WATER CYCLE:
HUMAN USE OR ABUSE
INTRODUCTION
What is the water cycle? What is a
watershed? How do people affect a
region’s water? During this lesson,
students will learn about the water
cycle and will become more aware
of connections between it and
human activities that affect, both
positively and negatively, the
quality of water. They will learn
that their daily actions make an
impact not only on the watershed
where they live but also on plants,
animals, and water in other places.
OBJECTIVES
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describe the phases of the
water cycle
identify and analyze human
activities that can negatively
affect the earth’s water
illustrate human activities and
the consequences for the water
decide what people can do to
protect water
explain the need for citizen
awareness and responsibility
M AT E R I A L S
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copies of water cycle diagram
(master handout provided on
page 71)
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poster board or newsprint (one
2' x 3' piece per small group of
students)
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copies of “Human Use or Abuse”
(master handout provided on
page 72)
color markers or crayons
VOCABULARY
BACKGROUND
hydrologic cycle
pollution
evaporation
ground water
Water is often considered our most precious
transpiration
resource. Although it covers three-fourths of
the earth’s surface, less than one percent of
condensation
that water is fresh and available for our use.
precipitation
This is the same water that was drunk by
dinosaurs and later by prehistoric people.
acid rain
The earth does not create new water. Water
simply renews itself as it passes through
fertilizer
the three phases of the hydrologic cycle:
herbicide
evaporation and transpiration,
condensation, and precipitation. In this
pesticide
continual recycling of water, surface water
evaporates and transpires. In the upper
atmosphere it condenses into clouds, which
become heavy and precipitate as rain, snow,
hail, or sleet back down to the oceans, lakes,
rivers, and ground on the earth’s surface.
If we interfere with our water and its continuous cycle, we suffer the consequences.
Acid rain, which contains pollutants, is
one example.
As the world’s population has grown
and countries have become more industrial,
increasing pressure is exerted on our limited
water supply. Water is being contaminated through our houses, yards, storm
drains, sewers, and landfills. Waste and chemicals from factories, as well as
fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and animal waste from farms, are major
sources of pollution. Even our ground water, stored in natural underground
reservoirs called aquifers, is polluted through soil drainage and percolation.
We all live in a watershed, a region of land that drains water, above
or below ground, to a lower elevation. Water, rain, and melting snow shed off
or through the soil to streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. When we
pollute the land with trash and chemicals, we are, in fact, spoiling our water
supply, which collects the discarded waste material as it drains down.
Polluting the watershed can poison creeks and bays, even when we do not live
near the water.
Often people are not aware of the damaging consequences of their actions.
Most people want to keep the earth’s water clean. How can we protect and
preserve our water?
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aquifer
percolation
watershed
OPENING THE LESSON
Have the students draw a diagram of the water cycle to see what they know
about it, watersheds, and the use and abuse of water. Distribute a copy of the
water cycle diagram (master diagram provided) to each student for review.
Together create a list of human activities that damage a region’s water supply
(e.g., too much chemical lawn fertilizer plus rain equals algae in the river).
Pass out the “Human Use or Abuse?” handout and have the students find
other activities to include on their lists. Discuss the positive responses that
could correct or prevent these dangers.
TEACHING THE LESSON
1. Divide the class into groups of four or
five students.
2. Instruct each group to draw a picture on poster board or
newsprint of an imaginary place, diagramming its water cycle and
showing human activities that affect it.
3. Each group’s picture should include several different landforms (hills,
mountains, valleys, plateaus, peninsulas, islands), a description or indication
of its climate (tropical, dry, mild, polar, etc.), and bodies of water (oceans,
rivers, lakes, ponds, streams).
4. Encourage the groups to personalize their regions by creating names for
physical and human features.
Alternative Activity
Have the students diagram the water cycle of their own region’s watershed and
depict those human activities that affect it. Prior to this activity, individual
outline drawings of the region’s watershed can be created by tracing a map
with that information and then photocopying it for the students. A much larger outline drawing can be created by taping together on the wall four to six
pieces of poster board or newsprint (one per group of students), projecting a
black line transparency of the region’s watershed onto it, and tracing the
appropriate lines. Separate the sheets and encourage each group to finish
designing one section. When completed, reassemble the sections to reveal the
regional perspective of the watershed.
Note: Teachers can get information about the watershed of their own region
by contacting the planning office in their city or county. Additional information on watersheds can be researched through the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by calling 301/713-1208.
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CONCLUDING THE LESSON
Have each group display and explain its picture, emphasizing the effects of
human activity on water. Focus on what people can do to protect and preserve
the watershed.
EXTENDING THE LESSON
Community Involvement
Adopt a local watershed. Work with appropriate local government
agencies to help clean up water sources around your school. Older
students can test water for pollutants and discuss their findings
in letters to the city council.
RESOURCES
Contact the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey,
Washington, D.C. 20240, to receive posters of water uses and
ground water. Facts about water and background information are
printed on the back.
This lesson was adapted in part from “Creating an Island,”
a lesson in Teaching Geography: A Model for Action
(Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1988).
Create a board game that focuses on water use. Cards or spaces on
the game board could describe human interaction with water, such as
“You took a long shower—go back three spaces,” or “You understand
the water cycle—move ahead five spaces.” The first one to a clean
drink of water wins!
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T H E WAT E R C Y C L E
Use with Lesson 8
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Use with Lesson 8
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HUMAN USE OR ABUSE?