Distance Learning Resources
Thanks to the educators and teachers who provided feedback and let us know what they need to support learning from home. Check back weekly as our list of tested lessons and activities grows.
Please feel free to contact us with feedback or suggestions.
Tuesday, May 25, 2020
Water-Themed Lessons & Activities (45 minutes or less)
Anytime, Anywhere, Anybody Activities
Birds are everywhere! Whether you are looking out your window or taking a walk, check out ways that you can learn their names, know their songs or attract them to your own backyard.
These ideas and activities are for the birds!
- Our Partners at the Center for Aquatic Sciences in Camden have developed this fun-filled activity sheet. They have put together things you can do in and around home to get to know the birds around you, like how to identify the birds you see (and hear) and how to make your own birdfeeder. Available in English and Spanish.
Looking out your window or taking a walk outside? Download these apps to carry with you on your walks or explorations, or use them while sitting on your steps. They will help you identify the birds you see (or hear!).
- Merlin, from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – It helps you identify every bird you see as well as hear their signal birdsong.
- If you see a nest, check out Nest Watch to help you identify it.
The conservation organization that has birds on their mind 24/7, National Audubon Society has resources like apps and other tools and resources that will provide you with comprehensive information about birding in the great outdoors and in your own backyard. Check out their activities and DIY ideas too!
Monday, May 18, 2020
The Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River is comprised of 23 environmental education centers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Here are a few educational videos from our partners in the Alliance that might be fun for young people (and their teachers and parents) to watch and discover.
- Let’s Make It Rain – Here is a great tabletop experiment for you to do with younger children. Ask them if they know what precipitation is and help them find out by creating a cloud in a glass. This video demonstration is brought to you by Shannon Fredebaugh-Stiller, the Community Engagement Programs Manager at Heritage Conservancy , Doylestown PA.
- Water Cycle Adventure! – Have you ever wondered how much water is on earth? What about millions of years ago? Did you know that we are drinking the same water as the dinosaurs? Here is a science video that explores the water cycle starring the water molecule itself. Created by Chad Schwartz, Director of Science and Education at the Educators of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Slatington PA
Monday, May 11, 2020
Water-Themed Lessons & Activities (45 minutes or less)
Quick activities to do with your K-8 students (downloadable PDFs):
- Tree Diversity Booklet – About Trees (grades 3-8)
- Measuring a Tree Activity – About Trees (grades 5-9)
Monday, May 4, 2020
Water-Themed Lessons & Activities (45 minutes or less)
Quick activities to do with your K-8 students (downloadable PDFs):
- Properties of Matter: Sink or Float (grades K-5)
- Freshwater Mussel Survey 101: Home Version (grades 3-5)
Monday, April 27, 2020
Water-Themed Lessons & Activities (45 minutes or less)
Quick activities to do with your K-8 students (downloadable PDFs):
- Powered by Water: How Water Wheels Works (grades K-5)
- Windowsill Farming: Just Add Water (grades K-8)
- Measuring Rainfall Over Time: Making Your Own Gauge (grades K-8)
Participatory Webinars for Teachers
Join our growing network of teachers online this week as we take a deep dive into engaging, fun and practical learning experiences about water and our watershed. We will demonstrate how to deliver remote lessons that can be completed in and around students’ homes. These are 1-hour e-workshop sessions designed for middle school, but all grade teachers are welcome.
Facilitator:
Ellen Schultz
Director for Education Partnerships, FWW
Dates:
Wednesday, April 29 @ 4pm
Wednesday, May 6 @ 4pm
Wednesday, May 13 @ 4pm
Free. Registration required.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Teacher-Focused/Student-Focused Activities
Curriculum Guide with Activity Ideas (K-8th Grade)
“Understanding the Urban Watershed: A Curriculum Guide for the Classroom” is a compilation of successful lessons and activities from the Fairmount Water Works for grades K-8. It was published in 2014 and each chapter explores water, water systems, and watersheds with vocabulary, activity ideas, discussion questions, and suggested reading.
Download the PDF here.
Water-Themed Lessons & Activities (45 minutes or less)
Quick activities to do with your K-8 students (downloadable PDFs):
- Green City, Clean Waters: How Green Is my (Delaware River) Valley (grades 3-8)
- Tip Top Tap: Taste and Odor (grades 3-8)
- Whatever Floats Your Boat (grades K-5)
- Go Fish: A Healthy River is Teaming with Diversity (grades K-3)
- Drinking Water Treatment Process: Simple Water Filtration (grades 3-5)
Literacy-Focused Activities for Families with Young Children
“Run Water, Run!”
“Run Water Run: Growing a Lifelong Love of Reading and the Environment”, for kids ages 3-8 and their families. This activity book explores some of the ways water gets where it is going in and around our city. Plants, animals, and people need clean water. Plants animals and people also help clean up polluted water. Download PDF.
Suggested Water and Watershed Themed Books
Based on The Watershed is an Open Book, our family literacy program for children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Some books listed are available digitally through the Free Library of Philadelphia. Download the the full list.
Watch & Learn: Educational Videos About Water in Our World
For help with learning about the water use cycle:
Test drive our new virtual exhibit idea!
- Then and Now Photographs of the Fairmount Water Works. This is a great way to travel through time. See how Philadelphia built, designed and engineered its early drinking water pump house, the Fairmount Water Works, and what it looks like today. Test Driving Instructions: Skip the page that tells you to “raise your phone”. (“Skip” is in the bottom left hand corner.) To get to the images, scroll all the way down to choose the next image.
DIY (or help with your own presentations)
