Water Education Resources: Grades 5–6
Suggested lesson plans and activities for water-related learning in the fifth and sixth grade classrooms.
Featured Activities from The Water Project
Downloadable lesson packages with everything you need — PowerPoints, handouts, and worksheets.
Water Use — Full Lesson Package
Enough activities for an entire lesson on water use, done inside the classroom and at home.
Are You Dehydrated?
A fun activity about dehydration and the health importance of water, done both in the classroom and at home.
Water Field Day Activity Guide
- Download the Field Day Guide (PDF) Structured activity guide with hyperlinked directions for each water station.
Interactive Games
Hand Hygiene
Free downloadable posters, stickers, and YouTube videos about proper handwashing. Available in English and Spanish.
Handwashing step posters, flu prevention infographics, and character-based educational content. Learn about bacteria that cause illness without proper hygiene.
Water Cycle & Treatment
Clickable diagrams at three difficulty levels covering all stages of the water cycle. The Intermediate level is ideal for grades 5–6. Available in 35+ languages.
Interactive 8-step walkthrough covering pre-treatment, primary/secondary treatment, disinfection, discharge, and biosolids handling. Learn what happens at each step of water treatment.
EPA Games & Quizzes
A printable matching game where students match everyday activities with the amount of water they use. Grades 4–8.
A printable card game where teams read answers and choose the correct question. Test your water knowledge in a fun trivia format.
Unscramble words to complete sentences about the water cycle and conservation. Printable PDF worksheet.
Word Games
Search for water source vocabulary words.
Help the children get to the clean water faucet.
Find vocabulary words from The Water Project’s Water Challenge.
27 water conservation terms including agriculture, drought, and groundwater.
Fact Sheets & Quizzes
Learn how much water is wasted when we aren’t thoughtful about conservation. Six common mistakes with humor and illustrations.
10 fun facts about water — from how old Earth’s water is to how much your brain is made of water (75%).
45 water trivia facts covering physical properties, body composition, and how much water it takes to make everyday products.
A web-based scavenger hunt about the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds. Students follow links to answer questions about their local and regional watersheds.
Bulletin Board Ideas
USGS Water Education Posters
Each poster includes educational activities. Available as high-resolution images or PDFs, in color and B&W. Select topics in Spanish. All free and public domain.
Classroom Activities
Each activity includes educational lessons, vocabulary words, and hands-on instructions. Curriculum materials courtesy of the Water Environment Federation.
Learn about wastewater and wastewater treatment with this science tutorial.
Learn about water-related careers by interviewing people who work in the field.
Learn about the history and formation of rivers in your area.
Develop math skills while calculating volumes of groundwater.
Increase your knowledge about groundwater systems.
Learn about groundwater and the water table.
Learn the relationship between groundwater and surface water.
Create an aquifer model and demonstrate well placement and groundwater contamination.
Relate concepts from physics to hydraulic heads used in groundwater flow control.
Create a model depicting how groundwater becomes contaminated.
Study the impact of pollution on the environment and human health.
Design a landfill and consider the effects of leaky landfills on the water supply.
Learn about underground storage tanks and their detrimental effects on the water supply.
Last updated March 2026. All links verified at time of publication.