LibGuides: Wave of Action: Team Week Six

Weekly Theme

This week's theme is human impact on the watershed, with a focus on NYC stormwater runoff.

Week Six Team Meeting Presentation
This slide presentation is available for you to use during your weekly synchronous team meeting. Clicking this link will prompt you to make a copy of the Google Slides for your own Google Drive. Once you make a copy, share the slides with your students directly from your Google Drive.

Learning Resources

Sewer System and Stormwater Management
Students can explore this story map about where our wastewater goes from the NYC H2O HUB.
Trash It. Don't Flush It.
Students can use this NYC DEP page to view a public service announcement about what should and should not go into our local sewer system and then explore the information and resources about the effects of our actions at home on the sewer system.
Disinfecting Wipes and the Sewer System
Students and their families may be using a lot of disinfecting wipes at home during this time - but they shouldn't flush them! Share this CNN article as a current events demonstration of the importance of our city's "Trash It. Don't Flush It." campaign.
Urban Water Cycle: Pollution Control
Learn about the waste water treatment process from another urban city, Philadelphia through this video.
Urban Water Cycle: Water Treatment
Learn about the drinking water treatment process from another urban city, Philadelphia through this video.

Pre- and Post-Activity

We all live in a watershed!

Before this week's team meeting, look around your community. What sorts of things do you observe along the sidewalk that could wash away in the rain? If there is litter, what kind of litter do you see: are there food wrappers, cigarette butts, papers? What other kinds of things are on the sidewalk or at the curb? Do you see leaves, dog waste, or anything else? Draw a picture or write a list representing all of the things you observe that could travel in our urban runoff.

After this week's team meeting, take another look around your community. Observe which features are impermeable, these things do not let water pass through them and increase the amount of runoff during a storm. Observe which features are permeable, these things absorb water so they decrease the amount of runoff during a storm. After recording your observations in the table on the students sheet, answer the question "How could you improve the stormwater runoff in your community and its impact on the harbor?".

We all live in a watershed!

Important Vocabulary

bioswales— Trenches or channels that allow for the collection and filtration of stormwater.

impermeable— Describes something that does not let liquids pass through it.

permeable— Describes something that lets liquids pass through it.

pollutant— A harmful substance that is not natural to an ecosystem and degrades the air, soil, or water and the life that depends on it.

wetland— Areas of land where the soil is covered with water for all or part of the year, such as marshes and swamps.

runoff— Water that moves over the surface of the ground, without soaking into it or evaporating off it.

urban— Areas where many people work or live resulting in higher population. Refers to cities.

Empire State Information Fluency Continuum

We would suggest students use this graphic organizer to organize the main ideas and supporting details of the learning resources they explore this week.

The Empire State Information Fluency Continuum (ESIFC) provides a K-12 framework for teaching information literacy skills in any content area. This framework is based on three Common Core standards that form the basis for the skills and strategies that are essential for students to become independent readers and learners.

The assessments within the framework are all editable to ensure teachers can modify to fit their students' needs. Access the ESIFC and the entire library of assessments here.