Introduction
One of the most urgent challenges facing the world today is our mission to ensure an adequate supply and quality of water to satisfy both basic human needs and an increasing climate variability and change. Despite the importance of water to ensure the future of all life on Earth, there are still major gaps in our basic understanding of water availability, quality, and the impact of both human activity and the influence of changing climate on the water system.
Our mission today is to learn about water sustainability and how we as a class can do something to implement reasonable and lasting change on our planet.
Process
Watch this video in your groups before starting the Water Conservation WebQuest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la5wdBRm2e0
Once you are done with the video discuss briefly with your group about what you observed and how you might not be living a sustainable lifestyle.
Water Conservation WebQuest
Each of the websites below has valuable information that relates to the global water crisis. Search each of the websites to find answers to the water crisis questions. Remember to record the website where you find the answer to the question. Each website may offer different information.
Websites to search:
American Museum of Natural History: (http://www.amnh.org )
Discovery Education: (http://www.discoveryeducation.com )
Environmental Protection Agency: (https://www.epa.gov/learn-issues/learn-about-water )
National Geographic: (http://www.nationalgeographic.com )
United Nations: (http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/ )
Water.org: (http://www.water.org/water-crisis/water-sanitation-facts/ )
1) How much water, in gallons, does the average person need each day to survive, does your number of gallons include water for bathing and washing clothes? Does your number include water needed to grow food to eat?
Answer: _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
2) What is the global percentage of saltwater vs. freshwater
Answer: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
3) What percentage of the world’s fresh water is readily available for people to drink?
Answer: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
4) How many people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water?
Answer: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Website: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
5) List a couple of water conservation ideas:
Group Activity
Students will be grouped together into groups of 4, they will then be given a location at random that has had notable issues pertaining to water sustainability, pollution, and conservation. The students will be responsible for identifying the problem that coincides with their respective location and try to brainstorm ways in which they could go about conserving water, sustaining water, and also the quality of the water in that area. The students will present their findings and suggestions as a group.
Conclusion
Now that you have had time to discuss your ideas as a group, now it's time to partner with another group and discuss what you have both found. Compare your ideas and figure out a way that you can combine them into a larger, single idea. Once you have completed this think about ways that we could implement this into our community, and perhaps even on a larger scale than that.
Credits
Credit goes to the following websites for providing us with excellent content knowledge and having excellent information on their sites for our webquest:
American Museum of Natural History: (http://www.amnh.org )
Discovery Education: (http://www.discoveryeducation.com )
Environmental Protection Agency: (https://www.epa.gov/learn-issues/learn-about-water )
National Geographic: (http://www.nationalgeographic.com )
United Nations: (http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/ )
Water.org: (http://www.water.org/water-crisis/water-sanitation-facts/ )
Teacher Page
PA- Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards | |
Key Learning Area: Science | |
Standard: Acquire knowledge about the earth and space | |
Indicator: SC 4.4 Understand the importance of natural resources; that the environment provides for the needs of the people | |
Indicator: SC 4.5 Show beginning understanding of how human activities may change the environment | |
Indicator: SC 4.6 Participate in a variety of activities that preserve the environment | |
Example - The child will: Describe the effect peoples’ actions have on the environment (litter, picking flowers, walking on newly-seeded grass, and new plantings, recycling) | |
Supportive Practice - The adult will: Emphasize the natural resources in surroundings while on walks ("birds will enjoy all the seeds from those sunflowers””, “this mulch comes from tree trunks that were cut down and shredded. It helps keep us safe in case we fall.”) |
| Key Learning Area : Logical-Mathematical |
| Standard : Represent and interpret data |
| Indicator : LM 5.3 Organize and display data on graphs using objects and picture |
| Indicator : LM 5.4 “Read” and interpret displays of data using words to compare (e.g. quantity, size, speed, and weight) |
| Example- The child will: : Discuss data from everyday events and predict what will happen next (i.e. changes in weather) |
| Example- The child will: : Make predictions based on questions posed by adults |
| Example- The child will: : Look at the organization of data on a graph they helped to create and discuss what they observe (There were more cars than trucks. Jamie has the biggest family.) |
| Supportive Practice- The adult will: : Use graphing as an extension of themes in science and literature |
| Supportive Practice- The adult will: : Ask children to explain their thinking |
| Supportive Practice- The adult will: : Provide experiences with different types of graphs (real objects, pictographs, photographs, vertical and horizontal bar graphs) |
| Key Learning Area : Social Studies |
| Standard : Develop an understanding of self within a community |
| Indicator : SS 1.4 Show understanding of how individuals work together to achieve group goals |
| Indicator : SS 1.5 Recognize how things are spatially related to one another |
| Example- The child will: : Participate in group decision-making |
| Example- The child will: : Work cooperatively with other children to achieve an outcome |
| Supportive Practice- The adult will: : Provide opportunities for children to explore their environment, indoors and outdoors |