Contents:

• Field Trips
• Journaling Activities
• Discovery Activities
• Science Exploration Activities
• River Model Activities
• School-based/ Natural History Activities
• Geology Activities
• Water Activities
• Human Use Activities

 

Here are some additional activities from other environmental education programs that can supplement the activities presented in this guide. This annotated list is organized into nine elements of the Bosque Education Program (Field Trips, Journaling Activities, Discovery Activities, Science Exploration Activities, River Model Activities, School-based/Natural History Activities, Geology Activities, Water Activities, and Human Use Activities. Within each section, the activities are then organized by the other environmental education programs that offer complementary activities.

 

We selected the following resources because the materials are relatively inexpensive (often free for attending a workshop) and generally available. The activities listed here are age appropriate and relate to concepts/ideas of this Bosque Education program. Many other great activities and ideas can be found in these resources, as well as the many resources we did not include in this guide.

 

The following guides were used to compile this appendix:

 

• PLT( Project Learning Tree), Secondary Environmental Education Program: Introduc-ory Handbook for the Secondary Modules. 1995.
• PLT: The Changing Forest: Forest Ecology. 1996.
• PLT: Environmental Education Activity Guide, Pre-K-8. 1998: sixth edition.
• Discover a Watershed: Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. 2001.
• Aquatic: Project WILD. 1992: second edition.
• Ecosystem Matters. 1995.
• Project WET. 1995. Includes a great Teaching Strategies section (pp. 3–21).

 

 

Field Trips

Discover a Watershed

Mind-Mapping (p.129): pre-assessment, planning, post-assessment tool for the study of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Watershed.

 

Aquatic Wild

Riparian Retreat ( p. 34): Students describe (artistically, poetically) habitat characteristics of riparian areas. Good pre-river visit activity or to do at the River.

Water Canaries (p. 38): Students investigate a stream/pond/river using sampling techniques.

 

Project Learning Tree: Secondary Modules

Trees as Habitats (p. 34): Students discover how plants and animals depend on trees in many ways by examining and studying trees.

 

Ecosystem Matters

Wet and Wild World (p. 25): Through a sensory exploration of a pond community, students will improve their observation skills and their awareness of animals that depend on a pond community.

Hole Homes (p. 29): Through observation, comparison and evaluation of a habitat, students make predictions regarding appearances of animal homes.

Common Ground (p. 179): Through visiting places where habitats overlap, students explore the concept of ecotones.

 

Project WET

Life in the Fast Lane (p.79): Through a scavenger hunt and investigations of temporary wetlands in their neighborhood, students learn the benefits of and challenges to organ- isms living in temporary wetlands.

Stream Sense (p.191): Students use their senses to observe a stream, learning there is more to flowing water than meets the eye.

 

Journaling Activities

Discover a Watershed

River of Words (p. 307): Students create poetry and artwork to express their observations and experiences about the watershed, adding their voices to the rich chorus of people who have been inspired by the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.

 

Project WET

Water Log (p.19): Students use a water log (journal or portfolio) to write or illustrate their observations, feelings, and actions related to water. The log serves as an assessment tool to monitor changes over time related to knowledge of and attitudes toward water.

 

Discovery Activities

Aquatic Wild

Water Plant Art (p. 12): Students identify aquatic plants as an important component of aquatic habitats and as a necessity to wildlife and humans. Can be done in school or on a field trip.

 

Science Exploration Activities

Discover a Watershed

An Invited Guest, that overstayed its welcome (p. 259): students learn about invasive plant species that often have been “invited” to the watershed and then bring serious consequences for native plants.

 

Aquatic Wild

Fashion A Fish (p. 88): Students classify fish according to body shape and coloration. Students design a variety of fish.

 

Project WET

Where Are the Frogs? (p.279): Through experimentation and a simulation, students learn how acidic water has endangered the quality of aquatic life in some parts of the country.

 

Project Learning Tree: Secondary Modules

Watch on Wetlands (p. 54): Students will learn more about wetlands and about how land-use decisions and legislation affect these areas.

 

Project Learning Tree: The Changing Forest: Forest Ecology

Adopt-a-Forest (p. 16): Students will identify a section of a local forest/wooded area to study and investigate the types of plants and animals that live there. Identify the biological and structural diversity within a forest ecosystem.

Cast of Thousands (p. 27): Students will make scientific relationships of organisms to their environment and determine the extent to which humans have an impact on forests in their region.

The Nature of Plants (p. 50): Students will learn the importance of photosynthesis to take place. They will also discover the factors necessary for healthy plant growth and the detrimental effects of environmental stresses.

 

River Model Activities

Discover a Watershed

Cardboard Contours (p. 160): Students use cardboard to create a three-dimensional model depicting the topography of a section of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.

Make-a-Mural (p. 301): Students create a mural depicting various aspects of the watershed, its landscape, its people, its cultures, and its plants and animal residents.

 

Aquatic Wild

Are You Me? (p. 14): Students recognize various young stages of aquatic animals. Can be done in the field or with the river model.

The Edge of Home (p. 68): Students identify characteristics of ecotones, transitional zones, etc.

Blue Ribbon Niche (p. 72): Students identify different organisms that live in riparian areas –their ecological role, basic characteristics of riparian habitats and evaluate potential positive and negative effects from change in riparian habitat.

Fishy Who’s Who (p. 86): Students recognize and identify major species of freshwater fish; describe values of fish species in some aquatic communities and locate places (along the Rio Grande) where fish species occur. Can bring in Silver Minnow issues.

Aquatic Roots (p. 100): Trace origins of species of aquatic animals, plants, and categorize into native, exotic, etc.

Watered Down History (p. 116): Students describe human, plants, and animals life associated with a river over time.

Aquatic Times (p. 126): Students identify a diversity of issues related to aquatic organisms and habitats; and develop their own opinions concerning some issues involving aquatic life and habitats.

Dragonfly Pond (p. 154): Very interactive. Students evaluate the effects of different kinds of land use on wetland habitats and discuss life-style changes to minimize damaging effects on wetlands.

Watershed (p. 172): Students describe/measure characteristics of watersheds and discuss the role of watersheds in providing wildlife habitat as well as human habitats and give examples of how watersheds can be conserved and protected. Uses math.

 

Project Learning Tree: The Changing Forest: Forest Ecology

Understanding Fire (p. 82): Students will explore the patterns of change brought about by fires in a forest ecosystem. They will examine the environmental, societal, and political factors that influence forest-use decisions.

 

Ecosystem Matters

A Happy Forest (p. 21): Through dramatization and role-playing, students will become aware of the value of fire in a healthy pine forest.

The Incredible Journey (p. 105): Through an active simulation game, students learn characteristics of migratory shorebirds and the importance of wetlands to them.

 

Project WET

People of the Bog (p.89): Students construct a classroom bog and a mini-composter to observe the rate of decomposition in anaerobic (little or no oxygen present) and aerobic (oxygen available) environments.

Just Passing Through (p.167): In a whole-body activity, students investigate how vegetation affects the movement of water over land surfaces.

Rainy-Day Hike (p.186): Students are introduced to the concept of watersheds by collecting data about water flowing over school grounds.

 

Geology Activities

Discover a Watershed

Which Came First, the River or the Rift? (p. 195): Students build and manipulate geographic models that simulate the process that formed the Rio Grande Rift.

 

Aquatic Wild

Where Does Water Run Off After School? (p. 82): Students describe relationships between precipitation, runoff, and aquatic habitats. Uses math.

 

Water Activities

Discover a Watershed

Cycling the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo (p. 140): With a roll of a cube, students simulate the movement of water within the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo watershed and identify the water users dependent upon this river.

Exotic Hydrographs (p. 151): Students use stream-flow monitoring data to create hydrographs and then interpret them.

It All Adds Up (p. 166): Students explore upstream and downstream effects and learn about their cumulative influence on the river and those who depend upon it.

Aquifers of Two Countries (p. 172): Students will observe and learn about basic ground water principles as they create their own ground water system and apply what they learn to the Transboundary aquifers of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.

Tributary Tree (p. 201): Students observe the branching pattern of the drainages of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo watershed via a relief map and build a “Tributary Tree.” They also identify key features within the basin on a map by using latitude and longitude.

Water Quality, Rio Grande/Rio Bravo (p. 312): Students conduct investigations and plan classroom presentations to learn about the water quality issues of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo watershed and discover that “what you can’t see, can hurt you.”

Washing Water (p. 324): Students investigate many methods of water treatment, explore the processes of mixing, coagulation, flocculation, filtration, and chlorination, and use common materials and a simple process to purify a sample of the river water.

 

Aquatic Wild

Water Wings (p. 4): Students experience a simulated field trip and then create artwork and poetry illustrating the water cycle.

 

Ecosystem Matters

Don’t Use It All Up (p. 17): Through using sponge pieces and water in a demonstration, students discover that the human population are resource consumers.

 

Project WET

Adventures in Density (p. 25): Students conduct investigations to discover how the density of water is affected by heat and salinity, and relate their “discoveries” to literary adventures and daily life.

H2Olympics (p.30): Students compete in a Water Olympics to investigate two properties of water, adhesion and cohesion.

Molecules in Motion (p.47): This activity brings water molecules up to size (studentsize!) by physically involving students in simulating molecular movements in each of water’s physical states.

Aqua Notes (p.66): While singing simple songs about water in the body, students gain an appreciation for the many ways they need water.

Capture, Store, and Release (p.133): Students use a household sponge to simulate how wetlands capture, store, and release water.

Get the Ground Water Picture (p.136): Students learn about basic ground water principles as they create their own geologic cross section or earth window.

The Great Stony Book (p.150): Students create layers of buried fossils to learn how ancient, elevated ocean floors create a history book of stone. Demonstrate water’s involvement in the processes of sedimentation and erosion.

Imagine! (p.157): Students usually learn about the water cycle through indirect approaches such as diagrams and experiments. In this activity, using their imaginations, students discover what happens to water as it moves above, over, and under Earth’s surface.

A Drop in the Bucket (p.238): By estimating and calculating the percent of available fresh water on Earth, students understand that this resource is limited and must be conserved.

 

Use It, Don’t Lose It (p. 337): Students simulate one person’s consumption of water while trying to conserve a daily ration.

On the Edge (p. 345): Managing Transboundary Resources: Students play a game to simulate the process of negotiation, compromise, and cooperation involved in managing an international river.

 

Aquatic Wild

To Dam or Not to Dam (p. 134): Evaluate potential positive and negative effects from dams on rivers.

Deadly Waters (p. 146): Students analyze the pollutants found in a hypothetical river. Graphing is used.

 

Project Learning Tree: Secondary Modules

400-Acre Wood (p. 42): Students will play the role of managers of a 400-acre piece of public forest. Through these roles, students will begin to understand the complex considerations that influence management decisions about forest lands.

Democracy in Action (p. 50): Students learn about the roles/responsibilities of citizens’ groups in environmental policies and decision making, and about how young people can become involved in the process.

 

Ecosystem Matters

If You Owned The Ecosystem (p. 135): Through role playing various wildlife species or humans, students make decisions about the use of natural resources within an eco- system.

The Blind Men and The Ecosystem (p. 147): Through a parable, students learn that ecosystems are valued in diverse ways.

Mural, Mural On The Wall (p. 155): Through artwork and reading Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” in A Sand County Almanac, students will develop a sensitivity for and understanding of the land ethic, determine the diversity and complexity of natural environments, and discover the impact humans create when they settle in a natural environment.

To Whom It May Concern (p. 159): After conducting research, students express their opinions about a controversial issues by writing a letter.

Mayhem in the Maldives (p. 197): Through role playing various career persons and community residents, students embark on a challenging simulation in which they develop solutions that must balance water needs, environmental issues, economics, and other societal needs.