Internet Integrated Thematic Unit
~ Water, Water Everywhere ~

And if you have any additional ideas, write me! fdendy@boisdarc.tamu-commerce.edu

Watery Math Soaked Science Liquid Language Arts Soggy Social Studies Flooded Fine Arts

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Watery Math

The following math concepts lend themselves nicely to the theme of water:

~ distance
~ speed

word problems calculating distance and speed

~ area and perimeter

of sails

~ volume
~ center of gravity
~ center of flotation
~ angles

using a sextant to navigate
triangulation to find location
• measurement of temperature
  
  • Measuring Temperature
    Primary activity to teach how to measure the temperature of water. The site is from the UK, so it's in Celsius. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Measuring Temperature - How long water stays hot
    Primary activity measuring the temperature of water over time. The site is from the UK, so it's in Celsius. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• measurement of volume
  
  • Measuring Volume - How much water is used at home and work
    Primary/Intermediate activity measuring the amount of water used in daily activities. The students then use that information to estimate the amount of water used in a week or a year. The site is from the UK, so it's in litres. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• measurement of relative humidity
  
  • High-Tech on the High Seas
    This intermediate/secondary activity involves monitoring the Relative Humidity of a ship's cargo hold.

• distance
  
  • The Stowaway Adventure
    This lesson is geared for 5th grade and up. In it, students use websites to pinpoint the exact location of a ship, including speed, distance, and direction.

• speed
  
  • Earth, Moon and Ocean: Interaction in the Sea
    This site contains three intermediate/secondary activities involving the tides. The third activity involves finding the speed of a tidal wave.

• data collection
  
  • Hillside School's Sea/Air Temperature Study
    This data collection/analysis study uses real time air and sea temperatures along the Eastern sea coast from fall to summer. This is an interdisciplinary team-teaching fourth grade Internet project. Students examine and compare air and sea temperature data collected daily, discern patterns, make predictions, draw conclusions, and generate questions and hypotheses.

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• how plants use water
  
  • Let's Investigate - Do Plants Use Water?
    Primary activity investigating how plants use water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• ocean animals and plants
  
  • Edible Polyp
    An example lesson from Coral Forest, applicable for all grade levels. It's an edible review of the parts of coral. You will have to scroll down the page a bit to see the lesson.

  • North Arlington's Oceanography Project
    This site requires intermediate/secondary students to answer two questions: "Is there a relationship between water temperature and dissolved oxygen?" and "Is there a minimum or maximum level of dissolved oxygen levels for fish survival?" There are a number of activities involved here.

• life in an estuary
  
  • Biological Monitoring of an Estuary
    A secondary level activity where students conduct biological sampling and learn to analyze data to determine the biological diversity of the species found in their samples. They then relate these species to variations in abiotic factors.

• river life
  
  • River Quality
    Intermediate or secondary activity investigating the health of various rivers. Students draw conclusions from hypothetical water quality surveys. Students also analyze the effects of a sewer leak on area species. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Let's Investigate - What Happens When You Mix Substances in Water?
  Primary activity investigating how different substances dissolve in water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Oxygen in Water
  Elementary activity investigating the amount of oxygen dissolves in water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Change It: Reprocessing Industrial Waste
  In this activity, upper elementary children carry out simple practical experiments concerning acidity and alkalinity of substances, which simulate some of the stages in the reprocessing of liquid industrial waste.

• What's in the Water?
  A secondary level chemistry lesson in two parts. In part 1, students determine the effect of temperature and salinity on dissolved oxygen and on sources of oxygen in the water. In part 2, students learn to analyze a dataset to determine the relationship of dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and depth over time and space. They also learn to apply their understanding of this relationship to an estuary, and determine impacts these variables have on organisms there.

• What's in the Drop You Drink?
  This site contains lesson plans for both elementary and middle school teachers. Students analyze tap water for various elements.

• North Arlington's Oceanography Project
  This site requires intermediate/secondary students to answer two questions: "Is there a relationship between water temperature and dissolved oxygen?" and "Is there a minimum or maximum level of dissolved oxygen levels for fish survival?" There are a number of activities involved here.

• Predicting Floods and Droughts
  This intermediate/secondary activity uses realtime and historical streamflow data to predict flooding.

• Weather or Not: Here I Come
  This intermediate/secondary activity uses realtime radar images of the national weather to identify major storms.

• Earth, Moon and Ocean: Interaction in the Sea
  This site contains three intermediate/secondary activities involving the tides. The first uses data to find the relation between tide movement and moon position, the second predicts tide movement, and the third involves finding the speed of a tidal wave.

• Flow with the Gulf Stream
  This site includes a number of lessons for intermediate students - everything from the history of the discovery of the Gulf Stream, to ovserving the direction and flow, to discovering the effects of the Gulf Stream on Greenland and Iceland!

• The Gulf Stream: A Global Investigation
  This is a demonstration web site for the National Science Foundation, in the future it will contain more detailed lesson plans and activities. This site has some overlap with the site listed above, but is much more comprehensive.

• Let's Investigate - Can we Clean our own Water?
  Primary activity investigating how filters can clean soil out of water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• What Happens To Dirty Water?
  Primary activity investigating how water processing plants clean waste water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Let's Investigate - How to clean water so it can be recycled
  Primary activity investigating how various filters can clean soil out of water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Pollution: Oil and Water
  Primary activity demonstrating the effects of oil pollution on water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Change It: Reprocessing Industrial Waste
  In this activity, upper elementary children carry out simple practical experiments concerning acidity and alkalinity of substances, which simulate some of the stages in the reprocessing of liquid industrial waste.

• Water Treatment
  Elementary or intermediate activity sequencing how water processing plants clean waste water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Cleaning Used Water
  Elementary or intermediate activity investigating how water processing plants clean waste water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• River Quality
  Intermediate or secondary activity investigating the health of various rivers. Students draw conclusions from hypothetical water quality surveys. Students also analyze the effects of a sewer leak on area species. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Sludge: An Environmental Challenge
  Intermediate or secondary activity investigating the disposal of sludge waste. Students investigate how human activities lead to pollution and other effects on the environment. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• Understand Your Watershed
  A secondary activity where students learn to understand the relationship between upstream influences in their watershed and their watershed's estuary. They will identify the information needed and the resources necessary to address a potential watershed question.

• porousity of rocks and how it relates to ground water
  
  • Water Water Everywhere
    Elementary or intermediate activity demonstrating how water moves through porous rocks. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• properties of water
  
  • Let's Investigate - Resisting Water
    Primary activity investigating how various materials resist water. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Do Hot and Cold Water Mix?
    Science lesson for younger elementary students.

  • Measuring Temperature - How long water stays hot
    Primary activity measuring the temperature of water over time. The site is from the UK, so it's in Celsius. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• forms of matter
  
  • Let's Investigate - Water
    Primary activity investigating water in liquid and solid form. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Let's Investigate - Water Vapour in the Air
    Primary activity investigating water in gaseous form. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Floating and Sinking
    Primary activity exploring (what else?!?) things that float and things that sink. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Floating and Sinking
    Elementary activity exploring the effects of chaning temperature on things that float and things that sink. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

• the water cycle
  
  • Water Goes Round
    Primary activity demonstrating the water cycle. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • The Water Cycle Model
    Elementary or intermediate activity demonstrating the water cycle. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • The Water Cycle
    Elementary or intermediate activity where students explain various features of the water cycle. Cool worksheet for the kids to use! See their Water in the Science Curriculum index page for the key to the symbols on the worksheet.

  • Back-up Information for Mr. Trump's Challenge

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• What is Water?
  Elementary lesson, focusing on vocabulary of different forms of water.

• What forms does water take?
  Elementary lesson, focusing on weather involving water (rain, ice, hail, etc.).

• Where Can We Find Water?
  Elementary lesson, focusing on various sources of water.

• Where does it come from and where does it go?
  Elementary lesson, focusing on various sources of water, and leading into the water cycle.

• Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
  
• I Sailed With Columbus by Miriam Schlein
  
• Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff
  
• Muddy Banks by Ruby C. Tolliver
  
• Titanic: Lost and Found by Judy Donnelly
  
• The 290 by Scott O'Dell
  
• The Dark Ships by Tom Townsend
  
• Where the Pirates Are by Tom Townsend

Writing styles:

narrative

• any story about the sea
  
• a day in the life of a member of Columbus' crew
  
• a day in the life at sea
  
• the story of a raindrop, going through the water cycle
  
• a day in the life of a whale (...fish, dolphin, or other water animal)

• how to find buried treasure (maybe make a treasure map first!)
  
• how to catch a fish
  
• how to tie sailors' knots

• provide an ocean/nautical scene to be described
  
• create a fictional underwater colony and describe it

• persuade your teacher to let the class go on a sailing trip for a field trip
  
• as Christopher Columbus, persuade Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to finance your voyage
  
• create a fictional underwater colony and persuade people to come and live there

• past explorers w/ sailors today
  
• various forms of naval transportation
  
• various types of sailing vessels
  
• underwater exploration w/ space exploration
  
• good things and bad things about sailing
  
• good things and bad things about rain

• Water is Precious
  There are five activity suggestions on this page. Numbers one and two refer to writing poetry about water.

• travel brochures

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• how shipping affects trade and prices of goods
  
• water in the workplace
  
  • Water for Farming
    These primary activities demonstrate how water is used for farming, and involve the use of the book Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain.

  • Fishing Around the World
    These primary activities revolve around children's literature depicting fishermen around the world. Students are urged to compare and contrast fishing methods from various places.

  • Waste Management Processes and Plant - Who Does What?
    This activity helps elementary and intermediate students develop awareness of modern techniques for managing waste and to understand some of the work roles undertaken by people employed in the process. Be sure to use "Set B" files of the wet waste site!

• map reading
  
  • Understand Your Watershed - Part B: Mapping Your Watershed
    You will need to scroll down to get to part B. This secondary level lesson focuses on creating a land use map of their watershed. Students will identify access points to that watershed that are suitable sites for investigating their watershed question and the equipment needed for their investigation.

• how water geography affects settlement of land

• how water supply varies around the world
  
  • Water for Farming
    These primary activities demonstrate how water is used for farming, and involve the use of the book Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain. Students can compare and contrast water supply in Kenya with that of their own experience.

• how water is used around the world
  
  • Using Water Around the World
    These primary activities demonstrate how water is used around the world, using pictures supplied online. Students then prioritize the different uses of water, from most important to least important.

• how the government regulates water use
  
• environmental protection laws
  
• fishing regulations

• famous shipwrecks
  
• explorers and the changes after the New World

• effects of long ocean voyages on early sailors
  
• sailing traditions and how they affected the mental health of early sailors

• Fishing Around the World
  These primary activities revolve around children's literature depicting fishermen around the world.

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• A Rainstorm
  There are a number of activities on this page. Numbers one and two refer to the sounds of a rainstorm and recreating those sounds with bodies and instruments.

• Water is Precious
  There are five activities on this page. Numbers three, four and five refer to using art to express ideas about water.

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