This kit explores how sustainability within the Finger Lakes region of New York has been presented in the media with a particular focus on issues related to food, water and agriculture. Each of the seven lessons integrates media literacy and critical thinking with key knowledge and concepts related to sustainability. This kit is a companion to the nineteen-lesson collection, Media Constructions of Sustainability: Food, Water and Agriculture.

Students apply their understanding of the natural water cycle and the urban "stormwater" water cycle, as well as the processes involved in both cycles to hypothesize how the flow of water is affected by altering precipitation. Student groups consider different precipitation scenarios based on both intensity and duration. Once hypotheses and specific experimental steps are developed, students use both a natural water cycle model and an urban water cycle model to test their hypotheses. To conclude, students explain their results, tapping their knowledge of both cycles and the importance of using models to predict water flow in civil and environmental engineering designs. The natural water cycle model is made in advance by the teacher, using simple supplies; a minor adjustment to the model easily turns it into the urban water cycle model.

Through an overview of the components of the hydrologic cycle and the important roles they play in the design of engineered systems, students' awareness of the world's limited fresh water resources is heightened. The hydrologic cycle affects everyone and is the single most critical component to life on Earth. Students examine in detail the water cycle components and phase transitions, and then learn how water moves through the human-made urban environment. This urban "stormwater" water cycle is influenced by the pervasive existence of impervious surfaces that limit the amount of infiltration, resulting in high levels of stormwater runoff, limited groundwater replenishment and reduced groundwater flow. Students show their understanding of the process by writing a description of the path of a water droplet through the urban water cycle, from the droplet's point of view. The lesson lays the groundwork for rest of the unit, so students can begin to think about what they might do to modify the urban "stormwater" water cycle so that it functions more like the natural water cycle. A PowerPoint® presentation and handout are provided.

Students learn about the techniques engineers have developed for changing ocean water into drinking water, including thermal and membrane desalination. They begin by reviewing the components of the natural water cycle. They see how filters, evaporation and/or condensation can be components of engineering desalination processes. They learn how processes can be viewed as systems, with unique objects, inputs, components and outputs, and sketch their own system diagrams to describe their own desalination plant designs.

This activity is a field investigation of puddles where students gather data and record their findings.

In this activity, students collaboratively "build" the hydrologic cycle and use it as a starting point for thinking about the composition of seawater.

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This guided inquiry investigation will show students how water moves through the water cycle, and how it affects plant life.

In this video, members of the Menominee nation discuss their experiences with climate change.

In this unit, students investigate water from a global perspective. The focus of students learning is on the identification of storehouses where Earth's water is stored, how matter (water) cycles through the geosphere (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere) and biosphere, and the energy associated with water as it changes between a solid, liquid and gas state. The unit investigations conclude with a short homework assignment on the application of the hydrologic cycle from a regional perspective as you research the quality and availability of fresh water in the state where you live. An important factor is the consideration for the percentage of fresh water that is readily available for human consumption and the impact of human activity on the quality of the water.

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Unit 3 addresses concepts related to urban-atmosphere interactions. The content explores how urban landscapes and atmospheric constituents modify or interact with the atmosphere to affect temperature, clouds, rainfall, and other parts of the water cycle. Fundamental concepts of weather and climate are established. The unit then transitions to focus on the "urbanized" environment and its complex interactions with the atmosphere. Students will learn about interactions such as 1) urban modification of surface temperature and energy exchanges; 2) water cycle components; 3) cloud-rainfall evolution within urban environments; and 4) applications to real societal challenges like urban flooding. The unit integrates basic meteorological/climatological analyses, geospatial thinking, and integration of scientific concepts within a real world context.

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Students use what they have learned in the previous units to link the above-ground part of the rock cycle (driven by the hydrologic cycle, energy from the Sun, and gravity) to the below-ground part of the rock cycle driven by Earth's internal heat energy. This unit is focused on group thinking: interpreting a rock cycle diagram and the role of the hydrologic cycle, identifying energy transfers (including sources and sinks), and describing hypothetical rock material transfer pathways. Students also make connections between erosion and plate tectonics through analysis of a reading, "How Erosion Builds Mountains."

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Engineers design and implement many creative techniques for managing stormwater at its sources in order to improve and restore the hydrology and water quality of developed sites to pre-development conditions. Through the two lessons in this unit, students are introduced to green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID) technologies, including green roofs and vegetative walls, bioretention or rain gardens, bioswales, planter boxes, permeable pavement, urban tree canopies, rainwater harvesting, downspout disconnection, green streets and alleys, and green parking. Student teams take on the role of stormwater engineers through five associated activities. They first model the water cycle, and then measure transpiration rates and compare native plant species. They investigate the differences in infiltration rates and storage capacities between several types of planting media before designing their own media mixes to meet design criteria. Then they design and test their own pervious pavement mix combinations. In the culminating activity, teams bring together all the concepts as well as many of the materials from the previous activities in order to create and install personal rain gardens. The unit prepares the students and teachers to take on the design and installation of bigger rain garden projects to manage stormwater at their school campuses, homes and communities.

This activity is an introduction to the water cycle where students will use observation, drawing, writing, recording, questioning, and communication to understand the concept of condensation.

Students will be working with the problem “How do we know water is safe to drink?” under the theme of “How does access to clean water and sanitation affect a culture?” Students participate in labs related to the hydrologic cycle and water quality. Students design and build a local watershed to model the movement of water across land. Students also research and explore print, video, and audio resources for news and information about local / global water pollution / impact by and on humans.Students share what they have researched with each other, then create an artifact (infographic, video, slideshow, animation, comic strip, etc) intended to educate peers and younger students about water quality and its importance. Ideally, finished products would be shared with others in an authentic setting.Standards:Ohio Science Standards (Grade 7)CCSS English Language Arts (Grade 7)

We refer to Earth as the \Blue Planet\" because of its abundance of liquid water; indeed, NASA's search for life on other planets starts with the search for water. While its importance for sustaining life is perhaps common knowledge, the extent to which we depend on water in every aspect of our everyday lives and activities is less obvious. Looking into the coming decades, the global need to decrease water stress and increase water quality is inescapable. In this course, you will explore water's impact on human society from investigating your own personal water usage to developing a water portfolio to addressing global water needs as human population centers and industrial development continue to grow."

Students collect a large set of data (approximately 60 sets) of individual student’s water use and learn how to use spreadsheets to graph the data and find mean, median, mode, and range. They compared their findings to the national average of water use per person per day and use it to evaluate how much water a municipality would need in the event of a recovery from a water shutdown. This analysis activity introduces students to the concept of central tendencies and how to use spreadsheets to find them.

Students learn about the importance of dams by watching a video that presents historical and current information on dams, as well as descriptions of global water resources and the hydrologic cycle. Students also learn about different types of dams, all designed to resist the forces on dams. (If the free, 15-minute "Water and Dams in Today's World" video cannot be obtained in time, the lesson can still be taught. See the Additional Multimedia Support section for how to obtain the DVD or VHS videotape, or a PowerPoint presentation with similar content [also attached].)

Students build a model of a watershed, apply water to the model, and explore what happens when elements of the watershed are changed.

This activity is a class activity where students gather information of the water cycle, weather and seasons by doing a lab and game that enforces the concepts of the water cycle.