Teaching Resources for Water

Municipal water and wastewater systems

• Videos: Surface water treatment at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant
• Videos: Kitchener Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Infographic (PDF): Journey of water
• Infographic (PDF): Groundwater aquifer

Water cycle and watershed

Credit: Thank you to the Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival and its partners for these educational resources.

Water cycle and states of water

• Video (6:32m): All the water in the world
• PDF instructions: All the water in the world bead activity
• Video (1:34m): Winnie the water drop water cycle adventure
• Video (6:52m): Draw the water cycle
• Video (2:55m): States of water
• Video (2:51m): Solid, liquid, gas science experiment
• Wally and Deanna's Groundwater Adventure book (University of Waterloo Earth Sciences Museum)

Watersheds

• Video (7:52m): Grand River watershed mapping activity
• Map (PDF): Grand River watershed
• Map (PDF): Watersheds in Ontario
• Video (9:30m): Tour of GRCA Shand Dam

The Great Lakes

• Video (5:30m): The Great Lakes
• Video (11:20m): The Great Lakes questions and answers
• Map (PDF): The Great Lakes water flow
• Map (PDF): The Great Lakes profile

Taking care of water

Credit: Thank you to the Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival and its partners for these educational resources.

• Video (3:45m): Water Girl water saving tips
• Video (2:20m): Plastic pollution
• Video (3:57m): Only rain down the storm drain
• Video (2:33mm): Shovel the snow to protect groundwater from salt
• Video (3:16m): What not to flush (wastewater)

Colouring and activity pages

• PDF: Water conservation colouring page
• PDF: Water fun activity sheet
• PDF: Winter fun activity book
• PDF: Aquifer colouring page
• PDF: Biosolids colouring book
• PDF: To Flush or Not To Flush activity sheet
• PDF: Water bingo

Book an in-class presentation

Book a water expert to visit your classroom. Free water presentations available for educators in Waterloo Region. Content supports the grade 2 and grade 8 curriculum. You can also request a general water presentation for other grades or for your school's environmental club.

Complete this request form to book your free water presentation.

• Grade 2 presentations are 30 to 45 minutes and include information on our local municipal water and wastewater systems, where to find water and water conservation.
• Grade 8 presentations are 60 to 90 minutes and include information on our local municipal water and wastewater systems, groundwater aquifers and local water issues.

Presentations can be tailored to fit your class requirements and schedule.

Plan a field trip

Handouts

Print best on ledger size (11" x 17") paper.

• Journey of water to your tap and back (PDF)
• Groundwater aquifer (PDF)
• Water conservation around your home (PDF)

Lesson plans and activities

• Wastewater Grade 4 and Grade 5 lesson activities (Region of Waterloo)
• Awesome aquifer - training videos and worksheets (Groundwater Foundation)
• Water cycle: article / video (Khan Academy)
• Grade 7 Biosolids Curriculum Program (WEAO) - web page and intro video
• Teaching tools and resources (The Water Project)
• Lesson plans and videos (TED-Ed)
• Lesson plans (Khan Academy)
• Video (0:45m): Explore watersheds (Project WET Foundation)
• Build a foldable paper 3D aquifer (University of Buffalo)
• Make your own groundwater aquifer: video/PDF (The Groundwater Foundation)
• Game: Watershed detective - analyze water samples (Nutrien)

Resources

• PDF: Information sheet for Grade 8 water education program
• PDF: Summary of available resources for the Grade 8 curriculum
• Video (4:30m): How do water towers work (Concerning Reality)
• Video (7:00m): How do water wells works (Concerning Reality)
• Video (10:59m): How water towers work (Practical Engineering)
• Video (12:27m): How sewers work (Practical Engineering)
• Water sources: groundwater (Government of Canada)
• Understanding groundwater (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
• Education resources (Groundwater Foundation)
• A glossary of hydrogeology (The Groundwater Project)
• Waterloo Wellington Children's Groundwater Festival
• E-zone: resources for teachers and parents to teach children about the environment (Province of Ontario)
• Grand River watershed (GRCA)
• Watersheds, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River (Conservation Ontario)