Kitsap County Public Works educators offer lessons, projects, and field trips at no charge to local schools and youth groups. Lessons are aligned with state learning standards.
 Sewer | Wastewater treatment systems, water-related sustainability issues, global water supplies, daily water use. |
 Stormwater* | Stormwater, salmon, stream water-quality.
*Available to schools in the unincorporated county.
Learn more. |
 Waste Reduction | Adopt-a-Worm Composting, Public Policy Simulation, School Recycling Assistance, Waste Reduction & Recycling. Available to all public, private and home schools.
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Available Lessons
Click on a lesson's titles for details. Click the button below to request a lesson. Our educators are developing remote learning opportunities for 2020-2021. Details about virtual options are shown below.
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Duration: 45 minutes. Grades: 3rd-5th. Lessons are available on all virtual meeting platforms and engage students with Kahoot, a game-based learning platform. If you are not familiar with virtual meeting platforms, ask our coordinator for guidance.
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| All the Way to the Ocean
Where do storm drains lead? Why do we need to worry about what goes down them? After
hearing the story "All the Way to the Ocean" by Joel Harper, students will find out the answers to these questions. The puzzles they complete after the story will show some pollutants that can end up in storm drains; how to keep them from ending up in the drains; and what critters live in our streams.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Students will identify a storm drain Students will explain where storm drains lead Students will be able to name two things that should NOT be found in a storm drain
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Look at pictures in the read-aloud story Follow a maze and a dot-to-dot in
activity sheets Crawl through a mock storm drain (not available during 2020-2021)
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| How Much Runoff?
Using the Scientific Method, students complete an experiment to determine whether a developed or an undeveloped watershed has more stormwater runoff. Students will explain their conclusion and discuss alternatives to change the outcome.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Learn what a watershed is Understand how building in a watershed impacts runoff Follow the steps of the Scientific Method
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Create a hypothesis Conduct an experiment Follow the Scientific Method Share results with the class
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| I Don’t Pollute...Do I? Students use a tabletop watershed model to see how household hazardous waste and other everyday activities can have unintended consequences to our streams and water supply.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Learn what a watershed is Describe two types of water pollution Name three everyday activities that contribute to water pollution and alternatives
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED Whole body activity to depict a watershed Observe a model of a watershed Pollute the model as a result of various human activities Make it rain on the model and observe the impact on waterways
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| | Grades: 2nd-8th. Duration: 50-60 min. |
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| Incredible Journey
Students will pretend they are water drops and play a game that takes them on a journey through the water cycle. They keep a record of their journey so they can share verbally and then write a creative story about their adventure.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Describe how water moves through the water cycle, including our built environment Describe two types of water pollution Name five different places water can go during its journey through the water cycle
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED |
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Grades 2nd-8th.
Duration: 50-60 min |
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Grades: 9-12. Duration: 4+ hours. Available on all virtual platforms. |
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| Rain, Rain Go Away
Student groups are presented with a flooding problem on a hypothetical residential property. They need to identify 2 reasons it is a problem and use a given set of supplies to come up with a solution. Solutions must be drawn and then explained to the class. Students are then led through a Power Point illustrating local examples of stormwater solutions, e.g. detention ponds, rain gardens, etc.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify problems Explore potential solutions and identify the best one Work on solutions collaboratively with others Understand how constructed stormwater solutions work
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| School Recycling Project (Currently unavailable)
Think your school could use some help with recycling? Worried about how much waste is going to the landfill? Tackle a school recycling project!
The recycling educator will work with students to develop and implement a project plan for your school. Recycling signage is provided, and small bins can be supplied as supplies last. We will work together to perform a waste audit, discuss the process and limitations of recycling, and test your knowledge with an outdoor recycling relay race. We encourage and can assist in getting your school certified as a
Washington Green School.
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| Showers, Sinks, Laundry & Toilets: It All Adds UpIn a question and answer style discussion, the educator and students go through their typical morning and evening routines of showering, brushing teeth, cooking food, washing hands and doing laundry and list the items they place in water that make it dirty. The discussion will walk through the wastewater treatment system following the water as it leaves houses and businesses to pipes, treatment plants and then to the Puget Sound. Students will learn how much water they use each day, what impacts they make and best management practices for disposing of everyday items.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Describe what happens to water once it leaves a typical house/business in Kitsap County Understand the need/value of wastewater treatment List items used to treat wastewater Name four items that should go down the toilet Understand how household water systems fit within the water cycle
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Observe actual wastewater treatment plant process samples View images of items frequently disposed into the wastewater system Answer questions about their daily interaction with water inside the home.
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| Soak It Up Students calculate the percentage of impervious surface and runoff in a pretend neighborhood. Then, staying within a budget, they decide how to retrofit the neighborhood to minimize the impervious surface and calculate the difference in the runoff.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Learn what a watershed is Explain how building in a watershed impacts runoff Identify changes that can be made in neighborhoods to minimize runoff
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED Calculate the runoff from a mock neighborhood Retrofit the mock neighborhood to reduce impervious (hard) surfaces Attempt to be the group that reduces runoff by the most
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| The Life of a SalmonThis salmon puppet show teaches students about the salmon life cycle, migration, and the natural and man made obstacles they encounter. An optional stuffed paper salmon craft activity is also available. Puppets and stage can be loaned out for a class puppet show. Older students put on the show for younger students!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify and describe the five stages of the salmon life cycle Name two things that could hinder salmon’s survival Name two ways we can help salmon survive Explain what to do with dead salmon in streams and why
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| There's No Point to this Pollution Use problem solving skills to solve a mystery and learn about the cumulative impacts of everyday pollution.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Learn to read and interpret a contour map while identifying important map clues about watersheds and water quality. Graph, analyze, and interpret data sets to draw conclusions about a pollution source.
Compare local household and community everyday pollution to surface water quality standards. List ways to reduce or eliminate everyday pollution
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Use a topographic map to answer questions about a pretend watershed Work in groups to determine the source of water pollution in the community Share the group’s decisions with the class and provide supporting information
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| Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down By playing this matching game, students discover activities that affect the quality of our water and alternative activities to minimize that impact. Includes information on watersheds.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Students will learn what a watershed is Identify at least 3 human activities that impact our waterways and alternatives Understand the cumulative impact of pollution on our waterways
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Students play a matching game with a partner Students “pollute” a container of water to see how pollution accumulates Students identify alternatives to polluting activities
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| Should I Flush This? In a presentation and discussion, the educator and students learn about the difference of sewer and septic systems and how our behaviors can either help or harm our plumbing, septic, and sewer systems. The discussion will walk through the wastewater treatment system following the water as it leaves houses and businesses to pipes, treatment plants and then to the Puget Sound. Students will learn how much water they use each day, what impacts they make and best management practices for disposing of everyday items.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Describe what happens to water once it leaves a typical house/business in Kitsap County Understand the need/value of wastewater treatment List items used to treat wastewater Name 4 items that should go down the toilet Understand how household water systems fit within the water cycle
HOW STUDENTS WILL BE ENGAGED: Observe what sewer pipes are made of and learn how wastewater travels through the system Test the flush ability of items frequently disposed into the wastewater system Answer questions about their daily interaction with water inside the home |
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Grades: K-6th. Duration: 60-90 min. |
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| Waste Reduction and Recycling - Virtual
Students investigate the 5 R's of waste reduction (responsibility, reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle). Together, we develop solutions to reduce waste and improve the recycling system.
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