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"Pennsylvania
Watersheds" Lesson Plan
Keywords: watersheds,
Pennsylvania watersheds, forest benefits
Prepared by:
Susan McKissic, Slippery Rock Middle School, Slippery Rock,
PA
Grade Level:
eighth and ninth grade
Total Time for
Lesson: Two 48 minute-class periods
Setting: classroom
Concepts to Be Covered
- Water that is not
evaporated or absorbed into the soil, will drain from the land
by way of watersheds. Watersheds are the natural sloping land
that water follows as it drains off of the land.
- There are six major
watersheds in Pennsylvania: Lake Erie, Ohio, Susquehanna, Potomac,
Genesee, and the Delaware.
- Pennsylvania watersheds
connect with much larger watersheds elsewhere in the United States
to empty into the oceans.
Goals for the Lesson
- Students will understand
the concept of watershed and be able to explain how water is drained
from the land.
- Students will be able
to identify the 6 major watersheds of Pennsylvania and locate
them on a map.
- Students will know
in which watershed they reside.
- Students will locate
and identify where each watershed empties into the ocean.
Materials Needed
- a large drawn version
of a Pennsylvania physical map for the front of the classroom
- map of North America
for the classroom
- research tools: computer
with Internet
- outline of a Pennsylvania
physical map for each student
Teaching Model: GroupResearch,
Class Discussion
Procedure
- Classroom discussion
of watersheds--definition and importance.
- Divide the class into
six groups. Each group is assigned one of Pennsylvania's six major
watersheds (Lake Erie, Ohio, Genesee, Susquehanna, Potomac, and
Delaware).
- Each student is given
an outline of a Pennsylvania physical map. Using the computer
lab and or library, each student is to determine the boundary
of their watershed and draw that boundary on their map and also
discover the journey the water travels in their watershed until
it eventually empties into the ocean.
- When all of the students
are finished, they will meet in their groups to compare their
findings. Once they all agree with the location, they are to draw
the boundary on the large classroom map. When all groups are finished,
meet as a class to draw the boundaries of all of the watersheds
onto their map. Have each group explain the journey of their water
to the ocean. As a class, locate approximately where they live
and put a * on the map to represent the location.
Evaluation
Completed maps and groups
presentation of students' research.
References
Wimer, Lynnette, James
Finley, Steven Jones, and Ellen O'Donnell (1994). Forest
Stewardship Terminology. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania
Forest Stewardship Program, The Pennsylvania State University.
Water
and Forests: The Role Trees Play in Water Quality. Vol.
1, Forests Number 2, Water and Forests, Georgia Pacific, 11/97.
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