Objectives
By creating a model of a watershed, students will be able to:

• Explain how water flows through a watershed
• Describe the characteristics of a watershed
• Demonstrate scientific concepts using a model
• Share ideas about science through purposeful conversation in collaborative groups
• Evaluate data, claims, personal knowledge through collaborative science discourse
• Communicate and defend findings of observations using evidence

Summary
Students collaboratively build models of watersheds by placing a large piece of butcher paper over various sized objects in a large pan. As students spray their model watersheds with water, they observe and mark on their map the movement and pooling representing rivers, lakes and ponds.

Background
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a river system. Any water entering a watershed, usually as precipitation, travels from higher elevations to lower elevations. As the water moves downward, it forms streams and rivers. The channeling and pooling of water is determined by the shape or topography of the land. Water continues to move downward, and rivers may join with lakes or other rivers as they head toward the ocean.

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