River Connectivity across Space and Time

This Qubes lesson aims to teach students about connectivity along and within an individual river system. It includes a background of the human history and interactions with the river, indigenous and western, as well as river and watershed processes, including connections of flow, sediment, and other materials from upstream to downstream, from river channel to floodplain, and over time. Students will engage in this lesson over three class periods and one field trip, with two pre-field preparation classes, one half- to full-day field experience, and one post-field analysis class. In the field, students will make observations and create sketches at sites in order from upstream to downstream along the river. At a minimum of two sites, they will work together to collect data measurements (cross-sectional mapping, velocity, and grain sizes). In the subsequent class, they will work in small groups to make calculations from the field data to quantify flow, turbulence, and median grain size and compare those values upstream and downstream. Finally, as a group they will write a summary reflection that synthesizes their overall understanding of the river connecting physical relationships (longitudinal and lateral) as a snapshot with human influences over time. In this lesson example, students visited and learned about the San Diego River, but this approach could be adapted to any river in which a representative majority of the river could be visited. This lesson is designed to be either a half or full day field lesson (depending on distances and size of group), with integration in the classroom before and after the field lesson.