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Teacher Toolkit

Flows To Bay invites teachers to utilize our Teacher Toolkit in their science or environmental science course curriculum, suitable for grades 3-12. Through this toolkit, we invite students to think critically about how to address local stormwater pollution issues with innovative and green solutions that can be incorporated onto their school campus.

Stormwater Toolbox

Below are additional resources for your classroom, including videos, games, activity books, lesson plans, and curriculum. If you have any questions, please contact us here.

Resources for Educators

Sustainable and Climate Ready Schools Partnership Network supports school district leaders in addressing their community needs to be climate-responsive and prepare for a changing environment in a way that increases their capacity and resources. Through the network, school districts will work collaboratively with a range of organizations who will offer technical assistance to help districts transform their campus facilities and operations to be green and climate-ready.

San Mateo Office of Sustainability Schools Program: Countywide program offers free school-wide and grade level assemblies on the 4R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot/Compost) and various other curriculum resources.

Youth Exploring Sea Level Rise Science (YESS): Curriculum for middle and high school teachers throughout San Mateo County. Resources provided to teachers for this program include field trips, interactive classroom lessons, and assistance with a community project.

Marine Science Institute (MSI): NGSS supported programing for learners Kinder- College. MSI offers in-person as well as online programs to the greater Bay Area. 

The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network: Program of the California Department of Education to promote environmental literacy and education in the Bay Area.

Greater Farallones Association: K-16 NGSS standards-based marine science education.

Project WET (Water Education for Teachers): Common Core and NGSS curriculum and activity guide.

Learning & Teaching About The Environment by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Waves, Wetlands, and Watersheds: Classroom activity guide by the California Coastal Commission.

Water Cycle Glossary of Terms: Definition of terms related to each phase of the water cycle

Resources for Grades K-3

River Runner: Students can place a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. This interactive maps really helps understanding a watershed.

Freddy The Fish Video (5 min): A video that teaches kids about what happens to rain after it hits the grounds, where storm drains lead to, and what we can do to prevent water pollution. 

Protecting Our Water Resources: Student activities for the classroom

Water Is A Watershed?: An experiment to explore how a watershed works for grades K-3.

Create Your Own Water Cycle: An experiment to explore the water cycle from liquid to gas K-3

The Water Sourcebook: A series of classroom activities for grades K-2

You Can Prevent Litter: Coloring book

A Fish’s Wish: Coloring and activity book

Water Cycle Glossary of Terms: Definition of terms related to each phase of the water cycle

Resources for Grades 3-6

River Runner: Students can place a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. This interactive maps really helps understanding a watershed.

Interactive Stormwater Model: Students can explore stormwater related information answering questions along the way to ensure information comprehension.

Freddy The Fish Video (5 min): A video that teaches kids about what happens to rain after it hits the grounds, where storm drains lead to, and what we can do to prevent water pollution. 

Protecting Our Water Resources: Student activities for the classroom

Water Quality Service Learning Program: Student-centered science investigations for 4th, 5th and 6th grade levels from the California Water Boards

Get The Dirt Out: Experiment to explore how dirt and soil act in filtering pollutants from water

Too Many Nutrients: Experiment to explore how chemical fertilizers can impact water quality

The Water Sourcebook: A series of classroom activities for grades 6-8

Stormwater Crossword Puzzle and Pollution Prevention Word Search: Educational games

Water Cycle Glossary of Terms: Definition of terms related to each phase of the water cycle

Stormwater & Green Infrastructure: Curriculum for 5th Grade from Boston Public Schools

A Fish’s Wish: Coloring and activity book

Resources for Grade 6-8

Flows To Bay Teacher Toolkit: This toolkit review three different ways students can care for their schools while helping to reduce stormwater pollution and outlines a related class project for teachers.

River Runner: Students can place a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. This interactive maps really helps understanding a watershed.

Protecting Our Water Resources: Student activities for the classroom

The Water Sourcebook: A series of classroom activities for grades 6-8

Stormwater To Drinking Water Video (6 min): This video that explains the ways our actions can cause our waters to become polluted and solutions to the problems

NOAA Games and Resources: From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Bioretention Garden: Lesson Plan

Stormwater Crossword Puzzle and Pollution Prevention Word Search: Educational games

Water Cycle Glossary of Terms: Definition of terms related to each phase of the water cycle

Resources for Grades 9-12

Flows To Bay Teacher Toolkit: This toolkit review three different ways students can care for their schools while helping to reduce stormwater pollution and outlines a related class project for teachers.

River Runner: Students can place a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. This interactive maps really helps understanding a watershed.

Designing Green Infrastructure: This lesson plan developed by Flows To Bay in partnership with Youth Exploring Sea Level Rise Science Program (YESS), aims to teach students about stormwater, water quality, and one of the means of managing stormwater as a resource in their own communities and school campuses—through the use of green infrastructure.

Watersheds 101: This post provides an overview of watersheds, the components of a watershed, water budgets, how to estimate runoff, protecting water quality, and watershed management.  This post is based in part on a lecture given by Dr. Helen Dahlke at UC Davis as part of the UC Davis Shortcourse on Groundwater and supplemented with additional research.

Stormwater To Drinking Water Video (6 min): This video that explains the ways our actions can cause problems across the board.

How The Stability of An Ecosystem is Increased by Biological Diversity: Lesson Plan

Water Cycle Glossary of Terms: Definition of terms related to each phase of the water cycle 

This educational video from Flows To Bay explains what a watershed is, why preventing water pollution is important, and different actions people can take to prevent stormwater pollution.

Schoolyard Greening & Rainwater Resilient Schools

There are various ways that Flows To Bay is partnering with schools to advance their goals with respect to climate-resilient campus improvements. Read below to see how we can help!

  • Site Improvements – For school site improvements, Flows To Bay installs projects that help make school campuses rainwater resilient such as rain barrels, cisterns, and/or rain gardens. If your school is interested, read the program details and see past school site improvement examples here.
  • Safe Routes to School – C/CAG helps administer the Safe Routes to School program in San Mateo County (including walk-audits and program-based safe routes activities) – we also have funded Safe Routes to School and Green Streets Infrastructure Pilot projects, including 10 pilot projects in recent years! Learn about the programs and projects here.
  • Flows To Bay is a network partner of the San Mateo County Sustainable and Climate Ready Schools Partnership Network, which supports school district leaders in addressing their community needs to be climate-responsive and prepare for a changing environment in a way that increases their capacity and resources. Through the network, school districts will work collaboratively with a range of organizations that will offer technical assistance to help districts transform their campus facilities and operations to be green and climate-ready. Learn more here.

How To Get Involved?

We are eager to find willing partners to advance schoolyard greening and curriculum connections – please reach out to Reid Bogert at rbogert@smcgov.org or 650-599-1433.

Classroom Presentations

Are you a teacher who would like an in-class presentation about stormwater pollution prevention? Contact us with the below form to schedule a presentation.

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