Lesson 5 overview for the Investigate the State Water Quality unit.

1. Investigate the State
What is the Water Like in Our River?
Lesson 5
Where is Our River on the Map?

2. Learning Set 2 - Lesson 5
Where is Our River Located?
Focus of the Day:
Analyzing Maps
Students work with watershed and
topographic maps to determine the
flow of water from Michigan
watersheds into the Great Lakes and
from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic
Ocean.

3. Learning Objectives and Purpose
• Using relief maps, students will discuss
and explain how water flows through
watersheds.

4. Overview of Activities
• Review the Key Ideas from the Models
• Discuss the relationship between the watershed
model and what it represented.
• Help students make connections between
watersheds and the Driving Question.
• Discussion of Michigan Watersheds and
Respective Elevations
• Comparison of Michigan watersheds and
topographic map.
• Reasoning for flow of all Great Lakes to the Atlantic.

5. Student Actions
• Students use watershed and topographic
maps to predict the flow of water from
several watersheds to the Great Lakes
and give reasons for their predictions.
• A United States map is used to trace the
path of water flow from students’ local
river to the Atlantic.
• Discuss and reason through the relative
elevation of each of the Great Lakes.

6. Student Actions (cont.)
• (An optional extension activity: Creation of
a model of Michigan’s topography and
watersheds using a color copy of the
Michigan topographic map. This would be
based on the model format from lesson 1
or clay. Students would plan, build and
test their model followed by a discussion
of the connection between this model and
a colored topographic map.)

7. Teacher Considerations
• Students will need copies of the Major
Watersheds of Michigan map and the
Topographic map of Michigan.
• Overhead transparencies of these maps are
needed if no document camera is available.
• A large United States physical map is also
needed for this lesson.

8. Lesson 5 Assessment
• Students, with the use of maps, and journals
or worksheets, are able to demonstrate their
knowledge of the flow of water in Michigan,
the Great Lakes and out to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Students are able to describe the effect of
elevation on water movement.
• (If the extension activity is utilized, students will
demonstrate their understanding of
topography and water flow by translating a
color topographic map to a physical model.)

9. Preparation for Next Lesson:
Exploring Stream Tables
• The next lesson deals with the exploration
of stream tables.
• Read through the needed materials for and the set-
up of the stream tables.
• Watch the Stream Table video and practice set-up
and use of the model
• Read through lesson six in the teacher materials
and copy the three student worksheets: Exploring
Stream Tables/Introduction; Observation; and
Comparison.

10. For More Information
• Review the curriculum guide:
“What is the Water Like in Our River?”
• Visit our web site:
http://www.investigatethestate.org