Name: Anna Morisani

Title of lesson: Geology of Aquifers

Date of lesson: Day 3 possible Day 4

Length of lesson: 1- days

Description of the class: Students are working towards an understanding of aquifers and their relevance to society, through the development of a neighborhood to preserve aquifer purity.

Name of course: Project Based Instruction: Aquifers

Grade level: High school 9-12

Honors or regular: Regular

Source of the lesson: Geology, Leon E. Long

TEKS addressed:

(This does not really apply to the proposed lesson.)

I. Overview:

This lesson will serve to introduce students to the geologic aspects of aquifers. This will include the various rock types that form aquifers, and their effect on aquifer processes such as recharge and contamination.

II. Performance or learner outcomes

Students will understand how differences in subsurface geology affect the way in which an aquifer functions. They will also get a better understanding of terms surrounding the subsurface geology, such as permeability, porosity, and others. This will help students to understand the importance of these aspects when building near an aquifer.

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed:

Mostly photographs will be used to show these features, as well as examples of the various rock types in hand samples. This will allow the students to see the rock types and their various characteristics, such as grain size and porosity (this will help reinforce these terms to students).

IV. Supplementary materials, handouts.

There will be handouts of the photographs most likely, as well as a handout of websites for the students to use in the investigation of rock types and the Edwards aquifer.

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does Probing Questions Student Does

Engage: Place three rock types in the front of the room. As well as soil samples of varying grain size. Students will be asked to come up and look at these hand samples as a group.

If we know subsurface geology is important for aquifers, which of these materials will be the best/worst aquifer?

Explore:  How these rock types formed. How their differences in porosity and permeability are a factor of their formation.

Which type do you think makes the best aquifer?

Explain: The subsurface geology affects many factors such as porosity, permeability, and hydraulic conductivity. These factors all must be explained by the teacher using diagrams and the rock/soil samples at the front of the room.  Confined vs. Unconfined aquifers. How this is affected by the geology. Introduce Darcy’s Law

How does fluid move through solid rock? Can a sandy aquifer hold more or less water than one made of rock?

Extend / Elaborate:  Introduce the Ogallala Aquifer (what makes it such a good reservoir), as well as other important aquifers in North America

Which rock type is the most easily contaminated by surface waste?

Evaluate: Have the students calculate the rate at which water flows through an aquifer using Darcy’s Equation. (All of the data will be provided for the students for varying rock types)

Get students to start thinking about how actions at the earth’s surface affect the subsurface.