Chesapeake Bay Lesson

Audience: 3rd grade

Number of students: 30
Time frame: First Group: 9:10 - 10:20 (70 minutes)
Second Group: 10:30 to 11:15 and 12:15 - 12:55 (separated by lunch
from 11:20 -12:05) (85 minutes)
Third Group: 1:05 - 2:20 (75 minutes)
Objective: Students will be able to:
Define the following terms: water cycle, watershed,
tributary, bay, and pollution.
Identify the Chesapeake Bay on a map.
Name 3 reasons why clean water is important.
Give an example of a water quality test.
Name at least 3 actions they can perform to help keep the Bay
healthy.

Materials:

Satellite photo of the Chesapeake Bay

Map of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Water cycle poster
Worksheets
Highlighters
Topographic map
Watershed model
1 squirt bottle filled with tap water (for clean-up)
2 squirt bottles filled with blue water
2 squirt bottles filled with red water
Container for used water
Towels (for clean-up)
3 bottles of water samples: Polluted Water #1 (baking soda solution);
Polluted Water #2 (vinegar water solution); Drinking Water
1 squirt bottle filled with tap water (for clean-up)
pH paper
pH poster
7 labeled test tubes: 2 tubes marked #1 for basic solution; 2 tubes marked #2
for acid solution; 2 marked #3 for tap water; 1 marked X for optional activity
A Day around the Bay story (laminated)
3 sets of A Day around the Bay canisters
1 large, transparent jars with lids filled with water
Live animal: e.g., crayfish, toad, frog, diamondback terrapin
Strainer (for clean-up of used jars)

Outline
Introduction (10 minutes)
Ask the following series of questions using the displays:
o Why are we here today? (To teach you about the Chesapeake Bay.)
o Show the satellite photo and ask students to point out where the
Chesapeake Bay is located.
o What is a bay? (A coastal body of water enclosed by land on 3 sides
with a free connection to the open sea).
o Many streams and rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay. These
waterways are called tributaries. A tributary is a stream that
contributes its water to another stream or body of water.
o The Chesapeake Bay is an estuary. (An estuary is a semi-enclosed
coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it,
and with a free connection to the open sea.) So what kind of water
makes up the Bay? (Since freshwater from streams and rivers mixes
with saltwater from the sea, the water is called brackish.)
o Point out the location of Baltimore, Washington D.C., and the
Eastern Shore (can reference Ocean City) on satellite photo.
o Review the key on the satellite photo: wetlands, urban, sediment
transport, forest, and agriculture/farms.
o Ask students why some of the rivers on the poster are brown in color.
(This photo was taken right after a heavy rainstorm, and the rivers are
filled with runoff from large cities such as Washington, D.C.) What is
runoff? (Runoff is water from rain, snowmelt, or irrigation that flows
over the ground and into a body of water.) Ask students what they
think could have washed into the rivers with the rain. (Runoff can
contribute to soil erosion and carry harmful pollutants.) Why are
some of the other rivers not filled with runoff after the same rainstorm?
(The red areas on photo indicate wetlands. Wetlands are buffers that
slow down the runoff and filter the water before sediments and other
pollutants can be washed further downstream.)
o How does water get into the Chesapeake Bay? (ex: rain, snow, rivers,
streams) Where does this water come from? Discuss the water cycle
using water cycle poster (define evaporation, condensation,
precipitation).
o What is a watershed? (The land area from which surface runoff and
groundwater (or underground water) drain into a body of water.)
Stations: Rotate (20 minutes each)
Station One: Watershed Mapping

Discuss geography of watershed. Simulate water drainage on the watershed

model to demonstrate runoff and connection of smaller watersheds to the larger
one. Complete Chesapeake Bay Watershed mapping activity sheet.

Review the concept of watershed.

Watershed model demonstration:
o Explain to students that the model represents a watershed.
o Give one student the blue water squirt bottle and assign an area on
model on which to squirt. Do not squirt until leader tells you to do so!
o Give another student the red water squirt bottle and assign a different
area on model on which to squirt. Do not squirt until leader tells you
to do so!
o Tell students to release water at the same time and instruct all students
to observe where water flows.
o The blue and the red water will flow down their local watersheds into a
larger tributary, becoming one (purple water).
Why does the surface water drain into the Bay? Use topographic map to
show how elevation (i.e. mountains, hills) moves the water by gravity.
To where do the streams and rivers drain in the Baltimore area?
(Chesapeake Bay)
Why is it important to know where the water goes? (Because the
Chesapeake Bay watershed is a large area of land made up of many small
watersheds; therefore many people over 15 million people! - are
responsible for its health.)
Lead students through the worksheet questions to complete the map
activity.

Station Two: pH Testing

Discuss the importance of water quality and testing. Discuss pH and conduct pH
test.

Why do scientists study water? How can you tell if water is safe for animals
or people to use? Can you see germs on your hands?
Name examples of water quality tests (pH =Hydrogen Potential, turbidity
= measures amount of sediment in water, aquatic invertebrates as
bioindicators, dissolved oxygen levels, temperature).
Explain to the students that they will be scientists during this activity and
that it will be their job to conduct a pH test on our water samples. pH is a
measure of the amount of acid in the water. Ask students to give examples
of things that are acidic. So what is acid? (An acid is any substance that has
a pH level below 7, or that has more hydrogen ions (H+) than hydroxide
ions (OH-)). To measure the amount of acid in water, we can use pH paper.
Show pH poster and discuss the pH scale.
Is acid good or bad for water? (Depends. Some places are naturally acidic,
such as bogs, and the plants and animals living there are adapted to the

acidic environment. However, most living things thrive in an environment

with neutral pH levels (7). Very few organisms can live in water with a pH
lower than 4 or higher than 9.) Show acid rain poster.
Where does acid come from? (Decomposition of plants and other biological
processes, volcanic emissions, rocks, acid mine drainage, emission from the
burning of fossil fuels into the air - smokestacks and cars = acid rain)
Explain that students are going to conduct a pH test for 3 different water
samples: Polluted Water #1, Polluted Water #2, and Drinking Water.
Explain that it is important to conduct a test more than once when doing an
experiment and this is why we are testing each sample twice. Pair students
and give each pair one labeled test tube. Leader will need to test one of the
water samples so that all samples are tested twice. If you have a small
group, give each student a test tube.
Leader will fill each labeled test tube to the marked line with water from the
corresponding water sample bottle. Give each pair one strip of pH paper
and instruct them to dip one end of the pH paper into their water sample at
the same time.
Ask each pair to compare the color of their pH paper to the chart on the pH
paper bottle and determine the pH of their sample. Confirm and discuss the
results as a group and have each student record the results on their
worksheets. Which water samples are suitable for animal life?

Day Around the Bay (15 minutes)

Students will participate in an interactive story about how the Chesapeake
Bay is affected by our everyday actions. Students will learn that when it comes to
water pollution we are all part of the problem but we can all be part of the
solution too.
Additional Awesomeness: A live animal will be presented at the end of the
station to discuss the complexity and interdependence of wildlife and habitat.
Conclusion (5 minutes)
Ask the group questions from their worksheets they filled out, and discuss how
they can positively impact the Chesapeake Bay.
***class that has 85 minutes: Make posters for awareness of life in the
Chesapeake Bay and what types of things can negatively affect the Bay!