watershed” speech that will provide you with some background knowledge about our local water quality. In preparation and in response to this speech, you will need to do the following:
Preparation
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Read and take notes on these websites:
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Write down 3 questions about the current status and future of our watershed to ask Callie Moore. Turn your questions into me on Google Classroom.
Reflection
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Take notes during her presentation and see if she answers any of your questions. If she does answer your questions, write down those answers. If she doesn’t, make sure to ask them at the end of her presentation.
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Write a half page essay on what parts of Callie’s presentation connected to our driving question.
Plant Walk & Biodiversity
October 27, 2015
Tony Ward, Restoration Coordinator of the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition will give us a tour of our local creek where he will teach us about riparian plants and invasive species. This will frame the importance of our upcoming volunteer efforts.
Preparation:
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Watch the video and take notes on this link:
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Read these two articles and take notes on them:
Reflection:
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Write a one page journal entry about how this walk and these readings connected to our driving question.
20 Questions
Introduction: October 22, 2015
Choose a topic: October 29,2015
Final Product: December 1, 2015
Students will spend half a class period sitting outside and writing down 20 questions about our watershed and its future. Questions can focus on water quality, biodiversity, fishing, recreation, erosion, hydroelectricity and anything else that relates to the driving question. After writing their questions, they will choose a topic to investigate further within one week. They will then research their topic and write a paper, create an art project, or do a presentation about their topic of interest. Projects will be assessed by level of effort, connection to the driving question, and depth of research into the topic.
Any Final Product must meet the following criteria:
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Somehow relates to our Watershed
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At least 5 high quality sources cited
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Answers the research question using evidence from multiple sources. These sources can include data from the field from research your conduct.
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Has some artifact to present to the class in a Gallery Walk or public presentation
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Presentations should be 8-10 minutes and meet Prezi Rubric criteria
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Research Papers should be at least 1000 words and meet the Research Paper Rubric Criteria
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Hands-on lessons should be 8-10 minutes and meet the Student Lesson Rubric criteria
Interesting Final Product Ideas
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Artwork
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Game
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3D Model
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Interactive Museum Exhibit
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Timeline using these links
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Children's Book
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Lesson using Zaption, Blendspace or Nearpod
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Skit
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Website using Wix or Squarespace
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Poster using Vanilla Pen
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Animation using Animation HD or Powtoon
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Science Experiment
Service Learning
Volunteering: November 3, 10, 17, 24
Service Learning Reflections: December 3, 2015
Students will volunteer with the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition to help restore the McComb Branch creek behind Tri-County Community College. HRWC staff will guide us in invasive plant removal as part of a multi-year effort to improve this highly impacted creek.
Reflection:
After volunteering on four Tuesdays in November, students will write a 1 page reflection on their volunteer work that addresses what they learned through their service, how they think their work will impact water quality and the health of the watershed.
FINAL PRODUCT: Public Service Announcement
Storyboard and Script due: November 19, 2015
Final Video Due: December 8, 2015
See Video Rubric
Students will put together a CREATIVE 30 second - 1 minute video about issues facing our watershed and how local people can help protect its future. The video should assume that the viewers know nothing about our watershed and therefore should include the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of the issue in a CREATIVE, concise, and powerful message.
Read http://www.centerdigitaled.com/artsandhumanities/How-to-Create-the-Perfect-Public-Service-Announcement.html for more information on how to create an effective PSA.
Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eywBa0xfQFw for a video with ideas about how to create PSAs
