Build Your Own Water Quality testing Outdoor Environmental Science Lab! -- A Seven Week Unit Below:
We had two main educational objectives for our Ohio Environmental Education Fund Grant, which we received from the Ohio EPA. These two educational objectives were to met through classroom activities and outdoor field trips through the course of the 2015-2016 school year. We focused primarily on getting seventh graders involved in this project, as watershed and water quality testing activities are aligned with 7th grade science standards. We did, however, have some 8th graders and a couple of high school students get involved as well.
Our objectives and activities that went with them:
Objective Title: Enhancing knowledge of Water Issues --
Our main objective for this project is for students to have access to a real-life problem that they can solve using science. Although we cannot directly test for microcystins in Dry Creek, we can utilize our 1:1 iPads to allow students to investigate the many factors that affect the health of water that runs off into Lake Erie. With the Labquest2 equipment, students will be able to travel to Northwood School's twenty acres of land and collect information on macroinvertebrates, which tell the healthy of the water, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and flowrate of the creek. They can share this information with experts at the Wood County Water and Sewer district and at the annual TMACOG Watershed Watch.
Our second objective, directly from the grant, is as follows:
Students will have hands-on and enhanced understanding of water issues that have been previously taught in the classroom and in the field by exploring the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and receiving education and training from experienced rangers and staff.
In the first week of school, 7th grade students were introduced to the Healthy Water, Healthy People Curriculum. Using this curriculum, students learned how to research reliable websites for water quality issues. We then brainstormed important water quality issues to engage the students in issues that affect water quality in Northwest Ohio, which led to discussions of HABs (harmful algal blooms). In doing this research, students were also introduced to other water quality topics, such as acid mine drainage, which is a serious problem in southeast ohio.
Then, 7th grade students were introduced to google maps on their 1:1 iPads. They were given the challenge of starting with the school address, finding Wolf Creek (which happens to have run under our school), and finding out where it leads to. Students took screen shots of aerial vision of the path of Wolf Creek, put those photos into the Notability app, and circled things that they saw on the sides of Wolf Creek as they were trying to figure out where the Creek led to (it runs into the docks at Maumee Bay State Park, Lake Erie.) Students noticed that Wolf Creek traveled by parking lots, neighborhoods, factories, and farm fields, for example. This allowed us to have a discussion of what they thought would happen when it rains. What kinds of pollution might end up in the water? Some students noted that Wolf Creek traveled by their own homes, so this type of activity was personal for them.
We continued our google mapping of Wolf Creek into the next week. We also had a discussion of the water cycle in Week #2.
Week #1 Lesson Plan and Learning targets:
| A Tangled Web Activity from Healthy Water Healthy People pp.1-5 | A tangled Web Activity, continued. | Mapping it out: Concept Mapping for Water Quality pp. 6-8 | Mapping it out: Concept Mapping for Water Quality | 6th grade standards vocab quiz and google mapping my watershed. |
| I can search for reliable websites to find relevant and reliable information about water quality in my area. | I can search for reliable websites to find relevant and reliable information about water quality in my area. | I can organize my prior knowledge of water quality on a concept map. | I can organize my prior knowledge of water quality on a concept map. | I can use google maps to trace the flow of water from a local stream to a larger body of water like a lake. |
| I can investigate what I want to know about water quality. | I can investigate what I want to know about water quality. |
Week #2 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| Mapping it out: Concept Mapping for Water Quality pp. 6-8 | Mapping it out: Concept Mapping for Water Quality | Google Mapping Dry Creek and Wolf Creek from Northwood HS to Lake Erie. | Google Mapping Dry Creek and Wolf Creek from Northwood HS to Lake Erie. | |
| I can organize my prior knowledge of water quality on a KWL | I can organize my prior knowledge of water quality on a KWL | I can use google map technology to trace the flow of water from a small creek to a larger body of water. | I can use google map technology to trace the flow of water from a small creek to a larger body of water. | |
| I can investigate what I want to know about water quality. | I can investigate what I want to know about water quality. |
During the third week of school, 7th graders reviewed and shared information they had learned from researching a topic of interest (what they "wanted to know" from a water quality KWL activity) from the Healthy Water, Happy People curriculumand google mapping of Wolf Creek. It is exciting for the students to discover that Wolf Creek leads to the docks at Maumee Bay State Park. I incorporated classroom technology into the exploration of the hydrologic cycle using an interactive "sharing board" program called Padlet (www.padlet.com) and review with Kahoot (www.getkahoot.com). The Padlet was also used for an engagement KWL activity.
To play the hydrologic cycle Kahoot click here:
https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/539473a4-99b1-4ba7-ae78-09dfa4cc8070
To build an understanding of the water cycle, students were given a choice of reading, watching a video, or doing an interactive lesson on the water cycle. As they did this, they took Cornell notes on what they learned. The choices of readings/videos/interactive lessons are below:
NSF Youtube video on the Water Cycle
The EPA's interactive Water Cycle Lesson
Bill Nye Water Cycle Video
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Interactive Water Cycle Lesson
You can get Cornell Notes at Freeology. Here is what they look like.
Week #3 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle. | I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle. | kahoot |
| Students will finish #6 Assignment - Cornell notes on the hydrologic cycle. | (10 Minutes): Students will submit their Cornell notes. | |
| (20 minutes): Students will be put into small groups and will be given one minute each to share which reading/video/virtual lab they explored, and read their summary about what they learned about the water cycle. | ||
| (15 minutes): Students will work in those same groups to answer padlet questions about the water cycle. |
During Week #4 I reviewed the hydrologic cycle (water cycle) with the students using a "Find Somebody Who Knows" activity and BINGO review. I also have Quizlet study cards available for students to use online, or printed out. Students took a summative assessment Water Cycle Quiz on Friday.
Week #4 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle. | I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle. | I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle | I understand and can summarize what I have learned about the water cycle | Water Cycle Quiz. |
| Engage (10 minutes): Students will complete a padlet with two questions on it about the water cycle. | (10 minutes): Go over the answers for the "Find Somebody Who Knows" and have students submit it. | (20 minutes): Students will fill out a BINGO review sheet that will be used for a BINGO game. | Play BINGO review and Kahoots, and quizlet to prepare for the Water Cycle Quiz. | After the quiz, we will begin water quality testing. |
| Evaluate (35 minutes): Water cycle - Find somebody who knows activity. | Engage (10 minutes): Students will complete a padlet with two questions on it about the water cycle. | (15 minutes): Students will fill out the BINGO sheet. | ||
| (10 minutes): Discuss the answers to the padlet questions. | If there is time, students will play at least one round of BINGO. | |||
| (10 minutes): Students will take a formative Assessment (not graded) "Water Cycle Quiz" to see where they are in terms of understanding of the water cycle. | ||||
| If there is time, we will do a kahoot. |
In week #5 of the Water Quality unit, students conducted the "It's Clear to Me" lab from the Healthy Water, Healthy People curriculum. In this hands-on lab, students learned about different kinds of mixtures, such as emulsions, colloids, suspensions, and solutions. Students then connected their understanding of mixtures to test prepared mixtures using Vernier lab equipment, which was purchased with the Ohio EPA OEEF mini-grant.
Students then trained to use Water Quality testing equipment provided by TMACOG along with Vernier Lab Equipment purchased from the Ohio EPA OEEF mini-grant. Students collected various water quality data from various locations. The data they collected is below:
| eqer | Location of Water | Temperature (C) | pH | Conductivity | Organisms, particles |
| Mrs. Fish | Mr. S. aquarium | 21.1 | 6.5 | 915 | There are green, stringy particles that look like plant parts. |
| Salt Water | 22 | 4444 | |||
| Sylvania house | 22.3 | 8.05 | 375 | ||
| Team Name | Location of Water | Temperature (C) | pH | Conductivity | Organisms, particles |
| Period 1 | |||||
| 1 | Drinking Fountain by the library | 23.7 | 8.78 | 299 | Fibers |
| 2 | art room sink | 23.6 | 8.5 | 300 | little blackish organisms |
| 3 | Downstairs Girl's Bathroom | 23 | 8.5 | 271 | little black specks |
| 4 | Girls upstairs bathroom sink | 24.4 | 8.1 | 284 | black and stringy organisms |
| 5 | Up stairs drinking fountain | 18.3 | 8.8 | 259 | hair or a wire |
| 6 | Boys downstairs Bathroom sink | 24.2 | Unknown | 274 | little spots |
| Team Name | Location of Water | Temperature (C) | pH | Conductivity | Organisms, particles |
| Period 2 | |||||
| 1 | Girls locker room | 23.8 | 8.78 | 234 | It looked like there was things moving.It looks like there's hairy things in the water. |
| 2 | library aquarium | 26 | 7.94 | 2435 | tiny dots that look like fish eggs, and little lines that look like strings. |
| 3 | The Office Next to Mr Johnson office | 24.1 | 8.4 | 24.1 | |
| 4 | The Office - next to the Secretaries | 24.1 | 8.75 | 305 | It looked like strings, chains |
| 5 | The Office | 22.6 | 8.72 | 46 | Chlorine |
| 6 | The art room | 23.1 | unknown | 2.39 | Black, stringy fibers |
| Team Name | Location of Water | Temperature (C) | pH | Conductivity | Organisms, particles |
| Period 3 | |||||
| 1 | Library Aquarium | 26.9 | 7.52 | 2390 | There are little black dots everywhere and there is a little organism |
| 2 | Library Aquarium | 25.7 | 6.98 | 2390 | |
| 3 | Aquarium in the NHS Library. | 26.9 | 7.07 | 2400 | Little Strands that looked like hair, Black particles |
| 4 | The Office | 22.8 | 6.5 | 247 | Little strings and bubbles together |
| 5 | Downstairs Girls Bathroom | 33.1 | 8.28 | ||
| 6 | Mr. Shumakers aquarium | 26 | 7.44 | 840 | Algae that looks like strings of hair. |
On Friday of week #5, students conducted a Glencoe virtual lab to understand different substances and their associated pH.
At the end of week five, students helped to clean up Dry Creek in Northwood. They partnered with PCS Maumee, through Partners for Clean Streams and area volunteers groups and assisted in picking up trash that might otherwise be washed into streams when it rains.
Week #5 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| I can describe the qualities of different mixtures and begin to relate it to conductivity of Water. | I can describe the qualities of different mixtures and begin to relate it to conductivity of Water. | I can describe the qualities of different mixtures and begin to relate it to conductivity of Water. | I can describe the qualities of different mixtures and begin to relate it to conductivity of Water. | I can conduct an experiment to find the pH of common items. |
| Conductivity of Water - Water Testing | Conductivity of Water - Water Testing. | Conductivity of Water - Water Testing. | ||
| Engage (10 minutes): Discuss and share photos from the clean your streams event. | Explore (15 minutes): Finish Writing up and discussing the "It's Clear to Me" Lab. | |||
| It's Clear to Me Lab. | Explain (30 minutes): I will connect the idea of mixtures with "conductivity", and students will go to various places in the school to collect water samples for testing conductivity of water samples with the Vernier Lab Equipment. | Explain (45 minutes): I will connect the idea of mixtures with "conductivity", and students will go to various places in the school to collect water samples for testing conductivity of water samples with the Vernier Lab Equipment. Students will collect the data and save it for future testing. | Explain (45 minutes): I will connect the idea of mixtures with "conductivity", and students will go to various places in the school to collect water samples for testing conductivity of water samples with the Vernier Lab Equipment. Students will collect the data and save it for future testing. | Explore (45 minutes): Students will do a virtual lab on pH. |
This was the week when students began doing outdoor water testing as a whole seventh grade class. I had taken small groups three times after school to do water testing, but now the whole class could test for water quality, and get acclimated to the Vernier lab equipment at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. This was a day long trip where students were introduced to the wetlands of their local watershed.
All seventh graders had the opportunity to visit the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for three activities: using nets in the mud to find macroinvertebrates, a tram ride around the refuge, and an interactive story about pollution of the Potomac River with a model watershed.
After our field trip to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, students reflected on the field trip with a 3*2*1 activity (Three things I learned, Two things I can tell you, One thing I will always remember). We also connected the ONWR with an understanding of watersheds with two hands-on "Crumpled Paper Watershed" labs.
Week #6 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| FIELD TRIP - | 3*2*1 on ONWR field trip | |||
| OTTAWA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE | Students will use the 3*2*1 to write thank you letters. | Students will write thank you notes to people at the ONWR. | Crumpled Paper watershed Experiment #1 | Crumpled Paper Watershed Experiment #1 |
| Thank you letters will be due on Friday. | Students can also finish their 3*2*1 | |||
| Students will submit #10 assignment as a photo - the pink sheet that they wrote information on about the pH lab. | ||||
| Students will work on #11 Assignment - 3*2*1 about the ONWR field trip. | ||||
| #12 Assignment - Thank you letters are due at the end of this class period. |
We wrapped up the Water Quality Unit with a visit from a local expert on weather and water -- meteorogist Ryan Wichman. Students were able to begin to connect water and weather with our next unit on ocean currents and the Jet Stream by asking questions related to these issues with Mr. Wichman.
Week #7 Lesson Plan and Learning Targets
| Crumpled Paper Watershed #2 | Students will spend the Class period working on a 3-2-1 re: Ryan Wichman visit AND if they finish with that, they will work on a Thank you letter to Ryan Wichman. | Finish Crumpled Paper watershed #2 | Crumpled Paper Watershed Wrap-up. Work Day with Lab, 3-2-1, and Thank you letter to Ryan Wichman. |
| THIS IS THE END OF THIS UNIT! | |||
Sharing our findings with the community at the TMACOG Student Watershed Watch
Presenting at the annual TMACOG Student Watershed Watch.
Our final fall water quality activity was to anayze the data students had collected while at Dry Creek and present that information at the annual TMACOG Student Watershed Watch. We went to Dry Creek three times to test water. Our testing date for the Student Watershed Watch was October 13th, 2015.
When collecting water quality data, we used the following manual to collect Q-Values for all of the different variables affecting our water at Dry Creek. Collecting data in this way followed standards required by TMACOG using the field manual pictured below.
Using traditional methods (e.g., pH test strips and nets) and more advanced Vernier lab equipment, which was purchased through the OEEF mini-grant, students were able to test for levels of ecoli, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, flow rate (spring testing), dissolved solids, and macroinvertebrates. Data which we collected for the Student Watershed Watch can be found HERE.
Eleven 7th grade students were chosen to present at the annual TMACOG watershed watch. These students stayed after school and met at lunch several times after October 16th, 2015 to organize, analyze, and make conclusions about the health of Dry Creek's water. Their conclusions were presented at the annual TMACOG Student Watershed Watch in November. It was the highlight of the students' participation in water testing, as they earned the opportunity to travel to the University of Toledo to present their findings in a unique way--MINECRAFT--which is a "sandbox" game and extremely popular with their generation. The final video students presented is below.
Our final fall water quality activity was to anayze the data students had collected while at Dry Creek and present that information at the annual TMACOG Student Watershed Watch. We went to Dry Creek three times to test water. Our testing date for the Student Watershed Watch was October 13th, 2015.
When collecting water quality data, we used the following manual to collect Q-Values for all of the different variables affecting our water at Dry Creek. Collecting data in this way followed standards required by TMACOG using the field manual pictured below.
Using traditional methods (e.g., pH test strips and nets) and more advanced Vernier lab equipment, which was purchased through the OEEF mini-grant, students were able to test for levels of ecoli, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, flow rate (spring testing), dissolved solids, and macroinvertebrates. Data which we collected for the Student Watershed Watch can be found HERE.
Eleven 7th grade students were chosen to present at the annual TMACOG watershed watch. These students stayed after school and met at lunch several times after October 16th, 2015 to organize, analyze, and make conclusions about the health of Dry Creek's water. Their conclusions were presented at the annual TMACOG Student Watershed Watch in November. It was the highlight of the students' participation in water testing, as they earned the opportunity to travel to the University of Toledo to present their findings in a unique way--MINECRAFT--which is a "sandbox" game and extremely popular with their generation. The final video students presented is below.
In the spring of 2016...
Our main push for water quality testing was in the fall of 2015, but that does not mean that we didn't continue our efforts. In the spring of 2016, we set up six water testing dates. Three of them worked out, and three of them did not, because of thunderstorms. Below are photos of students doing water testing in the spring.
I hope you enjoyed finding out about our outdoor environmental science lab Water Quality Unit, hands-on lessons, field trips, and ways we shared with the community. To find out more about his program, email Lara Fish at Lfish@northwoodschools.org and follow Lara on twitter @chasrabesh, and follow Northwood Outdoor Environmental Science Lab on twitter @NHSOESL.
Stay tuned for the next post on nhsoesl.blogspot.com where I will be sharing an evaluation of our project.
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