Educators
Educators
Bring Texas Stream Team Programs to Your Classroom
Some of our Texas Stream Team citizen scientist groups include teachers and their students. Educators find Texas Stream Team to be a valuable teaching tool that lends itself to cross-disciplinary instruction. By teaching students how to measure what is happening in the environment around them, Texas Stream Team helps teachers effectively present the abstract concepts of biology, chemistry and ecology. With a broader understanding of water quality issues, students are better prepared to understand and participate in local water resource management as well as career development.
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Texas Steam Team Curriculum Companions
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Grades K-High School
This curriculum was created in collaboration with Jackie Mattice for the Wimberley Outdoor Educators. The lesson plans and methods in this curriculum provide teachers with resources to help students understand the basics of water, the water cycle, water quality, and watershed function. All lesson plans in this curriculum are aligned with the most recent Science TEKS.
Texas Stream Team Water Education Curriculum - Kindergarten through High School (PDF)
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Water Education Curriculum
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Water Basics
In this lesson, students will explore the three states of matter that water can exist in. Students will make observations using their senses to discover what makes each state of matter different.
5th-7th Grade: How Much Drinking Water
In this lesson, students estimate the relative amounts of water found in major types of Earth’s waterbodies and compare their predictions to real global data. They will explore how the tiny fraction of accessible freshwater supports human and ecological needs, culminating in a discussion of practical strategies for water conservation in their own lives and communities.
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Water Cycle
In this lesson, students explore how water moves and changes by observing a water cycle model inside a glass jar, then reinforce their understanding by acting out each stage of the cycle in an interactive game.
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Groundwater, Watersheds, Aquifers
In this lesson, students investigate groundwater and how it differs from surface water by modeling how water moves through soil and rock in a jar. They will explore how different materials affect underground water flow and how precipitation contributes to groundwater formation.
2nd-5th Grade: Water Pollution Graphing:
In this lesson, students discover the connection between land-use activities and the water quality within a watershed.
3rd-5th Grade: What's Going On Underground?:
In this lesson, students are introduced to how groundwater moves, collects, and can become polluted. This lesson highlights how contaminants can spread through interconnected groundwater systems.
7th-10th Grade: What is a Watershed?:
In this lesson, students create a model of a watershed and explore how topography impacts water movement through a watershed. Students connect this concept to the impacts of non-point source pollution on water quality within a watershed.
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Aquatic Life
In this lesson, students are introduced to adaptations found in insects. Through games and crafts, students will learn how adaptations help an insect survive in their environment.
1st-5th Grade: Macro-Invertebrate Indicators:
In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of “indicator species,” and discover how aquatic organisms can be indicators of an ecosystem’s water quality.
2nd-5th Grade: Macro-Invertebrate Field Study:
In this lesson, students will describe and identify the quality of a stream or waterbody by analyzing the aquatic macro-invertebrates that live there.
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Invite Us to Your Event
If you would like Texas Stream Team educators to visit your classroom or attend your event, feel free to email us at TxStreamTeam@txstate.edu.
Take Your Students to the Water
Teachers who complete all phases of a Texas Stream Team training have two options for getting their students involved in water and/or environmental monitoring. Students in grades K-12 as well as college students can monitor a body of water under a teacher's supervision with activities based on the educational objectives of the class. A teacher who goes a step further and becomes a certified trainer can then train students (grades 9-12 and college) to become certified monitors. These students can then go on to form groups and monitor their own sites.
TEEAC and CPE Credit
Teachers can receive credits for Texas Environmental Education Advisory Committee (TEEAC) and Continuing Professional Education (CPE) by participating in training sessions offered by Texas Stream Team.
By completing all phases of a Texas Steam Team citizen scientist training, teachers will receive 5 TEEAC and CPE credit hours. These credits will be validated on the certificate of completion received following the training.
Check out our Teacher Credits page for more information.
Junior Monitor Ambassador Program
Allows students under the age of 14 years old to participate in Texas Stream Team activities.
Student Leadership in Environmental Action Award Program
Is designed to empower high school students to tackle real-world environmental challenges in their community using Texas Stream Team water quality monitoring protocols.