Curriculum
See all the Ignited Water Industry Lesson Plans. Now With Even MORE Content for Teachers!
The water related curriculum materials provided in the links below represent a summer’s worth of gathering content from across our partner agencies. Click on the links below to find materials most relevant to your students grade level. Please excuse our rough appearance while our website formatting catches up with this deluge of new content.
Teachers, click here for Kindergarten – 5th grade curriculum
You’ll find dozens of curriculum resources specific to K-5 grades, across a variety of different water and wastewater topics.
- “The Little Blue Hen: A Water Conservation Story”(from Santa Clara Valley Water District) A water conservation story about a little hen who wants to save water.
- “Our Water Curriculum” (from SFPUC) designed to teach 4th–6th grade students about San Francisco’s water resources and the importance of conservation. It is a unique, interdisciplinary unit that supports CA Standards.
- “Napa Classroom Presentation” (from Napa Sanitary District) Interactive classroom presentations introduce elementary school students to the importance of wastewater treatment and what THEY can do to prevent pollution. In the presentation, your students will learn about: 1. Wastewater treatment: the good, the bad & the ugly! 2. Recycled water – how it’s treated and what it’s used for; 3. Biosolids – how sewage sludge becomes a soil amendment; 4. The difference between wastewater and stormwater; 5. What they can do to protect water quality and community health. (K-6)
- And many more…
Teachers, click here for: 6th – 8th grade curriculum
You’ll find dozens of curriculum resources specific to 6-8th grades, across a variety of different water and wastewater topics.
- “The Wonder Down Under”(From Zone 7 Water Agency) This 45-minute presentation will explore the local watershed and teach students how our groundwater and surface water systems are connected. We will also teach them about our drinking water supply, talk about pollutants common to our Valley, and discuss the effect of urban development on our watershed. The program covers several science standards and can be given to either 6th or 7th graders.
- “Sum of the Parts”(From Dublin San Ramon Services District) This lesson demonstrates the cumulative effects of water pollution. Students “inherit” pieces of riverfront property and are allowed to develop them as they please. They soon realize that proper planning can reduce each person’s “pollution contribution.” They identify point source and non-point source pollution and discuss best management practices and individual responsibility for environmental stewardship
- “You Can’t Live A Day Without Me”(from SFPUC) A fun, upbeat music video that provides a general overview how San Francisco Sewer System works. (K-12)
- And many more…
Teachers, click here for: 9th – 12th grade curriculum
You’ll find dozens of curriculum resources specific to K-5 grades, and across a variety of different water and wastewater topics.
- “WaterSmart Home Survey Kit”(from EBMUD) a great take-home activity to augment water education curricula. This free kit includes dye tabs, a flow meter bag, and step-by-step instructions for identifying leaks and inefficient indoor and outdoor water use.
- “Sewer Science Program”(from Redwood City) a comprehensive high school science laboratory that teaches students about municipal wastewater treatment using specially designed tanks and standard testing equipment. This program presents a unique opportunity to present the wide variety of careers that are available in the wastewater industry.
- “Partner Program: Trout in the Classroom” (from Marin Municipal Water District) Through the process of hatching trout eggs and releasing fish in to an approved waterway, students gain a deep understanding of the importance of clean habitat, what animals need to survive, and the role students can play to make this happen. Teachers complete a workshop and receive financial and volunteer assistance through North Bay Trout Unlimited, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, MMWD, One Tam, and AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project.
- And many more…
Teachers, click here for: Ignited curriculum
- All About Water This hands-on Unit (5 Lessons total) will help students develop a greater understanding, deeper knowledge and appreciation of water and its integral part of life on this planet. These lessons also further explore how ‘they’, the future generation, can make a difference in this ongoing global resource. Lessons included: What Do You Know About Water?, Water on Earth and in the Community, The Value of Water, How Water Moves- Hydrologic Cycle and Conservation. (1st – 6th grade)
- Understanding the Nitrogen Cycle and Using Design Thinking to Reduce the “Dead Zone“ This lesson plan is a series of student activities to help students engage in a deeper understanding of the nitrogen cycle, its relevance to sustaining life, as well as the threat unlimited nitrogen loading poses to aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric ecosystems. Students will engage with evidence, data, argumentation, models, and systems to gain a deeper understanding of the nitrogen cycle and a greater realization of the challenges and means available for feeding an ever expanding human population without the complete destruction of the natural environment. (9th-12th grade)
- And many more…
Teachers, click here for: SEI curriculum
- Watersheds and Public Water Systems This curriculum provides students with activities to explore how water flows through their local watershed, and is distributed and treated through their public water and wastewater systems. Projects include creating a GIS Story Map of their local water systems, conducting water quality testing and analysis, and designing a water filter. Students are introduced to careers in the water industry. (9th-12th grade)
- School Water Conservation Guide This guide contains the information necessary to establish a Green Team, determine a baseline for historic or current water use, develop a plan for reducing water consumption, implement water use reduction measures and projects, and finally, verify reduction results. The projects in this guide create the opportunity for students and staff to learn more about water conservation and can have significant positive impacts on school operating costs as well as the environment. (9th-12thgrade)
- And many more…
Featured curriculum developed by BAYWORK!
Below is our featured BAYWORK materials complete with Teacher’s Guides and editable Student Worksheets to help you teach important skills in math and science.
The Perfect Storm
This lesson introduces students to linear functions in the context of water pressure vs. water tank’s height
The Great Shake
The following lessons introduce students to algebra equations in order to determine hydraulic detention time, conversion of a flow and concentration into pound and mathematic ratios.
Go with the Flow
Water Treatment Operators have to know how long it will take for water to get from one place to another based on “flow rate”, which is measured in millions of gallons per day (MGD). This lesson introduces students to flow rate calculations incorporating concepts of volume and unit conversion.
Under Pressure
This lesson introduces students to computations involving percent and volume.
The Air and Why We Should Care
The following lesson is meant to be used as an introduction to the study of gases. Learning is contextualized by workers at a wastewater treatment plant who, through video, discuss the role of oxygen in the treatment process, and how they generate, monitor, and control the oxygen. Lesson components have students investigate the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, analyze how the atmosphere changes as pressure and temperature change, and engage in an hands-on investigation into how much oxygen is in air.
Tiny Bubbles
The following lessons introduces students to algebra equations in order to determine oxygen loading rates for an activated sludge system, conversion of a flow and concentration into pound and mathematic ratios.