About the Peace River
This online tour of the Peace River watershed was designed to help people appreciate the watershed and experience the beauty of the Peace River — from Polk County in the north, through Hardee and DeSoto, culminating at the mouth of the Peace River in Charlotte Harbor — in a way other than actually physically going out along the river.
The Peace River watershed is a diverse area that includes city and suburban development, industry and coastal communities. This virtual excursion features the natural history, human history, tributaries and canoe trails of the Peace River.
The two accompanying teacher’s guides provide meaningful lessons that extend beyond the information learned through the virtual excursion, while reinforcing reading and writing skills necessary for students to comprehend informational text. Sunshine State Standards follow each of the interdisciplinary lessons.
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Both teacher’s guides include
- Before Reading activities — consist of those activities students perform to get them ready to read a selection of text. These involve accessing prior knowledge and allowing the students to learn necessary strategies that will guide them toward becoming proficient readers.
- During Reading activities — consist of those activities that students participate in while they are reading a selection of text. These help the students focus on how to determine what the author is actually trying to say and how to match new information with what the students already know.
- After Reading activities — consist of those activities students perform when they have completed reading a text selection. Once the students have completed their virtual tour of the Peace River watershed and they have a better appreciation for water conservation, the After Reading Activities help to expand student knowledge, build connections and apply the information they have learned.
Because the virtual excursions are computer-based texts, your students will not be working in a traditional classroom environment. Many of the activities provided allow students to work at their own pace in groups of two or four. You may even find that activity centers with instruction cards work for your students. We do, however, suggest each student create a "reading log," to keep notes, information, work, writings and opinions about the virtual excursions. This will not only keep the student organized, but will make it easier to assess the student’s reading/writing skills and understanding of watersheds.
We hope you enjoy the Peace River Virtual Excursion.
