Montgomery County Public Schools

Outdoor and Environmental Education → Instructional Programs → Residential Programs → Teacher Information → Stream/Pond Study

Stream/Pond Study

Students investigate the local watershed and work in groups to assess the health of a nearby stream or pond. Students learn techniques for collection biotic and abiotic data of an aquatic ecosystem using a macroinvertebrate survey, chemical analyses, and stream buffer analysis. Food web and food chain concepts are reinforced through identification of the organisms in a stream ecosystem and the environmental impact of various pollutants are discussed.

Lesson Resources

These lesson materials are designed to supplement and refresh the workshops.  Teachers are strongly encouraged to attend a training workshop before teaching the stream/pond study class. We recommend using the resources below, although teachers are welcome to adjust them to fit the needs of their students.

•  Stream Study Lesson Plan 
•  Stream Study Flipchart  
• Amount of Available Freshwater Demonstrations
•  Stream Study Data Collection Sheet
• Characteristics of a Healthy Stream
• Macroinvertebrate Identification 
• Stream Study PowerPoint
• Water Cycle Poster by NGSS

Model Lesson on Video (youtube) - this can help the teachers review before teaching the lesson at their school's Outdoor Environmental Education Program. It does not take the place of attending an initial in-person training.

• Stream Study Part 1: Introduction and Organization in the Classroom
• Stream Study Part 2: Equipment Use and Gathering Data
• Stream Study Part 3: Students in Action
• Stream Study Part 4: Sharing Results and Best Practices