Abbey M

Can We Keep the Lake Clean?

Overview:

This lesson introduces students to the water cycle by having them help draw a picture of a lake ecosystem, adding human impacts that affect water quality. Students will help fill in the components of a drawing of a water system. They will conclude by creating their own illustrations of human-induced changes to the freshwater habitat of a lake ecosystem.

Connections to the Curriculum:

Geography, earth science, environmental studies

Connections to the National Geography Standards:

 

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"

Time:

One to two hours

 

Materials Required:

 

    * Computer with Internet access

    * Blackboard or whiteboard

    * Colored chalk (or erasable markers if you are using a whiteboard)

    * Blank white paper

    * Drawing materials

    * Rulers (optional)

 

Objectives:

Students will

 

    * help draw a picture of a lake ecosystem;

    * use the internet to look at pictures of different lakes.

    * discuss the water cycle and the reasons why lakes are important;

    * describe how humans can impact the water cycle; and

    * draw pictures illustrating a scenario involving human-induced changes to a lake ecosystem.

S u g g e s t e d   P r o c e d u r e

Opening:

On the board, draw a picture of a lake with a river flowing into it. Draw some mountains in the distance where the river originates. Have students take turns adding the following features to the drawing: trees, fish, animals, houses, farms, and people doing activities related to the things they have drawn (e.g., fishing or farming).

Development:

Ask students to look at the picture online and think about why the river and lake water is important to everything else pictured. What do the plants, animals, and people in the picture use the water for? Why is it important that this water be kept clean and plentiful?

 

Introduce students to the process of evaporation by explaining that, as water travels down the river and into the lake, it slowly evaporates and returns to the air. The river and lake will not become empty, however, because they will be replenished by rainwater and snowmelt.

 

Helpful sites:

 

National Geographic: Geography Action! 2003—Habitats (Fresh Water)

National Geographic: Geography Action—Rivers 2001

Enchanted Learning: The Water Cycle

EPA: The Water Cycle at Work

 

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/gk2/clean.html