A Collaborative EffortA Collaborative Effort

Title: Stream Order and Drainage Patterns Class: Environmental BotanyGrade: 11-12Timeframe: 1-2 daysKnowledge Gap Topic Stream order…students don’t realize that smaller tributaries move into

larger ones

Subject Matter/Key Vocabulary

Stream Flow, elevation, stream profiles, stream gradients, drainage patterns

Essential Question/Over-Arching Concept/Key Understanding

Essential Question 1: How do topography/elevation/gravity determine the flow/direction of stream?

Curriculum Connections OGT standards Local standards

Earth Science Standards 9-10: EExplain the processes that move and shape Earth's surface.

Instructional Objectives O1) Students will recognize tributary patterns and realize flow is downstream towards larger trunks until it reaches its mouth.O2) Students identify stream order in that smaller tributaries flow into larger ones as water moves downhillO3) Students must see that steep profiles cause straight channels, while gentle slopes cause meandering streams.

Materials Stream table with sand and water source that can simulate rain over wide area and some wood blocks and/or landform pieces that can simulate harder rock under surface of sandComputer(s) with Google Earth and knowledge of tools to find elevation and waypoints

Additional DocumentsIntroduction

focus event varies with teacher

Introduce how land characteristics influence the flow of water and how streams organize into a definite order (size) from the headwaters to the mouth.

Development major parts of unit/

lesson

1) Set up stream table for students and demo dendritic and block drainage pattern development2) Teacher call up Rocky Fork drainage and demonstrate numbering tributaries by stream order3) Students will go to Google Earth and give 6-8 sites around the US with dendritic vs. other drainage patterns based on underlying bedrock4) Students number tributaries according to stream order5) Students make short power point of various drainage patterns to demonstrate their understanding6) Students are given a wilderness “lost” situation and asked to use compass heading/directions to find way out of wilderness.

Rigor/Relevance Quadrant(s) link to rigor/relevance

document

A: Must use terms correctly … source, headwaters, mouth, watershed, sedimentation, meander, tributaryB: noneC: noneD: Students relate topography of various places in the US to underlying bedrock; students realize when lost to follow streams downstream till eventually tributaries get larger and larger till reaching civilization.

Designing Watershed-based Education and Extension Efforts through a Mental Models Research ApproachUSDA-CSREES National Integrated Water Quality Program

Product/Artifacts/Student Evidence of Understanding

Students produce power point with various drainage patternsStudents provide directions for leaving a wildernessarea when lost, based on stream direction/flow

Accommodations plan B differentiated instruction

If one only has one stream table but has a web cam/projector, this can be projected onto a screen while running so whole class can see easier. Also, it could be used as a demo for a small group of students while others work on other parts of an assignment or lab.

Formative Assessment/Feedback

measure of progress

Ask leading questions during stream table demo.Have students number some sample tributaries correctly according to stream orderHave students discuss two or three patterns discovered on Google with instructor before they produce power point

Final Evaluation project rubric oral or paper quiz/test portfolio

Students produce a power point that correctly shows several different drainage patterns with streams numbered according to correct order.Student write up a set of directions which show instructor that they would follow stream flow to larger and larger tributaries until they reach civilization

Teacher Reflection complete after lesson

I only did the demonstration part of this lab this year. However, students showed through answers to probative questions that a young steep stream tends to be straight, while an older stream with little slope tend to meander.

Just ran out of time to do the Google Earth part, but plan on that for next year.

Designers/Email: Fred Donelson (fdonelson@gjps.org)

Additional Comments: A beginning activity to help students understand basic concepts of headwaters versus the mouth of the stream, and how smaller tributaries feed into larger streams.

Designing Watershed-based Education and Extension Efforts through a Mental Models Research ApproachUSDA-CSREES National Integrated Water Quality Program