Geography

The Water: H2O = Life site is a companion to the American Museum of Natural History's exhibit of the same name. The site and exhibit explore the relationship between water and life, water's physical and chemical properties, how water is used by humans, and the importance of preventing water pollution. You will find excellent information and graphics on water issues, educator resources, lesson plans, and articles for all grade levels, and games and web activities for students. The exhibit will be on an international tour through September 2011.

People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business.

DoSomething.org encourages teens to find the cause they care about and get the facts so they can take action. Resources for learning about water issues, a video on world water usage, articles on ways to make a difference, and water conservation tips are all found on their Water Conservation page.

Water Science for Schools, created by the U.S. Geological Survey, offers information on a variety of water-related subjects including pictures, data, and maps. The site provides an interactive center where students can voice opinions and test their water knowledge. Portions of the website are available in Spanish and Chinese, and The Water Cycle diagram is available in over 60 languages.

Planet H2O is a public television series on the world of water. On the web site, students can watch episodes, learn about water careers, investigate water issues and more. Resources for educators include lesson plans for teaching about water and the environment, as well as a teaching guide for using Planet H2O in the classroom.

This CD-ROM is a collection of 41 classroom activities, assembled by educators in the COSDD Great Lakes Project that provides teachers, non-formal educators and students in grades 4-10 with insights into the uniqueness of the Great Lakes and their influence on aquatic life and human populations.

A project of the Earth Day Network, the Global Water Network is a comprehensive resource to raise awareness about water issues. Here your students can access key water articles and reports, link to country-specific water data, read news feeds, discuss water issues in the forum, and access global water happenings in the events calendar.

This interactive feature from the New York Times contrasts the estimated and surveyed extent of the oil spill on a map of the Gulf of Mexico. It also indicates ocean currents, marshes, urban areas, points where the oil has made landfall and the extent of the fishing ban in the Gulf.

National Geographic Blue Frontier now hosts the Oceans for Life educators materials developed with the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Topics include biological oceanography, ocean regions and habitats, physical ocean processes, human links to an impacts on the ocean and applications of oceanography. Virtual expeditions link the classroom experience with the individual National Marine Sanctuaries, research methods and technology and researchers' experiences. Fee, archived, online teacher workshops feature ocean researchers and policy makers.