Groundwater educational materials
Groundwater model
Student using the groundwater model.Since 2001, training on the use of a groundwater sand tank model [exit DNR] has been provided annually to educators from schools or nature centers around the state. The educators selected through a competitive application process receive a one-day training session, a groundwater flow model and instructions on using it, classroom exercises designed to meet state academic standards, and reimbursement for substitute teachers while at the training. Since 2001, educators from almost 300 schools or nature centers have received training through this program and received a free model.
The training is provided by staff from the Wisconsin DNR, the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the UW-Stevens Point Center for Watershed Science and Education. Funding for the groundwater workshops comes from a wellhead protection "setaside" grant given to the DNR by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For more information on the workshops, contact Bill Phelps.
The goal of the workshops is to teach educators about how groundwater moves, how groundwater can be contaminated, and ways to protect the resource, so they pass along that knowledge to students and the general public. The groundwater model offers a “slice” or cross-section representation of the earth, allowing students to “see” groundwater. Educators and students can use the model to demonstrate a variety of groundwater flow principles, including water table levels, how groundwater supplies are replenished, how groundwater flows through different geologic materials, and how contaminants from a variety of sources can leak into groundwater. The model also contains “wells” which can be used to show the effects of pumping on the groundwater flow system.
Groundwater fun
- Try a 20-question quiz
- Learn more at the Water Cycle for Schools and Kids
Teacher workshops
For educators who would like to get an idea of what the groundwater workshops are like and how the groundwater sand tank models can be used, or for teachers who have a model and would like a quick refresher course, here are three short videos recorded during the 2011 workshop in Mt. Horeb.
- What is Groundwater? - Kevin Masarik, Center for Watershed Science and Education [17 minutes]
- Geology and Hydrogeology of Wisconsin - Dave Hart, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey [26 minutes]
- Using the Sand Tank Model - Dave Hart, WGNHS [23 minutes]
* The full-length workshop video [1 hour, 21 minutes] is also available.
Groundwater directory
The Wisconsin Groundwater Directory provides listings of state agencies and what they do related to groundwater, contacts for groundwater information and education programs, printed and online resources related to groundwater, and more! This publication was produced by the Education Subcommittee of the Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC).
Links of interest from the groundwater model teacher workshops
- UW-Stevens Point, Center for Watershed Science and Education - Groundwater Model Teacher Workshops [exit DNR]
- Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS)
- DNR
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Groundwater Foundation - educational materials [exit DNR]
- Water Conservation ideas [exit DNR]
- Protecting Wisconsin’s Groundwater Using Comprehensive Land use Planning [exit DNR]
- Wisconsin Water Resources Institute on YouTube [exit DNR]
USGS Water Cycle website
The Water Cycle [exit DNR] is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) site which offers a comprehensive discussion of the water cycle and is available in 36 languages.
This site features a superb diagram of the water cycle done by a USGS artist. There is an in-depth webpage for each of the 15 topics on the diagram, along with a single-page summary of the water cycle. The Water Cycle is one of the modules for the existing Water Science for Schools [exit DNR] site which contains information on many aspects of water. It includes pictures, data, maps and an interactive center.
Wisconsin groundwater study guide
This award winning material is a curriculum development guide primarily for 6th to 9th grade earth science teachers, adaptable to older and younger students, informal education settings and the general public.
Wisconsin academic standards for health education and mathematics
Health Education
| Activity | Page | 2013 Wisconsin Standards for Health Science |
|---|---|---|
| ‘Round and ‘Round It Goes | 5 | EHS1.a |
| Well, Well, Well | 9 | EHS1.a, EHS1.b |
| Wisconsin’s Major Aquifers | 12 | IMT1.a, IMT1.c |
| A Plume of Contamination | 14 | EHS1.a, EHS1.b |
| Where Does It Come From... | 16 | IMT1.a, IMT1.c |
| How Septic Systems Work | 18 | EHS1.a |
| Caution: This Product May Be Hazardous... | 20 | EHS1.a, 4C2.a, IMT1.c, IMT1.d, 4C3 |
| It’ll Go With the Flow | 22 | EHS1.a, EHS1.b, 4C2.a |
| Trouble in Paradise | 27 | EHS1.a, 4C3 |
Mathematics
| Activity | Page | 2011 Common Core State Standards for Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| Porosity and Permeability | 7 | 3.MD.2, 3.MD.3, HS.S-IC |
|
Wisconsin’s Major Aquifers
|
12
|
7.G.1
|
| It’ll Go With the Flow | 22 | 7.EE.3, HS.S-IC |
The guide contains:
- Background for Translation of 1997 DPI health education standards to 2013 Wisconsin Standards for Health Science [PDF]
- Background for Translation of 1997 mathematics education standards in to 2011 Common Core Standards for Mathematics [PDF]
- one Cover Letter [PDF]
- one 36-page Groundwater Study Guide booklet
- one set of 12 Activity handouts
- ten small Posters to use as a reference during individual or small group activities. Or one large poster to use for a large group.
- The April 2006 Natural Resources Magazine insert, “Groundwater: Wisconsin’s Buried Treasure”
- one Groundwater Contamination Susceptibility in Wisconsin map [PDF]
- one copy of Better Homes and Groundwater [PDF] publication
- one copy of Wisconsin Groundwater Directory [PDF exit DNR]
Exercises using the groundwater sand tank model
Here are three lessons which use the groundwater model to teach students about groundwater.