Search Virginia.gov:

Virginia Department of Education

Information on this page is provided by the Office of Standards, Curriculum & Instruction.

Staff Contacts

Instruction

Journey of a Raindrop – Session 2

Session 2

Print version of "Journey of a Raindrop to the Chesapeake Bay" PDF • Word

Conduct this session in the classroom.

1. Prepare to show Raindrop to the Bay (.ppt) on a large monitor or with a projection device. Introduce the presentation by explaining that it follows a group of teachers as they travel the path that water takes from Louisa County to the Chesapeake Bay. After watching this journey, students will map out the path that water takes from the schoolyard to the Bay.
   
2. Divide students into map groups. Each group will need a Virginia map, a map from the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer that includes Brackett Farm, and a highlighter. Show students the location of Louisa County on the large classroom map of Virginia. Have students locate it on their maps of Virginia.
3. Direct students to work together while watching the presentation to follow on the Virginia maps the journey from the Pamunkey River to the York River to the Bay.
4. During the presentation, take special note of the slide entitled "What watershed are we a part of?" Students will use this EPA website later in the lesson to locate their watershed. Tell students to pay particular attention to the process of clicking Virginia within the U.S. map, then a local region of Virginia on the next slide.
5. At the slide entitled "Brackett Farm's Watershed Address," use a map showing Brackett Farm and the South Anna River to see how the path of the water determines the watershed address. Help students locate Brackett Farm (Nolting Pond is on the farm), and tell them to indicate the farm's location with a star. Then, direct students to follow the water's path with a highlighter on the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer map as the journey continues.
   

Top of Page