Living in a Watershed

Do you live in a watershed? Ask this question to your students, and they may not be able to identify a watershed as a place that they live. The WILD Aquatic activity “Watershed” introduces students to the characteristics, and roles of watersheds, as well as provides examples of watershed conservation. Use this activity in combination with the activity “Putting Water in the Shed” from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Corridors of Exploration: Iowa’s Rivers activity booklet to bring in a historical viewpoint of Iowa.


Book List
Grades PreK-2
Fourment, T. 2004. My Water Comes from the Mountains. Roberts Rinehart Publishers.
Luenn, N. 1994. Squish!: A Wetland Walk. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Grades 3-5
Dorros, A. 2000. Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean. HarperCollins.
Hiscock, B. 1997. Big Rivers: The Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Ohio. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Wick, W. 1997. Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder. Scholastic, Inc.
Yolen, J. 1995. Water Music: Poems for Children. Boyds Mills Press.

Grades 9-12
DeBarry, P.A. 2004. Watersheds: Processes, Assessment and Management. Wiley.
Dobson, C. 1999. Watersheds: A Practical Handbook for Healthy Water. Firefly Books, Limited.
Newton, Lisa H., C.K. Dillingham and J.H. Choly. 2005. Watersheds 4: Ten Cases in Environmental Ethics. Wadsworth Publishing.