Benchmark 1 "Describe how water exists on earth in three states.
Benchmark 1 "Use maps of the earth to locate water in its various forms and describe conditions under which they exist."Return to: MASER Homepage | Elementary Table | Middle School Table | High School Table | General Sites Table |Benchmark 2 "Describe how water in Michigan reaches the oceans and returns."
- Great Lakes Homepage for Kids - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1) New
- This site includes graphs, facts, and questions to use with your students to understand how the Great Lakes are similar and different.
- Ocean Planet - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1)
- This electronic online companion exhibition contains all of the text and most of the panel designs and images from Ocean Planet, which premiered at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Learn about the project by reading an overview of the exhibition, a message from the curator, or a copy of the final report. Learn about the variety of educational materials associated with Ocean Planet, including a set of lessons and marine science activities which adapt several themes of the exhibition for use in the middle and high school classroom.
- TEACH Great Lakes - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1) New
- This site includes sections on the environment, history and culture, geography, careers and business, and pollution of the Great Lakes. This would be a great starting point for a thematic unit on the Great Lakes because it contains a vast amount of information.
- The Great Lakes - An Environmental Atlas and Resource Book - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1) New
- This site contains information on the characteristics of the Great Lakes, natural processes, people, concerns, management, and the future of the Great Lakes. Also included are links to a large list of colorful maps, diagrams, and factsheets about the information given.
- The Water Cycle - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1)
- Through the construction of terrariums students connect the concepts of precipitation, condensation and evaporation into a unified water cycle concept.
- Water Cycle Activities - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.1)
- Includes lessons and activities for students on the Hydrologic Cycle. Follow-up lessons are included along with activities that deal specifically with Condensation and Evaporation.
Benchmark 3 "Explain how water exists below the earth's surface and how it is replenished."
- Earth's Water: Surface Water - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.2)
- This site describes how water moves, the water cycle, surface water, ground water, and information releated to glaciers and ice caps.Great information on surface water, including diagrams.
- GLOBE Hydrology - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.2)
- The Globe Hydrology Investigation involves the regular monitoring of several parameters, including: transparency, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductivity, salinity, alkalinity, and nitrate. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is an international program where your students can join students from around the world in monitoring their local environment. Students can then submit their findings to a growing database on the Internet. Scientists and other students can access the data for research about the global environment. All protocols for the activities are described, although to become an offical Globe site, teachers must also attend an official GLOBE training session. Information on training sessions can be obtained on the GLOBE site: http://www.globe.gov/
- The Great Lakes - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.2)
- This site has numerous links that provides information about the Great Lakes water shed.
Benchmark 4 "Describe the origins of pollution in the hydrosphere."
- Earth's Water: Ground Water - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.3)
- Great information on ground water.
- Explorer's Club Water - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.3) New
- This site has information on water, air, plants, animals, pollution, and recycling. It also has student activities.
- Groundwater- Geography 4 Kids - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.3) New
- This website includes general information on groundwater and includes aquifer types and what humans are doing with respect to groundwater. Key terms are defined and reviewed at the bottom of the page. There are links to other water-related topics.
- USGS - Groundwater - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.3) New
- This site gives good information about what groundwater is, how it occurs, and its quality. It contains pictures and diagrams to assist the student in understanding the material.
- Water Treatment Path - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.3)
- This web site shows students the path of water through a water treatment plant. It also explains that groundwater is under ground and usually does not require as much treatment as water from lakes, rivers, and streams. The interactive informational map has scrambled water treatment terms at each treatment point. When students click on a scrambled word on the map the correct word appears with a description of what happens to the water at that point in the water treatment plant.
- Ecosystem Services - Water Purification - Ecosystems (V.2.MS.4) New
- The purpose of this activity is to use the example of natural water purification to show students that healthy ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it. The site gives a lot of instructional information and is loaded with links so students can apply what they are learning to their regional watersheds. Students will study the process of natural purification and the effects of human interaction. The final assessment of this project is a river newspaper.
- Great Art for Great Lakes - Featured Themes - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.4) New
- This website explores a variety of environmental problems and what humans can do to help solve them. Themes covered are mercury, endangered species, waste, exotic invaders, and wetlands. The issues are clearly explained. Some of the themes have interactive activities or games, puzzles, and quizzes to print.
- Great Lakes National Program Office - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.4) New
- This website is about efforts to protect the Great Lakes. There is a lot of information on specific programs in place, but there are also links to pictures and environmental education.
- Soda Bottle Hydrology - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.4)
- Plans for students to make a model of the hydrologic cycle. Plans for students to make a model of the hydrologic cycle using soda bottles. The activity includes how pollutants affect this cycle. It focuses on groundwater, aquifers, and hydrology.
- The Watershed Game - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.4) New
- Outstanding - This interactive site gets students to think critically and make environmentally-sound decisions about four different areas that affect local watersheds. Students are given situations in a quiz format and are asked to make the best decision for the environment. At the end of each quiz, they are given their scores and explanations about their answers. They can see a panoramic view of each area before they begin.
- Water Pollution - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.4)
- This site describes the origins of pollution in the hydrosphere. This site has good information and drawings, but no activities or lesson plans.
High School Benchmark 1 "Identify and describe regional watersheds."
Benchmark 2 "Describe how human activities affect the quality of water in the hydrosphere."
- Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1) New
- Site for the watershed located around Bolder Colorado. Contains maps of the watershed (new and historic maps of the site), geography of the site and the types of pollution found there.
- EPA's Surf Your Watershed - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2)
- Can get information about thousands of watersheds and testing results. From this site there are hyperlinks to an Index of Watershed indicators, Adopt Your Watershed, and Surf Your Watershed. On the "Surf Your Watershed" link, watersheds in the United States can be found by typing in your city, river, county or state or by clicking on a map of the United States. Once at the Watershed information is given on Science in Your Watershed, Streamflow, Water use and more.
- Long Island Sound Study - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2) New
- This is a Power Point presentation that can be viewed on-line in html or downloaded-printed in .pdf format. It includes a report on pollutants found in the sound (lead, pathogens etc) along with graphs showing the pollutants over time. Also included are restoration and protection efforts. Part of the presentation shows how the Long Island Watershed is related to Long Island Sound.
- The Great Lakes - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1)
- This site has numerous links that provides information about the Great Lakes water shed.
- The Watershed Game - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1) New
- This is a game where a student logs in with a name and then picks between two levels, Novice or Intermediate. They are asked to make choices along the way about their watershed and then at the end the student will be given a score on how their choices affected the watershed.
- USGS - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2)
- Information about the hydrological cycle, water sheds, etc.
- EcoSuperior - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)New
- This site is dedecated to the area around Lake Superior. It contains information on Mercury in the area, where it is found, the cause of Mercury pollution, how to reduce the amount of Mercury and the recycling of it.
- EPA's Surf Your Watershed - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2)
- Can get information about thousands of watersheds and testing results. From this site there are hyperlinks to an Index of Watershed indicators, Adopt Your Watershed, and Surf Your Watershed. On the "Surf Your Watershed" link, watersheds in the United States can be found by typing in your city, river, county or state or by clicking on a map of the United States. Once at the Watershed information is given on Science in Your Watershed, Streamflow, Water use and more.
- Everyone is Against Water Pollution...but how does it happen and how can it be prevented? - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)
- Excellently written evaluation of water quality, water testing procedures and water treatment procedures. This site contains a great deal of information related to water quality issues.
- Examining a Hazardous Waste Site - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)
- This is an activity plan, which involves students looking and researching different Superfund sites and then analzye them in regards to what is polluting the being polluted. There are links to student activities, glossaries, and maps. You will need to run the related links to complete the activity, because this site is the lesson, not something the students can read and then conduct. Materials need to be printed before you do this activity.
- From Rivers to Ridges: Watershed Explorations - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)New
- Guide to an Independent Science Project. The guide is 111 pages and can be downloaded as a .pdf file. It includes water chemistry, macroinvertebrates, Pest Control and Water moving through a watershed and more.
- Give Water a Hand - For Young People Taking Action in Their Community - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- Two Guides are available from this site, one for teachers (Leader Guidebook) and one for students (Action Guide). The student guide includes directions to find out how people use it, where rainfall flows, what sources of pollution exist that might affect water quality and more. The Guides are also available in Spanish. Printed copies can also be ordered in Spanish. The guides are free but they ask you to register for them.
- Impacts of Changing Land Use (In the Great Lakes Basin) - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)New
- This site describes land use in the Great Lakes Basin. This includes how it affects the wetlands, nearshore waters, and lakes.
- Long Island Sound Study - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2) New
- This is a Power Point presentation that can be viewed on-line in html or downloaded-printed in .pdf format. It includes a report on pollutants found in the sound (lead, pathogens etc) along with graphs showing the pollutants over time. Also included are restoration and protection efforts. Part of the presentation shows how the Long Island Watershed is related to Long Island Sound.
- Lower-Columbia River Estuary Plan - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- A manual on water quality in PDF format that can be printed or downloaded that includes how to monitor water quality and how human activities affect the quality of water.
- Mercury in Schools:Download Site - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- Information on Mercury can be downloaded as a .pft, zipped .pft or HTML document. From this site you can view the information online as a Power Point presentation. The presentation contains how mercury gets into water, how it gets in the food chain, a history of the uses of mercury, remediation and much more. The presentation is 35 slides long.
- Mercury in Schools:Quiz - Hydrosphere (V.2.MS.2) New
- This is a site that contains a multiple choice quiz on Mercury. There are choices of two ways to take the quiz; one just asks the questions on Mercury and the other askes the questions and then will give the correct answer afterwards. There are a couple of questions dealing with mercury in water.
- Mercury in Schools:Map - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- There is a map of the U.S.A. to click on and then find information about mercury for the area. The information for each area will include: reduction agencies, mercury health advisories, case studies, where mercury is deposited (land and water) and many other resources.
- Pollution Locator/Search Engine - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- Pollution found in different watersheds can be located by typing in the name of the watershed or the location of the water shed. The site will give the type and location of the pollution found in the watershed. THe site also provides a hyperlink to explain what the human health hazzard is, how the pollutant is regulated and much more.
- United States EPA - Great Lakes Site - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2)
- This site contains a wealth of information concerning the Great Lakes, including general information, watershed maps, pollution prevention, human health issues, among others. Links are also provided to educational programs and other relevant sites. This site is an excellent starting point for studying Great Lakes pollution.
- USGS - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.1&2)
- Information about the hydrological cycle, water sheds, etc.
- Waterborne Contaminants in the Great Lakes - Hydrosphere (V.2.HS.2) New
- This site shows graphics and explains how contaminants get into the Great Lakes and their impact on it.