Chesapeake Bay Watershed Webquest

Introduction

There are four main Earth systems. The lithosphere is the solid, inorganic portion of Earth. The atmosphere is the gases that surround the planet. The biosphere is the area on Earth where living organisms exist. The hydrosphere contains all of Earth's water in its various forms. The hydrosphere affects the other three parts of Earth. Liquid water is the key component of the hydrosphere, and it accounts for more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. Every person lives in a watershed, which is the area of land that catches precipitation such as snow and rain and drains into a stream, river, lake, or marsh. By studying watersheds, you’ll understand more about the connected waterways in your town or city. You’ll also learn about how humans impact watersheds. For example, what types of pollution affect watersheds? How are different groups taking action to protect watersheds? In this WebQuest, you will explore the topic of watersheds and find the answers to some of these questions.

Task

Your job in the WebQuest is to learn about the Chespeake Bay watershed. You will investigate what a watershed is, find out which watershed you live in, and understand the different features that form a watershed. You’ll also explore how water quality is monitored and find out about controlling pollution and promoting conservation of this important natural resource. As you conduct your research, you will create a poster about the Chesapeake Bay watershed to demonstrate what you have learned.

Process

Read through the following set of questions before you being your Internet research. As you explore each site, look for answer to the questions. Questions about Maryland's Watersheds 

1.   Visit the following Web site: http://www.chesapeakebay.net 

2.  What is a watershed? Which Maryland county do you live in? Which one of the watersheds does your county belong to?

3.   What is a wetland and what benefits do wetlands provide? 4.   What is an estuary, and why is it an important part of a watershed? 
 Choose five invertebrates that inhabit the Chesapeake Bay and research the following points:

  • Where does it live?
  • What does it eat?
  • How does it reproduce?
  • Another interesting fact

5.  How are shallow and open water habitats important? 6.  What is:

  • water clarity
  • why is good water clarity important
  • what causes poor water clarity
  • how do scientists measure water clarity

7.  What are the four components that are important to water quality? 8.   What are the three physical characteristics the water in the Chesapeake Bay? 9.   What are nonpoint source pollutants and point source pollutants of the Chesapeake Bay? 
 10.  How does what we do in the suburbs and urban areas affect the Chesapeake Bay? 11.  What measures have been taken to reduce the pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay since 1985? 

12.  What actions are being taken to restore and conserve the Chesapeake Bay? 

 Summary
Create a detailed poster highlighting the features that you thought were most interesting, and be sure to include one thing that you can do to protect the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Evaluation

    Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Pollution Sources There are 4 or more sources of water pollution. There are 3 or more sources of water pollution. There are 2 or more sources of water pollution. There is only onesource of water pollution.
Content Accuracy At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. At least 5 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. At least 3 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. At least 2 accurate facts are displayed on the poster.
Attractiveness The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The poster is acceptably attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness. The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.
Title Title can be read from 6 ft away and is quite creative. Title can be read from 6 ft away and describes content well. Title can be read from 4 ft away and describes content well. The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well.
Spelling and Grammar There are no spelling or grammar mistakes. There are no more than 2 spelling or grammar mistakes. There are no more than 4 spelling or grammar mistakes. There are more than 4 spelling or grammar mistakes.

Conclusion

While completing this WebQuest, you've learned about Virginia's watersheds and the smaller bodies of water that are part of the watersheds. You have learned about ways to monitor water quality and investigated nonpoint source pollution and watershed conservation strategies. You have also developed research skills as you explored the Web sites and identified the relevant information to answer the questions. You applied what you learned about your watershed to identify physical features in your watershed on a map and to create a poster about your watershed. By learning about your watershed, you understand more about freshwater resources in Maryland, how the state's watersheds are connected, and the importance of practicing conservation.

Credits

Look at the Web sites given here to find information that will help you answer questions about Maryland’s watersheds and to gather information to use as you identify features on a map of your watershed.

  • http://www.chesapeakebay.net/index.aspx  Using the search tool at the top right on the Chesapeake Bay Program website you can find information related to:  the location of and the organisms that inhabit the Chesapeake Bay, the importance of water clarity and quality of the Chesapeake Bay, the type, affects, and protection measures being taken in regards to the pollutants of the Chesapeake Bay.