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Sept - Nov 00 . Nov!Dec 00 Mar 01 SpringlFall 01 SpringlFall 01 CWC Education Committee consults with other state departments involved in water education and provides advice on coordinating efforts. Coordinate effort with education program review being conducted by the DNR, CWC Education Committee members begin legislative outreach, Report progress to General Assembly, Distribute CD to Children's Water Festivals and provide training, Integrate educational materials into the CWCB Water Resource Information Center. Education Initiative Q & A: Why use the Learning to be Water Wise Program? The Learning to be WaterWise program is easily introduced to schools and teachers. No teacher training or workshops are required, It is a catalyst for more water education because it provides a foundation of basic water knowledge while its experiential and real-world approach motivates participants, It establishes the value of water by emphasizing household uses, thus creating a personal connection to the resource, Why start with 5th graders? Feedback from teachers, parents and students has confirmed that the 5th grade is the ideal age to introduce natural resource concepts, Students at this age level are typically eager to learn and capable of absorbing new concepts and then sharing these concepts at home, Hands-on learning projects have proven to be unusually effective at this age, with not only high knowledge retention for both students and their parents, but also with students extending the basic concepts learned to other applications after the conclusion of the program, Studies and teacher comments show that this is a critical time to reinforce the basic desire to learn - strengthening the commitment to school and learning amongst the many choices children have today (crime, drugs, gangs), Teachers are looking for effective tools at this grade level to help reach parents and build their involvement to keep their kids in school. How does the program correlate to educational standards? The Learning to be WaterWise program has aligned its content and activities to support the national and state learning requirements, This enables teachers to readily adapt the program to meet their teaching objectives and easily incorporate it into their lesson plans_ The cuniculum addresses themes and contains acti vi ties in the areas of science, math, language arts and social studies. The activity "Getting Wise about Water" addresses topics about water sources, water availability and the life cycle of water. The acti vity "Water in the Home" addresses topics related to conservation, The activity "Water in the Community" addresses topics about water use and water quality, What are the standards to measure success? The success of the program can be evaluated based on several objective criteria. These criteria include direct responses from educators via the Internet, the number of students and teachers choosing to participate, through pre and post testing, though teacher evaluation forms, and by endorsements the program receives as it is implemented, What is the next step? The CWCB is investigating ways to provide other water education materials throughout the state, This initial effort with WaterWise and the CD-ROM is anticipated to be the first step in a broad-based education effort that would include all Colorado residents, For more infonnation about this or other water resource topics contact the CWCS 1313 Shennan Street, Room 721Denver, CO 80203 Phone: (303) 866 3441, FAX: (303) 866-4474 www.cwcb_state.co.us . .