AGI Logo

Rivers and Flash Flooding

Streams of Data is an NSF-funded research project in which lessons were created and tested to determine how well students could use real-world data on rainfall and river height to understand the occurrence of flash floods. Read the full project description on the EDC Oceans of Data website.

Lesson Resources

This dynamic lesson sequence on flash flooding in Ellicott City can be tailored to fit your classroom needs, whether you have just a single 45-minute class or a full 7-day schedule. It is adaptable for local contexts based on the availability of river height and rainfall data.

Teacher Guide and Slides

Full Teacher Guide

Extensive teacher guide for the full 5-day sequence.

Day 1 Slides

How does water move around us?

Day 2 Slides

What factors impact how water moves in a natural environment?

Day 3 Slides

What factors impact how water moves in a natural environment?

Day 4 Slides

What factors impact how water moves in an urban environment?

Day 5 Slides

What factors impact how water moves in an urban environment?

Handouts

Supporting Resources

Setup of Models

Directions for setting up lesson models

Data Sources and Processing

Sites to access data for localization of lessons

Publications

Read the published articles below for more information on the educational resources and the research done during the Streams of Data project.

Start with Phenomenon: Rainfall, River Height, and Local Relevance

Brase, L. E., Mossa, L. C., & Robeck, E. C. (2023). Start with Phenomenon: Rainfall, River Height, and Local Relevance. Science and children, 60(5), 54-59.

Using Physical Models to Investigate Water Movement and Floooding

Mossa, L. C., Brase, L. E., & Robeck, E. C. (2022). Novel Use of Physical Models to Investigate Water Movement and Flooding. The Earth scientist.

Reasoning about data in elementary school: student strategies and strengths when reasoning with multiple variables

Sickler, J., Lentzner, M., Goldsmith, L. T., Brase, L., & Kochevar, R. (2024). Reasoning about data in elementary school: student strategies and strengths when reasoning with multiple variables. International Journal of Science Education, 1-21.

Presentations

Browse through the professional development presentations and condensed lesson sequences related to the Streams of Data Lessons project.

Becoming Flood Resilient: Investigating Hydrology Through Hands-on Activities

Presented in 2024 at the Earth Educator Rendezvous.

Flood Fighters Unleashed​: Conquer the Waters and Help Macon!​

Presented in 2024 Girls in STEAM workshop.

Linking Earth Science Inquiry to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Presented in 2023 at Fairfax County Schools in Virginia.

Teaching Elementary Science with Authentic Science Data

Presented in 2022 at the National Science Teaching Association conference.

Streams of Data: Nurturing Data Literacy in Young Science Learners

Presented in 2021 at the Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education.

Project Funding

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 1906264 and 1906286; Collaborative Research: Streams of Data: Nurturing Data Literacy in Young Science Learners. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.