Pre-workshop Assignments for 1-day Workshop

A field guide is on a log.These pre-assignments should be completed before the workshop by educators who are already registered for a one-day Watershed Education Professional Development workshop. Educators who are registered for a 2-day workshop do NOT need to do these assignments which will be completed in the workshop.

Instructions

Typically, a DCNR Watershed Education (WE) Teacher Workshop comprises two full days. In order to compress the WE Workshop into a one-day course and still provide teachers with the most comprehensive experience possible, we require all one-day WE workshop attendees to complete pre-workshop assignments. These assignments serve to allow all attendees to arrive at the workshop with a similar knowledge base. These links and assignments will always be available to you so that you can utilize them in your classroom.

Teachers: All pre-workshop assignments, files, the WE Pre-Workshop Assignment Worksheet and more are accessible from this webpage. You will need to refer to the instructions and hyperlinks below as you proceed.

All workshop participants (regardless of their need for Act 48 hours) MUST complete these assignments prior to the start of the course. These assignments are covered by Act 48 hours (three hours).

Please bring the following completed worksheets with you to the Watershed Education workshop:

  • WE Pre-Workshop Assignment Worksheet
  • Watershed Exploration Worksheet (from Watershed Tour Lesson Plan)
  • What is in a name? (from Watershed Tour Lesson Plan)

Step 1  -  Print WE Pre-workshop Assignments Worksheet  -  Time:  2 Minutes

  1. Open the WE Pre-workshop Assignments Worksheet rtf . You will need this worksheet to complete steps 3 to 6. You may complete all of the worksheets electronically, but they will need to be shown to the WE workshop facilitator.

Step 2  -  Watershed Tour  -  Time:  60 Minutes

  1. Open the WE Watershed Tour lesson plan pdf (86 kb) and read it. If needed, print the two worksheets (Watershed Exploration and What is in a Name).
  2. Determine your water basin (instructions can be found on page 2 of the Watershed Tour lesson). Explore the Basin Maps to determine your basin. If you need assistance finding your watershed, go to the EPA Surf Your Watershed website. http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm
  3. View the Watershed Tour for your water basin. Make sure to read the PowerPoint notes while you view the slides. Watershed Tours currently exist for parts of the following basins:
  4. Use the information in the Watershed Tour to complete the two worksheets that are located at the end of the Watershed Tour Lesson Plan (Watershed Exploration Worksheet and What is in a name Worksheet).

Step 3  -  Water Basin Character Statements and Fact Sheets  -  Time:  15 Minutes

Find your water basin character statement and fact sheet from the list below. Use these to answer the associated questions on the WE Pre- Workshop Assignment Worksheet.

Pennsylvania Basins Chart pdf (34 kb)

Delaware River Character Statement pdf (36 kb)
Delaware River Fact Sheet pdf (48 kb)

Erie Basin Character Statement pdf (30 kb)
Erie Basin Fact Sheet pdf (47 kb)

Genesee River Character Statement pdf (40 kb)
Genesee River Fact Sheet pdf (39 kb)

Ohio River Character Statement pdf (29 kb)
Ohio River Fact Sheet pdf (47 kb)

Potomac River Character Statement pdf (36 kb)
Potomac River Fact Sheet pdf (43 kb)

Susquehanna River Character Statement pdf (32 kb)
Susquehanna River Fact Sheet pdf (40 kb)

Step 4  -  How to Read a Topographical Map  -  Time:  20 Minutes

Watch the 15-minute video below about topographical maps. Then answer corresponding worksheet questions.

Here's the link in case you cannot view the video above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqPMYGDxCr0

Step 5  -  Field Investigations: Biological Monitoring  -  Time:  35 Minutes

  1. One way to calculate the health of a stream is to complete a stream biosurvey. This is done by using kick nets and stream nets to capture live animals and then calculating the percentage of pollution intolerant, facultative, and tolerant macroinvertebrates that were found in the stream. Open https://stroudcenter.org/macros/ and https://leafpacknetwork.org/learn/macroinvertebrates/ and read the content.
    Open Interpreting Biological Results and read the page. Complete the corresponding questions on the worksheet.
  2. Open http://www.nwnature.net/macros/docs/know_macros.pdf and view the “Know Your Macros” PowerPoint. Use the PowerPoint to answer questions on the worksheet.
  3. Open http://www.stroudcenter.org/research/projects/schuylkill/macroslideshow.shtm and view pictures of the following benthic macroinvertebrates (if you hold your cursor over the picture, the name of the macro pops up): Click on each picture to make it larger
    1. Mayfly nymph (at least 2 types)
    2. Caddisfly larva (at least 2 types)
    3. Stonefly nymph
    4. Hellgrammite
    5. Dragonfly nymph
    6. Damselfly nymph
    7. Water Penny beetle
    8. Midge larva
    9. Aquatic Sowbugs
    10. Black fly larva
    11. Crane fly larva

    Open http://www.macroinvertebrates.org/#/ and view the amazing pictures of mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies. Note the distinguishing characteristics. This website identifies macros down to a family level. *Note this website is best viewed in Google Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. It does not function properly in Internet Explorer.

Step 6  -  Field Investigations: Chemical Monitoring  -  Time:  45 Minutes

  1. Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are an important part of using chemicals. https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Information_Sheets/SDS_hazchem_info_sheet.pdf and read about SDS.
    Watershed Education uses the following LaMotte brand water testing kits:
    • Dissolved Oxygen (Kit #5860)
    • Precision pH (Kit #5858)
    • Hardness (Kit #4482-DR-LT)
    • Iron (Kit #4447)
    • Nitrate/Nitrogen (Kit #3354)
    • Turbidity (Kit # 7519)
    • Total Alkalinity (Kit #4491-DR)
    Open http://www.lamotte.com/en/support/msds-search?kit=true and scroll down to “Kit Search”. Choose one chemical kit from the online list and search for the corresponding MSDS for that kit. You may choose a kit that is not in the list above if that is a kit that you use with your students. Some kits have only one chemical and therefore one MSDS, while others may have five chemicals (and five MSDS). Read the MSDS for all of the chemicals within your chosen kit and then answer the corresponding questions on the worksheet.
     
  2. How to use and interpret a Direct Reading Titrator- Open How to use a LaMotte Direct Reading Titrator pdf (81 kb) read it and answer the corresponding worksheet question.
  3. Interpreting Chemical Results Open Studying a Stream - Chemical and read the “Interpreting Chemical Results” section. Read the information. Make sure to also click on EACH chemical test and review the information. Answer the corresponding worksheet questions.
  4. Interpreting Physical Results Open Studying A Stream and read the “Interpreting Physical Results” section. Read the information and answer the questions on the corresponding worksheet.

 

You are finished! Don’t forget to bring your three completed worksheets to the upcoming Watershed Education Teacher Workshop.

 

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