Science Methods Curriculum Unit:

SOL 4.9
Fourth Grade
Hilary Dobyns

Rationale
o This unit gives students an opportunity to observe and examine
different watersheds, water resources, food, and animals that are
right in their own state.
Major Goals/Objectives
o Students will be able to identify all the major watersheds in the
state of Virginia.
o Students will be able to know the regions and types of food
grown in the separate regions of Virginia.
o Students will be able to discuss types of water resources and
how we choose to use our water resources.
SOLs Addressed
o SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important
Virginia natural resources.
a) Watersheds and Water Resources
b) Animals and Plants

Lesson 1

SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important Virginia
natural resources. Key concepts include:
o Watersheds and Water Resources
o Plants and Animals
Content Outline:
o Essential Knowledge for this lesson:
The geography of Virginia
What is a wetland?
What is a watershed?
o Key Concepts:
Identification of the major watersheds in Virginia
How pollution affects the watersheds
o Vocabulary Used:
Watershed
Pollution
Estuary
Wetlands
Tributaries
Meanders
Materials Used in the Lesson:
o Notes pages
o Entrance Pass
o Satellite picture of the Chesapeake Bay
o Map of Virginias rivers and the Chesapeake Bay
o Clay
o Construction Paper
o Written instructions for the activity along with my verbal
directions
Objective:
o Students will be able to explain and make a model of the
Chesapeake Bay watershed with 85% accuracy.
Lesson Opening:
o I will have the students do an entrance pass when they come
into the classroom. The entrance pass will ask, What is a
watershed and do we have these in Virginia?
o Think, Pair, Share: After I have evaluated what they know from
quickly glancing at the entrance slip I will give them a picture of
the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While they are observing the
picture of the watershed I will have them thinking about what
they think it is, what they think grows there, what kind of animals
they think lives there, and if they have ever been there. After
they have thought about all of these components, I will put them

into pairs and have them discuss their thoughts about the
watershed with their partner.
This will help students make connections to the lesson and
it will help me gauge the students prior knowledge on the
subject of watersheds.

Instructional Strategy/Process:
o The students will have fill in the blank/interactive notes that we
will go over together on the big topics and vocabulary used in
this lesson.
o See attached pages for a copy of the notes.
Activity:
o Students will create a model of the Chesapeake Bay watershed,
in groups of four students per group (six groups total), using clay
and construction paper. The students will have a map of Virginia
showing all of the major rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, but they
will also have a close up satellite picture of the Chesapeake Bay
that they may use as well. They can decide as a group if they
want to include all the rivers or if they would rather do a big
model of just the bay. This activity will be presented to the class
when completed and will be displayed in our classroom. I will
constantly be walking around while the groups are working on
the models. I will be asking them specific questions about their
models like, what are wetlands and where are they located on
your model? Another question I may ask is, do you have pollution
in your Chesapeake Bay or did you make your diagram a
pollution free Chesapeake Bay?
Assessment/Closure:
o Exit Pass
Tell me one thing you learned today about the Chesapeake
Bay and one thing that you already knew about the
Chesapeake Bay
Define Watershed

Lesson 2

SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important Virginia
natural resources. Key concepts include:
o Watersheds and Water Resources
o Plants and Animals
Content Outline
o Essential Knowledge for this Lesson:
What is pollution?
How does pollution happen?
Does pollution hurt humans and animals?
How are we effected by pollution
Recycling
o Key Concepts:
Identification of how pollution happens
Inquiry about how we can stop pollution
How is recycling beneficial in helping stop pollution?
o Vocabulary Used:
Pollution
Recycling
Toxic
Waste
Materials Used in the Lesson
o Paper
o Venn Diagram
o Entrance Pass
o Image of polluted watershed
o Image of clean watershed
o Color pencils
o Crayons
o Pencils
o Pens/Markers
Objective:
o Students will be able to define pollution and give example of
pollution and ways to stop pollution at 85% accuracy.
Lesson Opening:
o I will have the students do an entrance pass. The entrance pass
will ask, What is pollution and how does it happen?
o Think, Pair, Share: I will put a satellite image of a polluted
watershed on the smart board screen. Students will think about
why this image looks polluted compared to the image we looked
at yesterday for the watershed activity. After students have had a
minute to think I will pair them up and have them discuss their
thoughts with their partner. Each partner set will have to come

up with two reasons on how they think this watershed got

polluted.
This will help the students make connections and also help
me gauge how much prior knowledge the students have as
I circulate the classroom.

Activity:
o Students will have pictures of a clean watershed and a polluted
watershed. The students will have to make a Venn Diagram to
compare and contrast the watersheds. They will have to compare
them based on how they look. The students will also write a brief
plan on how they think they could contribute to cleaning up the
watershed and making it less polluted. This will be an individual
activity and turned in for a grade. (Pictures included)
Assessment/Closure
o Exit Informal Assessment
Draw a polluted watershed and tell me three implications
of polluting the watershed.
Implications can be how it hurts the plants/animals that
live near the watershed, how it hurts humans that drink
water near the watershed, or even how it impacts our
environment.

Lesson 3

SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important Virginia
natural resources. Key concepts include:
o Watersheds and Water Resources
o Plants and Animals
Content Outline:
o Essential Knowledge for the Lesson:
What are our water resources?
Where does our water come from?
Where is our water stored?
o Key Concepts:
Identify where our water comes from
The process our water goes through before we can drink it
o Vocabulary Used:
Coagulation
Sedimentation
Filtration
Disinfection
Storage
Aquifer
Materials Used in the Lesson:
o Cups
o Sand
o Dirt
o Rock
o Clay
o Water
o Vocab Sheets
Objective:
o Students will be able to identify their water resources and the
process their water goes through to become clean at 85%
accuracy.
Lesson Opening:
o Students will be given their vocabulary terms and we will fill
them in together, and then put them on our science word wall.
The students will be responsible for learning these terms for their
next test.
o Think, Pair, Share: The students will then be given a picture of
the water treatment process. They will have two minutes to look
at the picture and make sense of it. Then I will pair the students
and have them share about each feature of the water treatment
process and if they think the water they drink goes through this

whole process. Also, each student will need to come up with one
water resource to share with their partner.
This will help the students make connections and it will
help me gauge their prior knowledge about water
resources.

Activity:
o Aquifer in a cup (Written steps/instructions included). I will have
my students make an aquifer. The students will see how each
different part of the earth/the different layers help build a
complete aquifer. While the students are making the aquifer, I
will ask them questions such as:
What are aquifers used for?
Are there such things as natural aquifers?
Can pollution spread throughout an aquifer?
How could the pollution of an aquifer effect out water
resources?

Assessment/Closure:
o Have the students take ten minutes at the end of class and write
a reflection on the activity we did in class today. Have the
students answer questions like:
What is an aquifer?
How did the activity we did in class today show how we use
and abuse our water resources?
How can pollution effect our aquifers.

Lesson 4:

SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important Virginia
natural resources. Key concepts include:
o Watersheds and Water Resources
o Plants and Animals
Content Outline:
o Essential Knowledge for the Lesson:
What kinds of animals live in Virginia?
What are the differences in wild animals and farm animals?
Does our food come from animals?
Where do the animals live?
o Key Concepts:
Identifying animals and the regions they are from in
Virginia.
Knowing the differences between farm animals and wild
animals.
Knowing where different types of animals live.
o Vocabulary Used:
Agriculture
Regions
Ecosystems
Materials Used in the Lesson:
o Maps of Virginia (given to me by Ms. Maxey)
o Different plastic animals
o Diagram of Virginia I created from large table cloth
Objective:
o Students will be able to identify different animals and the regions
that they are from in Virginia at 85% accuracy.
Lesson Opening:
o Think, Pair, Share: I will give the students the maps, which Ms.
Maxey gave me to use in my classroom, as they come into class.
The students will get about five minutes to look over the maps
and process what types of animals that are found in each region.
I will then pair the students up and they will have to tell their
partner one animal from each region and how that animal
benefits us as humans.
Activity:
o I have created two diagrams of the state of Virginia on large
table cloths. The state is divided into regions. The students will
use plastic animals that I have provided and they will categorize
the animals into the proper regions that they belong in. After I
have checked their work I will have the students discuss in their
groups why they think each animal belongs in that certain region
and how the animals benefit us as humans.

Assessment/Closure:
o Students will draw their own map of Virginia and write the
regions in but also name three animals from each region. This is
to be done independently as an informal assessment.

Lesson 5

SOL 4.9: The student will investigate and understand important Virginia
natural resources. Key concepts include:
o Watersheds and Water Resources
o Plants and Animals
Content Outline:
o Essential Knowledge for the Lesson:
What types of plants grow in Virginia?
How do we as humans use plant resources?
Where do these plants live?
o Key Concepts:
Identifying the types of plants that grow in Virginia
Identifying how humans use these plant resources
o Vocabulary Used:
Plants
Ecosystems
Resources
Materials Used in the Lesson:
o Maps of Virginia (given to me by Ms. Maxey)
o Plants (real or unreal)
o Diagram of Virginia created from large table cloth
Objective:
o Students will be able to identify different plants and the regions
that they are from in Virginia at 85% accuracy.
Lesson Opening:
o Think, Pair, Share: I will give the students the maps, which Ms.
Maxey gave me to use in my classroom, as they come into class.
The students will get about five minutes to look over the maps
and process what types of plants are found in each region. I will
then pair the students up and they will have to tell their partner
one plant from each region and how that plant benefits us as
humans.
Activity:
o I have created two diagrams of the state of Virginia on large
table cloths. The state is divided into regions. The students will
use plastic and some real plants that I have provided and they
will categorize the plants into the proper regions that they
belong in. After I have checked their work I will have the students
discuss in their groups why they think each plant belongs in that
certain region and how the plants benefit us as humans.
Assessment/Closure:

o Students will draw their own map of Virginia and write the
regions in but also name three plants from each region. This is to
be done independently as an informal assessment.

Extension Activities
Dirt Box: Students can look in the dirt box and see what kind of animals live
there while exerting energy and getting their hands a little dirty.
Picture Sort: Students can sort pictures and place the pictures with each
region in Virginia where they belong.

Standards of Learning
Objective
SOL 4.9: Students will
investigate and understand
important Virginia natural
resources. Key concepts
include:
Part A: Watersheds and Water
Resources
Part B: Animals and Plants

Lesso
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Lesso
n2

Lesso
n3

Lesso
n4

Lesso
n5

Lesso
n6

Sources
http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/watertreatmentplant_index.cfm
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/activity_grades_k3_aquiferinacup.pdf
Image searches on Yahoo.com for the maps of Virginia
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/in-yourwatershed/?ar_a=1
http://agintheclass.org/

Overview Concept Map

Students will
investigate how the
watersheds affect our
water resources

Water

Watershe
ds

Knowledge will
be acquired
through
Students will do
research to see how
Virginia farmers use
water resources to help
their plants grow

Students will
identify and
discuss plants
and animals
produced in the
state of

Plant
s

Learning will be
promoted through the
use of technology and
research so students
can determine if plants
are

Human Vs.
Natural
Resources

SOL 4.9
Curriculum Unit:
Earth Resources
in Virginia

Students
identifying
different
Watersheds in

Promote
s

Inquiry
Based
Learning
Students will
use Venn
Diagrams to
promote

Students will use

technology and
research to determine
if animals are

Animal
s