Water-related Education Materials for Grades 5-6

The following are suggested ideas for water-related activities in the fifth and sixth grade classrooms:

Featured Activities

New activities from The Water Project, available for direct download!

Water Use
This includes enough activities for an entire lesson on water use!

Water Use Powerpoint: This slideshow can be a useful introduction to your lesson

Water Hunt: For documenting household water use

Are You Dehydrated?
This fun activity about dehydration and the health importance of water is done both inside the classroom and at home:

Dehydration Powerpoint

Dehydration Handout

Be Healthy, Drink Water Worksheet

Water Field Day Activity Guide

Host a water field day event using the following guide!  (Use CTRL + Click on the hyperlinks to access full activity directions)

Click Here to Download the Field Day Guide

The following stand-alone activities are age-appropriate for Grades 5-6:

Interactive Games:

6 Steps to Wash Your Hands
This game will help students learn proper hand washing techniques

Scrub Club Villain Gallery
Learn about the bacteria that can cause illness without proper hygiene

Scrub Club
Learn about E. coli and handwashing with this interactive matching game

Scrub Club 5 Finger Alert
Learn about handwashing and the Influenza virus

EPA’s Interactive Water Cycle
Learn about the water cycle with the EPA’s Interactive Water Cycle

Thirstin’s Matching Fun Facts Game
Learn about water usage with Thirstin’s Matching Fun Facts Game

Interactive Water Treatment Plant
Learn what happens at each step of the water treatment process

Thirstin’s Interactive Q&A Game
Test your knowledge about water with Thirstin’s Interactive Q&A Game

EPA’s Interactive Thirstin’s Word Scramble
Unscramble the words to complete these sentences relating to water

Word Games:

Water Source Word Search
Search for water source vocabulary words

Clean Water Maze
Help the children get to the clean water faucet

Water Cryptogram
Complete the water-related phrase

Water Challenge Word Search
Find vocabulary words from The Water Project’s Water Challenge

Fact Sheets and Quizzes:

Drinking Water Bloopers
Learn how much water is wasted when we aren’t thoughtful about water conservation

EPA’s Water Facts of Life
Learn some fun facts about the life of water, and water in your life.

EPA’s Water Trivia
Learn 45 facts about water

Potomac Watershed Web scavenger hunt

Bulletin Board Ideas:

Water Education Posters from the US Geological Survey: Each poster comes with an educational section describing components of the poster and activities to help children understand the concepts introduced.  All are available either online or as PDF versions.  Click the link for your preferred method of delivery.

Activities

The following activities are comprised of educational lessons, vocabulary words, and instructions for an activity relating to the topic.  Curriculum materials are courtesy of the Water Environment Federation.

Wastewater Treatment
Learn about wastewater and wastewater treatment with this science tutorial

Water Careers
Learn about water-related careers by interviewing people who work in the field

Biography of a River
Learn about the history and formation of rivers in your area

Groundwater Basics
Develop math skills while calculating volumes of groundwater

From Ground to Water
Increase your knowledge about groundwater

What’s the Level?
Learn about groundwater and the water table

What Goes on Down Under?
Learn the relationship between groundwater and surface water

Do You Drink It?
Create an aquifer and use the model to demonstrate well placement and groundwater contamination

Hydraulic Head
Relate concepts from physics to hydraulic heads used in the control of groundwater flow and direction

Groundwater: Cleaning Up
Create a model and poster board depicting how groundwater becomes contaminated

What is Groundwater Pollution Doing to the Neighborhood?
Study the impact of pollution on the environment and human health

Landfills and the Potential for Groundwater Contamination
Design a landfill and consider the effects of leaky landfills on the water supply

Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
Learn about underground storage tanks and their possible detrimental effects on the water supply

Water Crisis
Spotlight Content




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