Ecology/Animal Behavior
Performance Based Learning and Assessment -- Watersheds
(Lessons, activities and due dates may change depending on various factors at teacher’s discretion.)
The purpose of this lesson is to learn about watersheds, ways in which water pollution occurs, and how
important proper use of watersheds is to them. After understanding the importance of watersheds, we will
recognize that wise usage of our local watershed is an example of stewardship.
This is a complex content rich project with embedded assessment designed to show how students
think as well as what they know and can do with content knowledge of the content matter. Learners will
construct answers, construct answers, create presentations, take actions, explain data, and pose inquiry
questions. The assessment is embedded within the curriculum, integrated, self and peer assessed, and
provides students the opportunity to develop and practice synthesis (higher order thinking) skills. The intent
is to spur learning rather than just measure it. This performance task requires students to develop and
conduct complex tasks with multiple skill requirements. They will add to the growing database of Rogue
River and Gilbert Creek water quality data and look for meaningful patterns of change over time.
Day 1:
 Watershed project introduction
 In small groups, make a list of ten ways that you use water. Write each of your answers on a
separate post-it note.
 As a class, create category labels on a piece of butcher paper for which individual groups will
add their post-it notes to the appropriate category (add more categories if needed).
 Discuss where water comes from (water cycle review, watershed definition, emphasize our
watershed and the Rogue River.
 Activity:
 crumple a piece of butcher paper (white) into a loose ball. Open the paper partially
and place it in a dissection pan (large). The paper should be crumpled and look like
there are mountain ridges and valleys.
 With water based markers, color creeks or rivers blue and mark with arrows the
direction you think the water will flow as it runs downhill.
 Use a black marker and outline ridges separating one creek or river from another.
 With a brown marker, draw exposed soil that could erode or wash away into the
lake as the water flows through the watershed.
 Using a red marker, draw pollutants that may be found in the watershed such as
soap from washing cars, pesticides from lawns, and animal waste from a nearby
farm.
 With the models on your table, spray a very light mist of water over your model.
 Write down observations about where the water collects and what happened to the
exposed soil and pollutants.
 As a class, have a discussion about places in the community where there would be the most
pollutants.
Day 2-4
 Research
 Distribute information about the local watershed (Josephine County crosses eight
overlapping watersheds).
 Handout: Josephine County and Oregon maps and list of the eight
watersheds (South Umpqua, Middle Rogue, Applegate, Lower Rogue,
Illinois, Chetco, Smith and Lower Klamath).
 Create eight teams of students. Each team receives a watershed component
and constructs a presentation which shows:
o Identify where the rain, snow, etc. in your area drains. This may be
local rivers, lakes, or bays, etc.
o Create (print out or sketch map which indicates/labels the rivers
and streams flowing through your watershed.
o Indicate the lowest point in the watershed (the point to which all
water flows) and trace the path the water flows to get there. You
may start by marking our (or the nearest) town with a red dot, and
then find the river nearest to our school or the nearest town and
draw a blue line from there to the lowest point in the watershed indicating any rivers it may flow through along the way. Make sure
to include arrows showing the direction the water flows.
o Label the rivers, lakes, etc. on the map. Describe how the water
moves through the watershed for your assigned area.
o As you look at this map, discuss how the health of a watershed is
determined by many factors, including the use of land throughout
the watershed, and what pollutants each uses that may be put into
the watershed.
o Discuss what types of land use are present within your community
and your overall watershed. Ask: Are there factories that produce
heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium and organic
chemicals like PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) and PAHs
(Polyhydroxyalkanoates). Are there farms that use nitrates from
fertilizers and livestock waste. Are there small businesses using
things that might pollute the watershed?
 Discuss how each of these uses could lead to pollution, not
only by being directly put into the drainage area, but also
indirectly through other rivers, lakes, and streams, and
even through groundwater (water that soaks into the
ground).
o Discuss ways in which pollution could occur: run-off of crop and
forest land, failing septic systems, construction sites, irrigation
drainage systems, automobile exhaust, etc. How can waste
materials like old motor oil, pesticides, and raw sewage (from
overflowing septic tanks) get into the watershed?
 Student groups will present their section of the watershed and as a class we
will construct a broader understanding of the interconnected nature of the
watershed for Josephine County.
Day 5
 Construction of a Gilbert Creek map (individual Google maps printed off as a series and
then reconstructed by students in a long (8 page) connected creek map.
 Highlight of the creek within the constructed map.
 Discussion of the importance of the riparian zone (definition, discussion, illustrations)
 Introduction of the Gilbert Creek water quality testing portion of the project.
 Show students the data collection handout and introduce the individual water
quality tests.
 Aqua check 5 in 1 (chlorine, hardness, pH)
 Dissolved Oxygen (La Motte kits)
 Water Works Nitrate/Nitrite test strips
 Quicktest for Atrazine and Simazine
 Vernier probe data collection
o Temperature, pH, turbidity, flow rate, conductivity, nitrate ion, and
ammonium.
Day 6
 Field work – data collection on the Rogue and Gilbert Creek (depending on conditions,
4 or 5 stops upstream from Gold Hill along the Rogue River, the outlet of Gilbert Creek
at the Rogue, and Gilbert Creek Park (near the headwaters)).
Day 7-9
 Enter data from field work into database.
 Interpretations regarding good data/bad data, confusing data until ultimately a class
average set of data are selected and shared by all students.
 Water quality report writing
Day 10-14:
 Josephine County Ecoregion Project
o
Day 15:

Reference materials for students (not previously mentioned):
Glencoe Science Earth Science surface water movement chapter pages (general reference for the concept of
watershed, water cycle, stream systems, stream load, stream valleys, deposition of sediment).
Mickey Laney-Jarvis, Grants Pass High School
mjarvis@grantspass.k12.or.us; (541) 474 5710