Lesson Plans from National Ground Water Association (NGWA). Provides 14 lesson plans for the topics of Water, Groundwater, Aquifers (middle and high school) and Wetlands. Make your own Aquifer Model provides instructions for building a model groundwater aquifer with a 5 to 10 gallon aquarium; Make your own Ground Water Model provides instructions for building a model groundwater aquifer with a beaker, various types of sediment, peat, and food coloring. The activity is designed with a lesson plan and an online groundwater simulator.
An Underground River. Teach Engineering Resources Resources For K-12, University of Colorado. Grades 6-8. In this lesson students learn how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is, and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow. Lesson includes online background material with colorful graphics and two activities:
How Groundwater Moves--Porosity and Permeability. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Grades 6-9. Classroom activity tied to objectives for teaching porosity and permeability. Students use test tubes and other containers to measure water flow through different types of sediments. Student activity sheets provided.
Whats Down the Well? Teach Engineering-Resources For K-12, University of Colorado. Grades 6-8. Classroom activity that looks at physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. Students create their own groundwater well model using a coffee can and wire screening. Food coloring is added to see how a pollutant can migrate through the groundwater into a drinking water resource.
What is an Aquifer? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Grades 7-9. Classroom activity in which students use plastic cups, pea gravel, water, and food coloring to make model aquifers.
Water, Water, Everywhere, Even Underground. Eastern Michigan University. Middle school. A pdf lesson plan about groundwater and porosity using plastic cups, sediments, and food coloring.
Model a Repository. Science, Society, and America’s Nuclear Waste, U.S. Department of Energy. Middle School.or High School?Classroom activity that examines porosity, permeability, and capillary action with an assortment of sediments, paper plates, cheese cloth, and food coloring. Designed as a lesson for showing what has to be considered when making a nuclear waste repository, but can be used for any groundwater, porosity, or permeability objective.
See also Water Cycle