Freshwater
Explore the rivers, lakes, and streams around the world and the animals that call them home with your students while debating the use of dams on rivers, writing poems about free-flowing rivers, or calculating the amount of water they use.
© Hartmut Jungius / WWF-Canon
💡 Warm up
© WWF
Work Out Your Wild Side: Freshwater Week
Jump like a frog, leap like salmon, and pretend to fly like an ibis to get kids excited to learn about freshwater ecosystems and the animals that call them home.
💻 Tech time
Our Planet: Fresh Water episode
Watch the documentary episode from Our Planet and check out the discussion questions to use as a check-for-understanding at the end of class.
Recorded Livestream: Why Rivers Need to Flow
Watch the free-flowing rivers livestream to show students how healthy rivers are important to the survival of people and nature around the world and how we can use freshwater resources responsibly. Click the link in the video description for supplemental activities and discussion questions.
WWF Free Rivers
If your students have access to smartphones, download the WWF Free Rivers app so students can imagine they are exploring a river in their own classroom.
© WWF Free Rivers
▶️ Activities
© WWF
Writing
Like the River Flows
Once students understand the benefits of free-flowing rivers, guide students in using metaphors and similes to write a poem about rivers.
© WWF
Debate
Freshwater Dam Debate
Challenge students’ social studies and language arts skills with a debate about the pros and cons of using dams on rivers.
© WWF
Math
A Drop in the Bucket
In the math activity, review sources and uses of freshwater before having students calculate and model their own water usage.
