All educational materials listed below are free to teachers in Santa Clara County. Call the district's Education Coordinator Kathy Machado, at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2331, to find out how you can obtain these items.
Stories The ABC's of Water
The Little Blue Hen: A Water Conservation Story
Teach a Mouse to Save Water
This is Recycled Water
Chicken Little's Flood Advice
The Three Little Pigs and the Bad Weather Wolf
Sing The Water Cycle
Curricula
Mapping History
Watch our mapping history video here .
Santa Clara Valley Water District History - A teacher's activity guide, Grades 4 through high school
This activity guide includes activities and resources focusing on the history of water in the Santa Clara Valley. The guide is only available on-line.
Topical single-sheet lessons
- Conservation lesson #1, primary grades
- Conservation lesson #2, primary grades
- Conservation lesson #3, primary grades
- Conservation lesson #4, primary grades
- Flood lesson, primary grades
- Conservation contest, middle grades
- Flood lesson, middle grades
- Conservation math, junior high
- Flood lesson, junior high
- Water well lesson, high school
- Conservation math, high school
Teachers - for answer keys, send an e-mail request to Education and Volunteer Coordinator, Kathy Machado.
Songs and lessons, Grades 3 to 8
Six songs sung to familiar tunes teach about local watersheds and the water cycle. Song sheets are available to download as a printable PDF file.
Project Water Science, Grades 7 to 10
Developed by the Water Education Foundation, this series of 10 laboratory exercises is suitable for either physical or earth science classes. The labs explore the chemical nature of water and its role in the ecosystem.
Games, puzzles and magic
- Water Walk Game, Grades 3+
Preventing pollution of local creeks and rivers.
Videos
The district requires a refundable deposit of $10 per video or CD. Contact Kathy Machado at (408) 265-2607 ext. 2331 to reserve these for your classrooms.
- Adopt-A-Creek Program, VHS, All ages, six minutes.
An overview of the district’s Adopt-a-Creek program.
- Cadillac Desert, a four part VHS series, Grades 9+, 250 min.
Chronicles the growth of a thriving civilization in the great American desert; the sometimes violent resistance to this achievement; the abundance it has brought; and the risk it has created at home and abroad.
- Chasing El Nino! A VHS NOVA production.
- Down the Drain, VHS, Grades 1-8, 40 minutes.
All aspects of water including the water cycle and water quality.
- Eyewitness Weather, VHS narrated by Martin Sheen, Grades 5+, 35 min.
A whirlwind tour of the Earth’s turbulent atmosphere.
- Ground Water Basics: An Introduction to Ground Water, 12 minute VHS, produced by the American Ground Water Trust
- For more groundwater information and a video click here .
- Life and Times Along the Guadalupe River, VHS, Grades 4+
- Luck Isn’t Enough: The Fight for Clean Water, VHS, Grades 5+, 15 minutes.
Good introduction to urban runoff (storm water) pollution.
- Setting the Course: The California Bay-Delta, VHS, Grades 4+, one hour exploring the Delta Challenge.
- Skywatching: A Video Guide to the Daytime Sky, Grades 3+, 40 minutes.
Facts and folklore on the sky, the sun, clouds, weather and weather hazards.
- The Synthetic Sea: Plastics in the Open Ocean, VHS, produced by Algalita Marine Research Foundation.
- The Surfer, the Garbageman and the Lady in the Sky, VHS, Grades 5+
- Take This Walk With Me In The Foothills: A complete guide for making nature hikes interactive, meaningful and fun, VHS produced by Environmental Volunteers, a complete guide for beginning or experienced environmental educators.
- Wastewater Journey, VHS produced by the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant
- Water Follies, All ages, 7 minute VHS.
Water conservation cartoons.
- Water Well Basics, Grade 6+, VHS produced by the American Ground Water Trust.
- Water You Doing, Grade 7+ 35 minute VHS.Witty presentation of urban runoff (storm water) issues.
- Where Does it Go? Grades 1-8, 12 minute VHS.
The difference between the sanitary sewer and storm water systems.
CD ROMs
- The Adopt-A-Beach School Assembly Program produced by the Malibu Foundation (www.malibufoundation.org)
- Cal Alive: Exploring Biodiversity an interactive CD-ROM about California Biodiversity produced by the California Institute for Biodiversity (www.calalive.org)
- Everything Weather: The Essential guide to the Why’s and Wonders of Weather by the Weather Channel (www.weather.com)
- Exploring the Estuary by Aquatic Outreach Institute
- Forest Footprints & Water Wonders by Environmental Volunteers (www.EVols.org)
- An Inconvenient Truth: a global Warning by Paramount Classics (www.climatecrisis.net)
- Poisoned Waters PBS Home Video, a FRONTLINE co-production with Hedrick Smith and Rich Young.
- Poisoned Waters Discussion Guide: excerpts from the PBS Frontline Broadcast , Co-produced by FRONTLINE and with Hedrick Smith Productions.
- Salt Pond Habitat Restoration Pelican media (www.pelicanmedia.org)
- Saving the Bay: The story of San Francisco Bay Co-produced by Ron Blatman and KQED/KTEH Public Television (www.kqed.org/savingthebay)
- Six Degrees Could Change the World National Geographic Channel (www.nationalgeographic.com/channel)
- The Water Cycle; Albert Einstein and Aqueduct Safety; Water who needs it? by California Department of Water Resources (www.water.ca.gov)