H2O Zone
Articles/Websites
Grades4, 5, 6, 7, 8Science
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Southwest Florida Water Management District
What it is
- This interactive website introduces students to water basics, water quality, water supply, and water safety, with a focus on water in Florida and the Floridan aquifer.
- Students learn about the water cycle, watersheds, stormwater runoff, wetlands, freshwater and alternative water supply, water conservation, and water cycle extremes such as hurricanes and flooding.
Teaching tips
Classroom Implementation:
- The site is organized into tabbed sections, making it easy to assign a single topic such as watersheds or freshwater supply for focused study or to use the whole site as a self-paced exploration.
- Use the Become a Water Superhero and Florida-Friendly Landscaping sections to move students from content knowledge toward personal conservation actions.
Literacy Connections:
- Have students copy down and practice using the vocabulary words to develop academic language.
- Provide students with sentence frames to summarize the key ideas of a section.
Climate Change Connections:
- Although the site does not name climate change directly, the Water Cycle Extremes section on hurricanes and flooding is a natural place to connect extreme weather to a changing climate.
- Use this interactive story map to dive deeper into the relationship between warming waters and hurricanes.
From the scientist review
This resource provides basic information on the water cycle, water quality, and water supply, and explains how water can be both helpful and harmful, with a focus on water in Florida. Climate change and its impacts on water and water systems are not discussed specifically, but extreme weather is. The information presented is accurate, and this resource is recommended for teaching.
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Hosted on swfwmd.state.fl.us
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