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Overview:
Using the Chesapeake Bay—the largest estuary in the United States—and its watershed as a model, this lesson will focus on how the sciences can identify clues about the health of the environment and the ways in which geography can help make connections between human actions and environmental conditions. Students will use online tools and resources to examine data concerning key indicators of the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the factors that affect it. Students will learn about efforts to preserve and restore the bay's health, such as the Chesapeake Bay Program—a major federal-state restoration effort, and then apply what they have learned about identifying and solving problems to develop a local action plan for preserving or restoring a resource in their own communities.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, environmental science, biology, marine biology
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
Objectives:
Students will
- find and interpret data regarding the health of the Chesapeake Bay and other natural resources;
- determine indicators of bay health;
- identify human activities and other factors that contribute to watershed health issues;
- use geographic skills to identify connections between indicators and the factors that influence them; and
- develop a local action plan to improve the environmental health of a local resource.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Introduce students to the Chesapeake Bay by having them visit the National Geographic magazine feature, " Why Can't We Save the Bay?" Ask students to read the opening article and then explore the photo gallery and interactive map to identify some serious problems influencing the quality and future of the bay. Record student answers either on the board or an overhead projector transparency. In your discussion, be sure students understand the definitions of key terms, such as estuary, watershed, and ecosystem. Explain to students that they will be learning about the current state of the Chesapeake Bay and how scientists are working with other professionals and local activists, including many students like themselves, to reverse the decline in the watershed's health. (Note: If students need additional support understanding these concepts or familiarizing themselves with the location of the Chesapeake Bay, see the Grade 3-5 lesson What We Can Learn from the Chesapeake Bay Watershed? for more in-depth activities on these topics.)
Development:
Activity 1: Introduction to the Chesapeake Bay Today
To get to know the landscape of the bay area and some of the issues it is facing today, have students visit National Geographic's Exploring the Cheapeake—Then and Now Web site and follow the "Now" map tour. Through the tour, students will get an overview of some of the factors both contributing to and affected by the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Ask students to examine the information presented on the site and in the maps to answer these questions (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required). A teacher version (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is available to check understanding.
Allow students to share their answers in group discussion, and point out that science and geography are important in identifying, understanding, and managing these issues. Explain that much of the bay's history has affected its current residents—the people, animals and plants that call the bay home.
Activity 2: How Did the Bay Get This Way?
Exploring the history of the Chesapeake Bay will help students better understand more about its current state. This activity will provide students with some helpful facts about the bay and its history. Have students visit the Chesapeake Bay Program’s history page, which contains a brief history of the bay. Ask them to explore the timeline (pop-up window in the article) and answer these questions (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required). A teacher version (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is available to check understanding. As students locate the answers, have them consider the impact each event may have had on the bay and its surrounding area.
As students share their information and reflections, point out that changes in industry can be both good and bad for the environment, and that the Chesapeake Bay is a good example of that.
Activity 3: Exploring Creatures and Features of the Chesapeake Bay
Have students visit the Chesapeake Bay Program's Main Page, where they can read a brief introduction and then use an interactive map (Bay At a Glance) to learn more about the bay. Have students click on the different features to learn more about Chesapeake Bay creatures and processes that affect the health of the bay watershed. Ask students to explore the diagram and then answer these questions (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required). A teacher version (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) is available to check understanding.
Have students share responses and observations of the features and processes shown on the site. Then, ask them why it is important to understand who or what the health of the bay affects. Explain that scientists concerned about the health of the bay are working diligently to understand why the bay's health has declined and what can be done to reverse those changes.
Activity 4: Health Indicators in the Chesapeake Bay
To understand the efforts of scientists to learn about and improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay, assign students the task of collecting information and data about the factors that affect the bay's health, both directly and indirectly. Discuss the meaning of an indicator. To give an example, tell students to think back to a visit to the doctor and some of the tests performed. Explain that a person's heart rate, body temperature, or blood pressure are indicators of overall health, and that monitoring them helps us to know how the body is doing. In the bay, there are other kinds of indicators to tell us about its health.
Distribute the Indicators of Bay Health (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) and have students work alone or with a partner to complete the chart by identifying at least five important factors or indicators of the bay’s health found at the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Bay Trends and Indicators page. Each entry on the chart should show the indicator/factor, a brief description of why that indicator is important, and any recent findings regarding this indicator. A sample entry for the Bald Eagle Population Count is included in the handout.
When students have completed their initial study, have them form small groups and choose one indicator of the bay's decline in health on which to conduct further study. Together they will create an awareness brochure to alert residents of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to the dangers of inactivity and ways in which they can participate in the bay's restoration. Explain that while humans have negatively affected the health of the bay in the past, they have the ability to affect it positively in the future through knowledge and action. This is their opportunity to help.
To create the brochure, have students explore the Web sites listed here (PDF, Adobe Acrobat Reader required) to determine the causes associated with the current status of their selected indicator. They should also consider what this indicator tells us about the decline of the health of the bay. In addition, instruct students to research measures that have been mobilized to restore the health of the bay. To create their brochures, students can use the interactive print press tool.
Closing:
Making Local Connections
Explain to students that they also live in a watershed area. Show them a map of the area that their local watershed encompasses and then have them identify potential watershed "health hazards." Divide students into small groups. Have them imagine that they have inherited a piece of property in their local watershed that they can develop in any way they want. Have them create a sketch of what they would put on their property. The property could have a house, an amusement park, a nature trail, a horse stable, etc. After the sketches are completed, have the students list some of the possible pollutants that would be generated by their development. To highlight water quality issues, students may wish to refer to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Atlas of America's Polluted Waters.
Assign groups to visit the Chesapeake Bay Program's Schools Get Involved to see what types of action can be taken by students and adults around home or school to improve the health of their watershed. Assign groups to choose an action project that can be done at or around their own school. Groups can create action posters to put up, launch a letter-writing campaign to encourage local leaders to take action to improve the health of their watershed, or work to get permission to stencil local storm drains. You can find more information on storm drain stenciling action projects in the EdNet Chesapeake Classroom Community.
Ask students to share their impressions of the importance of science and geography in identifying, understanding, and managing environmental issues such as those they researched in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and their local project area. Ask them to explain why scientific evidence is a key component in trying to make changes that will positively affect the environment, and how that improvement relates to improved conditions in other aspects of life. Then discuss how geography can help make connections between human actions and environmental conditions.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students present and display their action project ideas. The plans should include a list of necessary materials and the steps needed to accomplish the task. Presentations should reflect an understanding of how scientific evidence can help raise awareness of issues and help people prioritize their efforts in managing those issues, as well as how geography can help make connections between the environment and people.
Extending the Lesson:
- Making a game or activity is a great way to teach others about a subject. Have students refer back to the "Did You Know?" facts shown on the Chesapeake Bay Program’s site. Students can create a puzzle, game, or activity to teach other kids general information about the Chesapeake Bay.
- To illustrate how bodies of water affect each other and how pollution can come from many sources, have students participate in the "Who Polluted the Potomac?" activity. In this hands-on activity, the teacher tells a story about the Potomac River and how development along the river brought new people and pollution. Each student plays the role of someone (or something) mentioned in the story and has a small vial containing something mentioned in the story (oil from a boat, fishing line, food wrappers, etc.) As the story is told, students add the contents of their vial to a large jar of water to show how human activities affect the water.
- Join teachers participating in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Chesapeake Classrooms to share classroom resources, lesson and unit plans, current watershed information, and best practices. The program online is part of National Geographic's EdNet communities for educators.
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