• This video game-like interactive map lets students place a "raindrop" anywhere on Earth to see where the water will end up. 
• Students will enjoy taking a ride with the raindrop through the waterways of the topographical map. 

Positives

• The total length of the raindrop's journey, the names of the waterways, and a map of the route add more information and interest to the raindrop's journey. 
• The speed of the animation can be controlled.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• This resource is still in beta testing, so while most of the North American waterways are labeled, quite a few of the river names in other parts of the world are still missing.

Differentiation

• Geography classes could use this resource to study the major waterways of a region. After students are familiar with the region, the teacher could ask students to predict the path of a raindrop and use the interactive map to see if their predictions are correct.
• Elementary classes could use this tool as an introduction to the concepts of gravity and elevation. 
• Advanced classes could work in groups to identify the unnamed waterways in a specific region and submit the suggestion on the website.
• Other resources on this topic include this activity from the National Environmental Education Foundation on protecting watersheds, this article about how climate change is affecting rivers in the United States, and this water cycle game.
  

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.