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K-12 Education

WRRI collaborates with local and state partners to provide K-12 water science resources for teachers, students, and parents.

EXPLORE educator RESOURCES

A cartoon animation of four young students posing in the woods. It reads, "Want to be a river avenger?"

Watershed Wisdom
(Grades 4-5)

This series of free standards-aligned lessons consists of activities, multimedia resources, and a teacher guide. It provides enough material to cover ~2 weeks of class time. The resource was developed by NC WRRI, PBS NC, Project WET, NC Sea Grant, and the NC Watershed Stewardship Network.

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Cartoon image has four signs reading, "Use less water"; "Don't pollute"; "Preserve the wetlands"; "No lead in our pipes"

Keeping Water Renewable (Grades 8-12)

This series of free, standards-aligned lessons consists of activities, multimedia resources, and a teacher guide. It provides enough material for 10-12 class periods. This resource was developed by NC WRRI, PBS NC, NC Sea Grant, NC DEQ, and NC Inquiry Collaborative Network.

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StreamWatch Educator Resources

The N.C. Stream Watch Educators Cohort uses a hands-on approach to support educators in teaching about water resources in the classroom. By providing a detailed curriculum — developed by experts at Environmental Educators of North Carolina, NC Water Resources Research Institute, NC Sea Grant, and the NC Department of Environmental Quality — the program shows educators how to foster interest in the environment in students. Stream Watch’s lesson plans include indoor, outdoor, and streamside activities for addressing NC standards for grade bands through 8th grade, and are scalable for high school as well.

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Learn About Water

Browse our educational resources for all ages to learn about watersheds, rainscaping, riparian buffers and more!

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Additional Resources

For Teachers

  • The U.S. Geological Survey offers educational resources across the grade levels from pre-K through college. They focus on all of the earth sciences, including geology, ecology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences and planetary sciences. Teachers can search by grade level, topic or type.
  • The NC Division of Water Resources Education Programs page has information about Project WET workshops, It’s Our Water online training, and other helpful resources.
  • Environmental Educators of North Carolina
  • Project WET offers free distance-learning resources designed for pre-K, late elementary and middle school students. These can be completed online at home – and teachers can assign some of the activities for credit.

For Parents