Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides and Online Environmental Resources for Educators: Water

Acid Rain: A teacher's guide for grades 6 through 8 (PDF 56 pp, 4.6 MB)
A lesson plan and activities from EPA for teachers on acid rain.
Grades: 6-8
Type of Resource: Lesson plan

Acid Rain Educational Resources
Experiments and activities, a review of basic acid rain concepts, factsheets, and things you can do about acid rain.
Grades: K-12
Type of Resource: Lesson plans and experiments

Darby Duck and the Aquatic Crusaders
Find seven experiments from EPA to learn about the characteristics of water.
Grades: K-5
Type of Resource: Lesson plan and experiments

Drinking Water & Ground Water Kids' Stuff
Games, activities, and art projects from EPA about the water cycle and water treatment.
Grades: K-12
Type of Resource: Lesson plans

EnviroAtlas: Exploring Your Watershed
This interactive lesson-plan module encourages students to explore their local watershed through a hands-on lab, an outdoor exploratory session with maps, and an EnviroAtlas web-mapping session that can be completed with or without internet.
Grades: K-6
Type of Resource: Lesson Plans

Ground Water Contamination (PDF 10 pp, 0.2MB) 
Find a general review of groundwater contamination and where it occurs.
Grades: 9-12
Type of Resource: Factsheet

How's My Waterway?
This tool answers questions about the health of waters in supporting swimming, the eating of fish, drinking water protection and delivery, the health of aquatic communities, and the restoration and protection of waterways.
Grades: K-12, College, Adult Learners
Type of Resource: Website/tool and lesson plan

How People Get Their Water - Reservoirs: "Holding Tanks" for Drinking Water 
Let your students "Ride the Water Cycle" with this activity from EPA. Help them understand the role of reservoirs in maintaining a reliable supply of drinking water.
Grades: 4-8
Type of Resource: Lesson plan

Magnificent Ground Water Connection
This ground-water activity guide is applicable to a wide range of subject matter and the topics include basic concepts on the water cycle, water distribution, treatment, and stewardship. This page includes five sample lesson activity plans.
Grades: K-12
Type of Resource: Curriculum guide and lesson plans

Mercury Messes with the Environment (pdf) (10.57 MB)
A children’s activity booklet describing the effects of mercury contamination on humans and the environment.
Grades: 6-8
Type of Resource: Activity book

On Your Mark, Set, Evaporate (PDF 4.73 MB, 398 pp)
This EPA lesson plan covers transpiration as part of the hydrologic cycle.
Grades: 6-8
Type of resource: Lesson plan

Drinking Water Activities for Students and Teachers
These resources provide a basic understanding of drinking water terms and where water comes from.
Grades: K-12
Type of Resource: Website, Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities

Thirstin's Groundwater Movement Activity (PDF 332 KB, 2 pp)
This class activity demonstrates that ground water must be able to move through underground materials. The students will act as molecules of water and the underground materials.
Grades: K-5
Type of resource: Lesson plan

Tracking Pollution - A Hazardous Whodunit
A Thirstin lesson plan to teach students to make a topographic map, use it to predict ground water flow and investigate the most likely source of ground water contamination.
Grades: 9-12
Type of resource: Lesson plan

Water Sense Resources
Resources for educating students about "Fix a Leak Week," EPA's WaterSense Partnership program and water efficiency.
Grades: K-8
Type of resource: Lesson plan

Watershed Academy
The Watershed Academy is a focal point in EPA's Office of Water for providing training and information on watershed management. The Academy's self-paced training modules and webcast seminars provide current information from national experts across a broad range of watershed topics.
Grades: 9-12, College, Adult Learners
Type of Resource: Self paced online modules

The following links exit the site

National Wetlands Research Center
This site from the U.S. Geologic Survey explores the many factors that affect wetland health, and provides resources for teachers on preserving our wetlands.
Grades: 9-12

NOAA's Education Resources Website
Explore this site to find the information you need to teach students about weather, climate change, and oceans. You'll find activities, background information, and much more!
Grades: 6-12

National Ocean Service Education
Find case studies, tutorials, games, and more from NOAA's National Ocean Service.
Grades: K-12
Type of Resource: Website

Water Science for Schools
This site provides extensive background information on a wide variety of water topics. It also includes on-line activities, data tables, maps, and a glossary of terms.
Grades: 6-12