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A River of Lessons!
Go with the flow! Celebrate National Rivers Month with four lessons about rivers from Education World! Included: Lessons in which students create maps showing famous rivers, study legends about rivers and then write their own river legends, and more!
June is National Rivers Month, a time when communities across the country hold events that spotlight the importance of their local waterways. Contact organizations in your area for river activities in your city or town, or start your own river celebration!
River projects for students flood the Web. We've highlighted two of them:
Down the Drain is an ongoing collaborative project that lets students compare their daily water usage with that of students around the world.
In The WaterShed Atlas Project, students work in teams to study their local watersheds and then post the information they learn. The project runs from October through December, 2001.
Help your students launch themselves on a river of learning with four activities from Education World! Read the brief descriptions below for each lesson. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource!
- Mapping Famous Rivers
Students create maps showing the locations of ten famous rivers in the world and write some facts about the rivers under the map.
(Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
- River Legends
Students read legends about rivers and write their own river legends. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
- Local River Life
Students create a class book about the animal and plant life their local rivers support. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)
- A River Full of Fun!
Students complete hands-on activities and experiments with a river theme. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Rivers Run Through It
This site provides information about the interior of the Columbia River Basin, which runs through seven western states and two Canadian provinces. Classroom activities are included.
All Along a River
This ThinkQuest lesson provides information and student work sheets about rivers.
Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN)
This section of the Earth Force Web site describes a program that shows young people ways to help improve watersheds in their communities.
Locate Your Watershed
This page from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site lets you search for and find your local watershed, an area that catches water and drains into a into a river, a river system, or another body of water.
Freshwater Ecosystems: Rivers and Streams
This site provides detailed information about rivers, including how a stream becomes a river.
Bonus Lesson Ideas
After you've completed this week's lessons, try these activities:
Teach songs about rivers, and encourage students to compose their own river songs.
Have students create a mural about life on a local river or a famous river, such as the Mississippi River.
Present information about different types of bridges, and invite students to build a model bridge.
Have students create PowerPoint presentations about riverboats.
Have students create a glossary of phrases or sayings with the word river, such as "cry me a river."
have students create posters about keeping rivers clean.
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Article by Lois Lewis
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World
Originally published 06/11/2001
Links last updated 10/20/2005
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