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Land Subsidence and Groundwater

Provided by: Ten Strands |Published on: July 7, 2025

Lesson Plans

Synopsis

In this 10-lesson Seeds to Solutions unit from Ten Strands and the San Mateo County Office of Education, students will explore images of subsidence in Central California from 1977 to 2011, explore the history of California's Central Valley, use primary sources to understand the impact of colonialism on the lake Pa’ashi, use models to explore the impacts of draining aquifers, and analyze data related to rainfall and snowpack.
They will also discuss how aquifer depletion disproportionately affects certain groups, read stories about community ideas for protecting and improving the Central Valley, research solutions to reduce water use, create a model to explain why the Central Valley is sinking, and think of ways their class can address this problem.

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Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography

Authors: Seeds to Solutions, Ten Strands

Region: California

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

The unit's use of different characters for the lessons is an interesting and engaging element that many students will love.
For the final project, having students responsible for different components gives everyone a feeling of responsibility and can reflect their strengths or interests.

Prerequisites

In the Model Tracker and other worksheets, students may need explicit instruction for adding images and drawings.
Students should understand climate change and the greenhouse effect.

Differentiation & Implementation

In Lesson 2, teachers can assign the jigsaw readings strategically, based on a student's reading stamina, as some of the passages are shorter than others.
In Lesson 3, some students may need additional time to read the primary source. It may benefit students to read this once as a class, then take a close read individually.
Teachers can incorporate the TRAAP test introduced in Lesson 8 outside of this unit as an established method for checking the reliability of a source.
If students select reducing their own water usage in Lesson 10, this water footprint calculator can help students gather baseline and post-implementation data to measure their progress.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

About the Partner Provider

Ten Strands

Ten Strands is a California–based nonprofit established in 2012. Their mission is to strengthen the partnerships, strategies, and systems that advance environmental literacy, ensuring all California TK–12 students thrive in sustainable, resilient schools and engage in meaningful environmental learning experiences, both in and beyond the classroom. They operate with a small, diverse, and nimble staff and strategic partners throughout the state. Ten Strands utilizes the largest and most diverse institution in California—the public school system—to impact 58 county offices of education, more than 1,000 school districts, approximately 10,000 individual schools, over 300,000 teachers, and 5.8 million children.

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All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.