Resource Library

The Water Sourcebooks, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contain 324 interdisciplinary, hands-on activities on topics including Introduction to Water, Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment, Surface Water Resources, Ground Water Resources, and Wetlands and Coastal Waters.

The Medicine Chest is a complication of multidisciplinary classroom lessons, sample stewardship activities and background information for teachers and high school students on how the improper disposal of unwanted medicines can be harmful to people, pets and the environment. Alligns with Illinois and Indiana state standards.

In this lesson plan from Discovery Education, students learn about the migration patterns of whales and how scientists are tracking them in order to discover how whales are affected by changes in the environment. The lesson is appropriate for grades 6-8 and adheres to McREL standards in geography, technology, civics and life science.

These modules use forest related examples to help students better understand the complexity of environmental issues. In the Focus on Forests module, students examine issues objectively, collect and analyze data, and become involved in decision making experiences.

A report to Congress drafted by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2006, explores the interdependence between energy and water.

Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigates what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources hearing on the Energy and Water Integration Act of 2009 features six experts on the water-energy connection.

Magnificent Groundwater Connection is a series of lesson plans surrounding groundwater from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lesson plans are appropriate for students in grades 7-12 and can be adapted to meet science and math standards.

The Coral Reef Teacher's Guide from Reef Relief, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting living coral reef ecosystems, provides lesson plans for grades K-12 on coral reefs. The lesson plans are spirally integrated with each grade level, building upon the previous one.

These featured activities were developed by Earth Day Network in support of EE Week's 2009 Be Water Wise! theme. You will need Adobe Reader in order to view these files. For a free download of Adobe Reader, click here.