WebQuest Teacher Page

An Internet WebQuest

The Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed

Introduction

In this WebQuest, students do Internet research on the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. They will answer questions about watersheds (specifically the Chesapeake Bay watershed) based on their Internet research. They will investigate the Bay itself to understand its importance as a natural resource to the region.

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Task

While students are doing their Internet research, they will answer the set of questions provided. Each Web site has some of the answers to the questions, but several of the questions may require information from two or more of the Web sites. Students should be able to compile information to answer the questions as they read through each Web site.

As students research the answers to the questions, they also will gather information to use as they design, write, and produce a brochure. This document provides information about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed to a targeted audience, such as scout groups or school science clubs, to help people become more aware of the importance of the Chesapeake Bay.

Objectives

• Identify Virginia’s watersheds.
• Determine which one of Virginia’s 14 watersheds each student lives in, and identify the watershed’s tributaries.
• Analyze water quality data collected from local watershed monitoring stations.
• Describe specific types of pollution affecting the Chesapeake Bay and discuss strategies being used to reduce their impact on the ecosystem.
• Identify plants and animals that are native to the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.
• Give examples of nonnative plant and animal species.
• Discuss the impact of nonnative plant and animal species on the health of the Chesapeake Bay’s ecosystem.
• Discuss strategies suggested by government and citizen groups to conserve the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.
• Design a brochure to communicate information about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed to a specific audience.
  

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Process

As students progress through the list of Web sites, you may help them to focus on what they need to know to answer the questions. Several of the Web sites have links to other Web sites with relevant information. If time allows, you may want to allow students to further explore subjects related to watersheds. Students may want to look into specific programs in their area that they can participate in to help reduce different types of pollution as well as to promote watershed conservation.

Students will then continue with their Internet research to create a brochure about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed as one of the country’s important freshwater resources.

They should use their research to create a brochure about the importance of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Students should choose a target audience for their brochure, such as a scout group or new residents of the region, to use as a resource. A focus for the information, such as the history of the Chesapeake Bay or how the Bay’s water quality is being monitored and improved, will help students select images such as charts, pictures, or maps, as well as utilize a suitable writing voice for its intended readers.

Have students review the rubric to understand how their final product will be evaluated.

Encourage students to share their brochures with classmates, school staff, family, and members of the community. If possible, allow students to share their products with the intended audience, and encourage them to use the feedback they receive as part of their self-assessment of the project.

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Students will use the Internet links given to find out about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. They will identify the location and structure of the Virginia watershed in which they live and that watershed’s tributaries. They will analyze watershed water quality monitoring data for its implications of the ecosystem’s health. Specific types of pollution that plague the Bay will be identified, as well as strategies being employed to reduce its effects. Students will identify the Bay’s native and nonnative animals and plants, and discuss the impact of nonnative species.

Further research will lead students to investigate strategies for conservation of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. In order to demonstrate their understanding of the issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, students will create a brochure targeted at a specific audience. This written work presents information to educate the reader about the Bay and its importance as a valuable natural resource.

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Time

1 week to answer the set of questions as well as design, write, and produce the brochure

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Evaluation
Click Here
for Rubric

You may assign 10 points to each of the 5 questions for a total of 50 possible points. The answers to the questions are given below. You may rate the answer to each question by the following scale: Excellent – 9-10 points; Very Good – 7-8 points; Good – 5-6 points; Satisfactory – 3-4 points; Poor – 1-2 points; and Unsatisfactory – 0 points.

Answers to Questions about the Chesapeake Bay and its Watershed

1. Virginia’s major watersheds are the Albermarle Sound Coastal, Atlantic Ocean Coastal, Big Sandy, Chesapeake Bay Coastal, Chowan, Clinch-Powell, Holston, James, New, Potomac-Shenandoah, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Yadkin, and York. Answers will vary for student’s watershed and tributaries that are part of that watershed. For example, the Roanoke watershed has the Roanoke River, Dan River, Banister River, and Kerr Reservoir as its major tributaries.
2. Answers will vary depending upon the water quality monitoring station collected. For example, select Chesterfield County and the monitoring station at the James River, off Deep Bottom Landing. This station has had 85 visits, starting on July 14, 1994. The temperature values ranged from 16.86º C to 31.19º C. The pH values during that time ranged from 7.26 to 8.72. The dissolved oxygen probe measured a range from 7.03 to 11.39 milligrams per liter. The specific conductance ranged from 142 to 328 microsiemens per centimeter. The pH values have remained fairly constant for the water samples during this time, and there has been a wide range of specific conductance. The change in specific conductance may have been affected by agricultural runoff.
3. Answers will vary. For example, nutrient pollution, defined as excess nitrogen, phosphorus, fertilizer and other substances in the water, is delivered to the Bay from tributaries such as the Susquehanna River. In 1987, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania entered into an agreement with a goal of reducing nitrogen and phosphorus amounts entering the Chesapeake Bay by 40% by the year 2000. These government groups used strategies, such as bans on phosphorus-containing detergents, to bring reductions in nutrient pollution. They also proposed greater preservation of forest and wetlands regions because these types of environments act to buffer the Bay from nutrient pollution.
4. The blue crab and the American oyster are animals considered native to the Chesapeake Bay. Wild celery and redhead grass are considered native plants. Nonnative animals and plants are those that have been introduced to an ecosystem from other habitats. Not all nonnative animals and plants are hazardous to an environment, but some can pose great risks for an ecosystem because they upset the natural balance. For example, in the Chesapeake Bay, nutria are rodents that are considered native to South America. They pose a threat to the Chesapeake Bay’s health because of lost salt-marsh land that they have eaten.
5. Answers will vary. Since soil erosion is considered a major threat facing the Chesapeake Bay, people are urged to recognize erosion signs in their communities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Strategies for reducing soil erosion include installing house gutters and downspouts that discharge onto the lawn, not onto the pavement, as well as planting rows of trees or hedges to reduce wind speed and reduce the probability of wind erosion.

Evaluating the Brochure

Use the evaluation rubric or other means to assess each student's brochure. Evaluation of the brochure should include self-assessment and teacher assessment. Students may want to base part of their self-assessment on feedback they receive from members of the target audience who review their brochures.

Conclusion

Using information gathered from the Internet, students should be able to answer the questions about the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Students should be able to explain the relevance of water quality data and describe how pollution affects the ecosystem. Students should also be able to describe how native and nonnative animals and plants impact the Bay and its watershed. After completing their research, students should apply their learning to create a brochure that increases awareness of this natural resource as well as educates others about the importance of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

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