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Managing Water for California Communities and Ecosystems

Provided by: Ten Strands |Published on: July 24, 2025

Lesson Plans

910

Synopsis

In this Seeds to Solutions unit from Ten Strands and the San Mateo County Office of Education, students examine how California manages their water supply by investigating climate impacts, water systems, ecosystem health, and equity across a number of regions and communities.
The lessons use modeling, case studies, and collaborative analysis to help students evaluate past strategies and create a locally informed action plan for more sustainable and just water management.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography, Engineering

Authors: Seeds to Solutions, Ten Strands

Region: California

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

The inclusion of various videos and short films helps students to see and visualize the affected parties and those working to make a change.
This unit does an excellent job of helping students to consider multiple perspectives and understand that complex problems often do not have one simple solution.

Prerequisites

Students should already understand the effects of climate change on the water cycle.
Teachers should note that in the first video at Station 3 for Lesson 6, there is some wordplay with the words "dam" and "damn".

Differentiation & Implementation

There are many opportunities for geography, civics, language arts, and science teachers to collaborate on this unit by using class time to cover the parts of this lesson relevant to their subject area.
California teachers can implement this unit after teaching about climate change to illustrate the implications in a local context.
During Lesson 6, teachers can use this article to demonstrate the importance of traditional foods like the Chinook salmon to the culture and identity of Indigenous people in other places like the Northwest.
Teachers can also have art or math teachers introduce this data art concurrently with the implementation of Lesson 6 to extend the discussion about the salmon population.

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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.