Virginia SOL 6.8.b

Science6th GradeEarth Resources

The Standard

Virginia is composed of multiple watershed systems which have specific features

Virginia Standards of Learning for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students use maps and models to identify watershed boundaries, tributaries, rivers, and outlets. They trace runoff from locations in Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina sounds, or Gulf of Mexico.
What Mastery Looks Like: Given an unlabeled Virginia map, students can separate drainage areas and trace water from a stream to its final outlet. They use ridgelines, elevation, and connected waterways as evidence.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think a watershed includes only water, not the surrounding land. They may treat rivers as watershed boundaries instead of recognizing divides along higher land. Some assume all Virginia waterways drain to the Chesapeake Bay.
How to Assess It: Give students a simple Virginia drainage map. Ask them to trace runoff from one marked town, label its outlet, and draw the watershed divide.

Lesson moves

Shape foil into ridges and valleys, spray colored water, then mark divides, channels, and separate drainage areas.
Ask students to explain how two nearby towns could send runoff toward different final outlets.
Run a card sort matching Virginia rivers and tributaries with the Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina sounds, or Gulf of Mexico.
Use a local drainage map to trace rainwater from the school grounds to a named stream and larger watershed.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.8.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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