Overall Objective:
Students will increase their understanding of the water cycle and their daily water usage and how these two topics impact the future of water conservation.
Lesson # 1
Objective: The students will learn about the water cycle and they will determine how it impacts human lives.
Key Concepts: water cycle
Materials: KWL chart, marker, chart paper, overhead, vocabulary worksheet, word search
Initiation: 5-10 minutes
- Students will be given a KWL chart on the Water Cycle. They will be asked to complete it based on their previous knowledge.
- Students will share orally the K section of the chart (Know)
- Teacher will record ideas on chart paper for future reference (visual aide)
- Students will share W section of the chart (What they want to learn?)
- Teacher will record ideas down on chart paper
Lecture: 10-15 minutes
- Teacher along with student will read about the water cycle from Science text
- Teacher will use overhead to explain the process of water cycle in detail.
- Students will take notes based on lecture.
- Teacher will give students handout with vocabulary terms relating to the water cycle that must be defined
Activities: 10 minutes-15 minutes
- Students will be broken up into groups of three’s and they will use the computer and/or science book or any other reference material in order to look up key vocabulary words i.e. aquifer, well,
- Students will draw a picture of the water cycle using key vocabulary terms
Closure:
- Students can tell me two things that they learned about the water cycle
Follow-Up Activity:
- Students will complete Water Word Search (see attached)
- Complete picture of water cycle
- Review lecture notes
Water Cycle
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AQUIFER
CONDENSATION
CONSERVE
EVAPORATION
FLOW
GROUNDWATER
LAKE
OCEAN
RAIN
RECYCLE
RESERVOIR
RUNOFF
STORAGE
SUPPLY
WATER
Water, Water Cycle, Water Conservation
All of the words below are water related.
Please define the words below and keep this ditto in your Science folder for future reference. Please define the words in your Science notebook.
Name: _________________________ Date: _____________________
1. evaporate
2. precipitation
3. groundwater
4. run-off
5. condensation:
6. conserve
7. drought
8. faucet
9. gallon
10. save
11. supply
12. demand
13. liquid
14. resource
15. commode
16. appliance
17. leak
18. efficiency
19. river
Lesson # 2
Objective: The students will learn about the importance of conserving water and they will determine how it impacts future water use.
Key Concepts: gallons, conservation, average
Materials: index cards, chart paper, marker, handout, 150 milk gallons (ask for people to save them), water
Initiation: 10-15 minutes
- Teacher will ask students if they could tell what they learned about the water cycle (orally)
- Students will share pictures of water cycle diagrams
- Some students will be assigned to role-play how the water cycle works (i.e. each student will be given an index card with a one job. The students must communicate with other members to establish the proper order of the water cycle. Once this has been completed the students must act out their job. The rest of the class must determine if the students have the cycle in the correct order. (kinesthetic)
- Question of the day: On a daily basis the average amount of water I use is? (must in gallons)
- Students will orally provide me answers to the? of the day. Ideas will be recorded on chart paper (visual aide) (I think it will be interesting to see the variation of amounts used on a daily basis).
Lecture: 10-15 minutes
- Teacher will review how the water cycle works
- Teacher will give handout about background information in regards to daily water use see attached.
- Students will read handout silently. Then students along with teacher will re-read handout orally.
Activities: 10 minutes-15 minutes The following activities will incorporate math skills. The students will have a follow-up review during their daily Math lesson. For some special education students a calculator will be provided for their use.
- Each student will be given six milk gallons of water. Each student will be asked to fill up their water gallons to the top. Upon completion each student will be asked to put their water gallons in the front of the room all together. Students will be asked to estimate how many gallons of water are up in the front of the room? (6x 25=150) 150=average amount of water a person consumes on a daily basis. 6 represents the # of gallons and 25 represents how many students are in the class.
- Students will be asked to determine if there are 25 students in the classroom then how many gallons of water does the class consume on a daily basis? (25 x 150 =3750 gallons of water)
- Students will be asked to determine how the above-referenced activity relates directly to water conservation? (get in groups of 2-3)
Closure:
- Students will think about the amount of gallons that they use on a daily basis and they are going determine is that small or large amount? If so, how does the amount we use going to affect our future water use?
Follow-Up Activity:
- Science notebooks /journal: How does the amount of water you use directly correlate to water conservation?
17 Fun Facts to Know about Water & Water Conservation:
- 75% of the body is made up of water
- 75 % of the Earth is covered with water
- Water boils at 100o Celsius
- Water freezes at 32o Fahrenheit or 0o Celsius
- The first United States water plant with filters was built in 1872 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
- 110 million gallons of water are consumed every day in the United States
- 27% of water is used in homes by showers and baths
- Less than 2% of the Earth’s water supply is fresh water.
- Between 140-170 gallons of water daily are used by Americans
- 37 gallons of water are used during an average bath.
- 20 gallons of water are used during an average shower
- A faucet with a leak can use up to 100 gallons of water daily
- 6.5 gallons of water are used per 1 flush
- 881 gallons of water are used weekly by an average family with four individuals by flushing the commode after each use.
- An average of 5 gallons of water is used if the water is left running while you brush your teeth.
- 25 gallons of water are used during an average cycle on the dishwasher.
- Between 30-35 gallons of water are used during an average cycle of washer.
Lesson #3
Objective: The students will discuss the importance of conservation and they will
develop a survey design which they will use to determine how much water is used in their households on a daily basis.
Key Concepts: survey design, water use, conservation
Materials: empty gallon container, marker, chart paper,
Initiation: 5-10 minutes
- Teacher will review how we can measure the amount of water is used (gallons) and the quantity of water the American uses on a daily basis.
- Question of the day: What goes into a survey design? Students will jot ideas in notebook then they will share answers in small group setting. One student in each group will record student responses on chart paper. Teacher will float to each group to hear responses.
- Chart paper will be displayed in front of classroom to serve as a learning and reference tool
Lecture: 10-15 minutes
- Teacher will lecture about water conservation
- Students will take notes in Science notebook/journals.
Activities: 10 minutes-15 minutes
- Students will get in pods of 2 or 3 they will brainstorm about what they would like to put into their survey design about their daily water use in their homes
- Teacher will review key concepts of a good survey design
1. objective should be clear and precise,
2. design should reflect behavior/beliefs of different groups
3. clear planning (collecting data in a timely fashion)
4. layout should be well constructed and easy to understand
5. results should reflect objective
(Steps 1-5 should be similar to the scientific method which students are required to know)
Closure: Students will briefly review some important facets of water conservation
Follow-up Activity: Students will be given a handout about their personal water use for 1 day. The students will be asked to monitor each time they bathe (shower/bath), flush the commode, wash hands, brush teeth, wash the dishes (hand/dishwasher), and wash their clothes.
1. The students will measure the amount of water used in their homes (gallons-unit of measurement). Each student will be given an empty milk gallon to bring home. The student must use the gallon container to measure the amount of water used in each household activity .i.e. if the student is washing the dishes he or she must see how many gallons they use by filling their container up. This will allow them to use a hands-on technique.
2. The students are to record (Science Notebook) how many times per day he/she does one of the above-mentioned activities. (It is vital that you keep an accurate record for a true test
3. Students should also record any additional items that are relevant to this experiment i.e. leaky faucet, if they do laundry outside the home.
4. The students are not to share any of their information with family members at this time for fear of inaccurate results for the next testing stage.
5. After a 24 hour period has gone by then the students will bring information back to class a come to a scientific conclusion about his or her daily water use.
* Estimates of students daily water use should vary based up students who have water-efficient equipment in their homes and those who do not.
Lesson #4
Objective: The students will complete survey design for family household water use based on a 1 week interval.
Key Concepts: survey design,
Materials: Science notebook, disks, access to computer with Publisher
Initiation: 5-10 minutes
- Teacher will ask students about their personal experience about their daily water use.
- Question of the day: How can you conduct a true test?
Activities: 10 minutes-30 minutes
- Students will return to their groups of 2 or 3 they will finish completing their survey design for their household.
- Groups will present sample survey design to teacher for review.
- Upon approval students will enter and save their survey design on word processor.
Closure: Students will return disk to teacher to save
Follow-up Activity: Students will make an educated guess about their personal weekly water use based upon their daily use. They will write down ideas in their journal. Their answer must be detailed and they must show how they came to their conclusion.
Lesson #5
Objective: The student will give oral presentations about their daily water use & the will complete Water Design Survey for their household.
Materials:
____
Science notebook, disks, access to computer with Publisher
Chart paper, marker
Initiation: 5 minutes
- Teacher will review key skills will giving an oral presentation (good eye contact, key points)
- Question of the day: Does your sample design for your household reflect all of the elements of good design?
Activities: 10 minutes-30 minutes
- Students will a 2 to 3 minute presentation about personal water use. They will state whether or not their initial guess of how much water they use comes close to the actual amount.
- After presentation students will come to a general consensus about the classroom water consumption and a graph will be developed to display results on chart paper.
(Students will have the option of a creating a computer generated graph for extra-credit.)
- Students must complete survey design and save to disk.
(Design survey for household use will start on upcoming week)
Closure: Students will quickly reflect on their experience about personal water use.
Follow-up Activity: Students will write a persuasive piece in their journal why it is important to conserve water? Students are to support their ideas with evidence from their research and classroom lectures.
Lessons #6-10
Lessons 6-10 have been put together because this week the students will be testing the amount of water used in their household on a weekly basis. So I have tried to leave this time open for questions and reviewing their data. Also, I have incorporated some classroom activities outside their survey design relating to the overall theme of water conservation
.
Objective: Students will use survey design to calculate weekly family household use.
Materials: screwdrivers, washers, faucets, construction paper, crayons, sample copies of water bills, overhead projector, computer,
Initiation:
- Students will have an opportunity to conference with teacher and group mates regarding testing.
Activities for the week:
- Learning how to change a washer for a leaky faucet (plumber visit classroom)
- Learning how to read your local water bill and water meter
- Learning what agencies are in their local area that have water conservation programs
- Have students draw maps showing where they get their water from
- Trip to local hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe’s where students can get a hands on class about energy saving appliances.
Closure: Questions that are relevant to the daily activity
Follow-up: Students should be working on household design for water consumption.
Lessons # 11-12
Lessons 11- 12 have been combined because I will give the students an opportunity to write their labs during classroom time. Many of the students have difficulty taking their data and writing a lab therefore I as well as their classmates can serve as a support system.
Objective: Students will review data from household sample design to formulate a general conclusion.
Materials: Science notebook
Initiation: 5 minutes
- Students will ask themselves?’s pertaining to their design sample. i.e. Do I have a hypothesis? Is it in an if then statement form? Did I take accurate count? Did I use my gallon container each time? Did I notice anything that may hinder my results?
Activities: 30 minutes
- Students will get back in their groups. Each team member is responsible for writing up a lab. Students make seek other team members for support in completing lab.
- Students may see me for any assistance during this time.
Closure: 5 minutes
- Students must use their lab to come up with ways to conserve water in their households.
Follow-up Activity: Complete labs
Lessons #13-14
Lessons 13-14 have been combined because I am giving the students two days in class to complete their PowerPoint presentations because many of my students do not have access to a computer in their homes.
Objective: Students will take lab from their Family Household Water Use and they will construct a Power Point Presentation.
Materials: lab, computer
Initiation: 5 minutes
- Question of the day: Do you think based on your findings, that it is going to be difficult to change the way your family consumes water at home on a daily basis? If so, how can you change their belief system?
Activities: 30 minutes
- Students will go to the Computer Lab to construct Power Point Presentation.
(students are able to add any graphics or personal design that will enhance presentation but it must include all of their scientific inquiry.)
Closure:
- Students will make sure that presentation follows all of the steps of good presentation & they will make sure that it has all of the data of their sample design
Follow-up Activity:
- Students will write down in Science Notebook how would they change their family belief system about their household water use? Then they will pick 1 family member and discuss it with them and see if they were open to the idea. Students would have to act as conservationists and they would tell their family member some of the important reasons why water conservation can be beneficial i.e. save money on water bills (students will include this data in presentation as well)
Lesson #15
Objective: Students will present Power Point presentation to class to reveal findings about the average household water use.
Materials: Presentations, computer lab
Initiation:
- Students will be given 5-7 minutes to add 1 more slide regarding to Follow-up from previous lesson.
Activity:
- Students will present Power Point Presentations and they will be graded based evidence, method, analyses, organization, layout, documentation, style and originality of piece.
Closure: Students must jot down 2 items that they learned about a classmate’s presentation.
Follow-up Activity:
- Try to use what they learned about water conservation and make it a lifestyle for themselves and their families.
Summary
This unit, Kids Conserve…Water Preserved has just served as a stepping stone for the way students think about water. Water is odorless, colorless liquid that makes up most of our Earth and something humans can survive without. As summer quickly approaches people are looking for a drink that is going to quench their thirst: water. Water is not generated it is recycled, as a result of this it is crucial for young students to be become more aware of the water use around them. What a better way to do it than by starting at home. Maybe the next time they might see their mother or father running water they will turn it off. I know this is just a start but you must start somewhere.
