The Reading Garden Pond Map

A Walk Behind the Library

The library has a pond behind its reading garden. On a spring walk, Tessa and Jamal looked for water in several places. They saw a pond with a small stream flowing into it. They also saw a wet patch in the soil near the pond. A sign explained that water can collect in spaces below the ground, too. A nearby well brought water from below the ground to the surface.

The weather became colder that night. The next morning, Tessa saw a thin layer of ice on part of the pond. Water still moved in another part of the pond. Snow rested on the hill beside the library. The stream was flowing, and the water in the well was still liquid when it came up. The students recorded what they saw instead of guessing about places they did not check.

For their map, the students made two kinds of notes. They marked places where water was above the ground, such as the pond, stream, snow, and ice. They also marked clues for water below the ground, such as the wet soil and the well. A place could have more than one kind of water at the same time.