Designed as a part of a multidisciplinary set of curricula and educational materials on the Columbia River, this teacher's guide focuses on the many uses of the river and the conflicts arising from those uses. This unit's major purpose is to help students in grades 5-8 to start thinking about how the resources of the Columbia River should be managed. Each unit addresses a specific subject area and contains a reading and group of activities. The subject areas include: (1) history (highlighting Indian legends); (2) energy (concentrating on hydropower); (3) fisheries (including career options); (4) agriculture (including recipes that use food grown in the Columbia River area); (5) recreation (examining water supply, conditions, and management); and (6) navigation (focusing on river vessels and the shipping trade). Extended activities are also included for the enrichment of interested students. A summary section contains an overview of the unit and review activities. An annotated list of publications and audio-visual materials that relate to the Columbia River is also included. (ML)