Blue River : © Hemera–Thinkstock Photos © Hemera–Thinkstock : “You can never step into the same river twice . .” photo credit photo n Grade Level Part III Upper Elementary, Middle School • Copies of Graph It! (one per two 3 n Subject Areas ▼ Summary students) Geography, Earth Science, Students participate in a whole- Environmental Science Making Connections body exercise to simulate the Students will likely have heard the term n Duration movement of water through a “watershed,” but may not understand how Preparation time: 15 minutes river and its watershed. Activity time: Part I: 30 minutes; Part water flows through a watershed and how that II: 30 minutes; Part III: 30 minutes flow differs in spring, summer, fall and winter or as a result of local weather. n Setting Outdoors or classroom (depending on Objectives Background number of students) Students will: Often referred to as drainages, basins or catch- n Skills • describe the major components of a ments, watersheds are the gathering ground of Analyzing information (comparing, watershed. a river system. A watershed is an area of land contrasting); Interpreting; Presenting • demonstrate the movement of water that drains water toward a common river. The (demonstrating) through a river and its watershed. boundaries of watersheds can be identified n Charting the Course • compare and contrast the amount of on a map by tracing a line along the highest “River Talk” introduces watersheds, water flowing through a river and its elevations (often a ridge) between two drain- their parts and functions. Through watershed based on climate (seasonal age areas. Large watersheds often contain “Seeing Watersheds,” students map variations) and weather (precipitation). many smaller watersheds. watershed boundaries and water flow. • create a hydrograph based on simulation Beginning at the highest elevations of a water- In “Blue River,” students demonstrate data. how water flows in a watershed. shed, runoff (water from rain, melting snow In “Back to the Future,” students Materials and ice) collects to form rivulets that merge analyze and interpret streamflow into small headwater streams. As headwater data. “Color Me a Watershed” Parts I and II streams flow downhill from the sides of illustrates how watershed changes • Copy of Blue River Watershed 3 the watershed, they gather more water and over time affect runoff. “Sum of the • 200-500 pony beads, pea gravel, beans, Parts” explores the concept, “We all eventually join to become tributary streams. marbles or similar objects (depending live downstream.” In “8-4-1, One for These tributaries flow into the main stem of on the number of students) All,” students demonstrate how water a river that, with exceptions such as closed users work cooperatively. Finally in • Large bucket or other large container to basins, eventually flows to the sea. “Make-a-Mural,” students create a collect beads or other objects mural depicting their own watershed. • One-gallon pails or similar containers During winter, precipitation is stored as n Vocabulary (one for each headwaters stream) snow in snowpack (accumulated snow that watershed, headwaters, tributary, • Signs on sticks with pictures representing is condensed and compressed by its own main stem, runoff, snowpack, snow, rain, sun and each of the seasons weight). In some mountainous areas, snow- rivulet, drainage, basin, closed basin, (optional) pack can build higher than 20 feet. Very little floodplain, downstream, spring, • Four chairs water will flow into streams at this time; what ground water, spring melt, streamflow, • Length of rope or string flow there is generally comes from ground gaging station, hydrograph, catchment water, springs or periodic snowmelts. Blue River © 2002, 2011 Project WET Foundation Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide, Generation 2.0 © 2011 Project WET Foundation 135 Blue River With the arrival of spring and warmer Weather events, such as rain storms or times A watershed, also called a basin, temperatures, the snowpack begins to melt. of low precipitation, and hot temperatures can drainage or catchment, is an area For several weeks this water—often referred change river flow. When these natural events of land drained by a river and its to as the “spring melt” or “spring runoff”— occur, hydrologists using monitoring equip- tributaries to a common outlet, saturates the ground and fills streams. ment track how a rain event in a tributary can which may be a closed basin, a Streamflow will depend on how much snow change main stem river flow downstream. larger stream, a lake, wetland, is present and how fast the temperature rises. Procedure estuary or the ocean. If enough runs off at once, flooding can occur ▼ Warm Up (A closed basin is a water body at low elevations in the river’s floodplain (low • Write on the board the following from which water leaves only area along a river’s channel). quotation: “You can never step into the through evaporation or percola- Rivers rise as the temperature warms and same river twice . ” tion; there is no surface outlet melted snowpack accumulates downstream. • Ask students if they believe it is a true from this pond or depression, Springs and ground water that have been statement and to explain their answer. such as the Great Salt Lake, recharged by melted snow, discharge into • Provide the following definition of a Utah.) Within its boundaries, a streams that are also replenished by summer watershed. watershed includes all of the land, rainstorms. • Write the following statement on air, soil, surface and ground water, In fall, as temperatures cool and precipitation the board as an interpretation of plants and animals, mountains diminishes, streamflows decrease until the saying: If a watershed drains and deserts, cities and farms and winter arrives, bringing with it precipitation water toward a common river, people, including their culture, in the form of snow. The cycle repeats. that river is constantly changing stories and traditions. because the water that flows into it The Great Salt Lake in Utah is an example of a closed basin. photo credit: © Bring Chase / Dreamstime.com Blue River © 2002, 2011 Project WET Foundation 136 Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide, Generation 2.0 © 2011 Project WET Foundation Blue River is constantly changing. line starting at the river headwaters 2. Explain to students that they will • Tell students that they will have an and connecting the remaining now simulate the flow of water opportunity to test this idea. tributaries as the main stem winds through a watershed during the downhill. Explain that these new seasons. Tell students that they will ▼ The Activity students represent the river and that all do each simulation for one minute. Part I tributaries flow toward it and connect. Then, begin the following scenarios: 1. Ideally, assemble students on Have everyone touch fingertips. (Optional: Make large signs with a gently sloping hill to help 6. At the top of each headwater stream, symbols for snow, rain, sun and each reinforce the idea that water flows place a bucket of beads. of the seasons. Attach these signs from higher to lower elevations. 7. At the bottom of the main stem, to sticks and hold these signs up to If a hill is unavailable, students can place an empty large bucket or other indicate each scenario. This is especially assemble on gymnasium bleachers container to receive the beads. helpful for large groups.) If necessary, or a similar location. On flat land 8. Tie the rope or string from the ask a student to be the timekeeper you can create two signs: “High large bucket to each of the four announcing when to start and when Point” and “Low Point.” Place High chairs. Explain to students that this to stop passing beads. When the Point at the headwaters and Low rope shows the watershed boundary timekeeper announces the end of Point at the mouth. and everything within the rope is one minute, all students must stop 2. Assemble students in a branching part of this watershed; everything passing beads. Students may hold onto formation to simulate streams in a outside of the rope is part of different the beads in their hands and use in the watershed. (See Teacher Resource watershed(s). next simulation. Page—Blue River Watershed). 3. After each simulation, designate a If students have conducted the Part II student to count the number of beads activity, “Seeing Watersheds,” they 1. To help students understand what in the large bucket at the mouth of may recognize they are forming the will happen during this activity, the main stem. Record this data on Blue River, its headwaters and four instruct students at the top of the the Graph It! Student Copy Page. tributaries. headwaters streams to pick up one Beads from this bucket may then 3. Headwaters streams: At the top of bead and hand it to the person be returned to the containers at the the hill, have two or three students below them. Have students continue headwaters of the main stem form a short line (fingertip to to pass the bead “downstream” until it and tributaries. fingertip, close enough to easily pass travels down through the tributaries, 4. Winter: When the timer announces beads) leading down the slope. This the main stem and is deposited in “Go,” students begin to pass forms the headwaters for the Blue the bucket, representing the ocean, beads slowly (they could count to River. Have students at headwaters for at the bottom. PLEASE INSTRUCT three before passing the bead on) each of the four tributaries stand on a STUDENTS TO ONLY PICK UP ONE downstream to simulate the very low chair. BEAD AT A TIME. GRABBING A flows typical of streams in winter. 4. Tributary streams: Starting at the FISTFUL OF BEADS WILL STOP Remember, during this cold time of headwaters, assemble a line of THE SIMULATION AS THIS WILL year, precipitation is stored in its frozen students leading down slope to CORRUPT THE DATA.