Many curricula and supplementary materials are available for elementary, middle and high school teachers for in class or online use. Some materials are also available in Spanish.
Check the online order form to order any materials described below. Download links are provided when available.
K-2
All About Water is a project-based curriculum for K-2 classrooms to learn more about Earth’s resources and systems including water, soil, and climate. Hands-on activities introduce students to elements of experimental design, such as the role of variables and controls, hypotheses, accurate measurement, and modes of observations and reporting. The curriculum is divided into 60-minute blocks. Each of the three lessons and optional pre-activities are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (refer to complete list in the curriculum).
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Lesson 1: Exploring the Water Cycle. This lesson spans two 60-minute blocks of student-lead activities, discussions, and a teacher demo focusing on the water cycle.
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Lesson 2: Filtering Water Through the Earth. This lesson includes two 60-minute blocks and an optional third 60-minute block to allow students to explore soil filtration.
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Lesson 3: Drought. This third lesson spans two 60-minute blocks in which students explore what plants need to survive, with a focus on drought and conservation.
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Grade 5
Designed to supplement fifth grade social studies curriculum, this program uses language arts, music and art in an activity-oriented unit. Students examine the role of water in North American history: Pre-Columbian, colonial and during the Westward Movement. The program comes with a teacher’s guide and a set of 35 large-format student booklets. Consumable materials may be reordered.
Next Generation Science Standard Alignment
Grade 6
This educational newspaper is interdisciplinary – integrating science, social studies, language arts and math. Engaging news articles and stories that are relatable to sixth graders challenge them with activities to create an awareness and appreciation for water. The program includes consumable student newspapers and a teacher’s guide.
THE ROOTS OF OUR FUTURE WATER SUPPLY SECURITY ARE FOUND IN THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS ABOUT WATER
Grades 6 – 8
This interdisciplinary curriculum supplement offers hands-on conservation activities that include role playing and critical thinking. Middle school students learn about the challenges and importance of conserving water wherever they are – at home or school. Students make the connection to the importance of water and energy efficiency as a way of life through the lessons, service-learning activities and online water and energy use surveys.
Teacher’s Guide / Student Book
Next Generation Science Standard Alignment
Grades 7 - 12
The quality of drinking water is explored with a hands-on, inquiry-based approach. The activities (low or no cost) highlight a number of water attributes that include pH, total dissolved solids, turbidity, hardness and contaminants such as Cryptosporidium and MTBEs (a groundwater contaminant). Source water protection is also a topic. This unit includes a teacher’s guide, student booklets 1, 2 and 3, fact sheets and work sheets, lesson extenders and a response card. Lessons are also available on an interactive website and iPad format. Click here to register and access the lessons.
Water Works
Next Generation Careers in the Water Industry is a UC A-G elective course that integrates Next Generation Science Standards with the CTE Model Curriculum Standards for the CTE Environmental Resources Pathway. The water industry in California offers a multitude of careers that are technical and do not require additional education beyond certifications. These certifications offer students a career path that is important to the health and well-being of all Californians as well as relatively high starting salaries, benefits, and room for advancement. The course will provide students with a basic understanding of the water industry and the required skills and knowledge to obtain four separate certifications. Certification examinations are given by different entities including the State of California and the California-Nevada branch of the American Water Works Association. The course is divided into six units, which upon completion, will prepare the student to pass the Level 1 examination for certification within each of the following components: Water-Use Efficiency Practitioner 1; Distribution Operator Level 1; Treatment Operator Level 1; and Wastewater Operator Level 1. Download courses here.
