The Journey of a Drop

Key Topics: Water usage, Saving water, Conserving, Water Cycle

Grade Levels: 3-6  

Science Framework   Spanish Lesson Plan   Lesson Video

Lesson Bridge:

Connect this lesson (3) to ‘$1 Million Orange’ (2) by urging students to think about some ways that water is wasted in the food industry. How is water wasted in our own homes? Close the loop by asking students if water-savvy ancient agricultural methods could be applied to modern water usage.

Lesson Overview:  

In this lesson, students will think about their at-home water usage and predict the amount used in a 24-hour period. We will discuss water conservation strategies both indoors and outdoors and students will consider ways in which these strategies can be adopted in daily life.

NGSS Performance Expectations by Grade Level

Standards below were reviewed and updated (July 2026) against the current Next Generation Science Standards.

• 3rd Grade | 3-ESS3-1: Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
  In this lesson: Drought is a weather hazard, students evaluate conservation habits as solutions that stretch our limited water.
• 4th Grade | 4-ESS3-1: Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
  In this lesson:  Students compare water-saving solutions,  shorter showers, rain barrels, drip irrigation,  for reducing the impact of drought.
• 5th Grade | 5-ESS3-1: Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.
  In this lesson:  A home water audit shows how households and schools can protect fresh water , a limited resource.
• 6th Grade / Middle School | MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  In this lesson:  Students use their water-audit data to design and monitor a plan for minimizing their water use.

Essential Questions

Each question pairs a Crosscutting Concept (CCC) with a Science & Engineering Practice (SEP).

• How many gallons of water do you think you use in a day? How could we use math to calculate how much water our entire class uses?
• What are some of the causes of water waste? What about the effects?
• What changes can you make to reduce your water use?
• How can we compare different water-saving solutions to find the most effective ones?

Materials:

• Gallon jug, liter bottle, and/or 5 gallon bucket.
• Items from home (toothbrush, water canteen, scrub brush)
• Home Water Audit Handout
• Flow of Water Series Garden Journal (optional)

Prep:

• Brainstorm ways you and students use water at home or at school
• You can gather some items from around school that use water(watering can, soap for washing hands, water bottle)

Activity Procedure:

Engage:

Begin by asking students

Think, Pair, Share: What ways do you use water every day

Explore:

Show and tell about different ways you use water. You can display on a table or in a bag the items you use typically with water in your own life like a toothbrush, shampoo, t-shirt, picture of your dog because you wash him, veggies that you water to grow in the garden, etc. Have students go into the garden and look for ways we use water in the garden space

Sentence Frame: We can save water while brushing our teeth by turning off the ______.

Explain:

Who has heard of the Water Cycle? The water cycle is like a big adventure where water travels all around our Earth! It moves between the sky, the land, and the oceans, and it’s been happening for millions of years. Without the water cycle, there would be no life on Earth.

        Think, Pair, Share: Do you think water moves through this water cycle slowly over time, or quickly?

Water actually takes a very long time to move through the cycle. Sometimes a drop of water can stay in one place,  like a cloud, a river, or underground, for years before moving on to the next step of its journey.

Humans can affect this natural cycle in both good and bad ways. For example:

• When we use too much water too quickly, we can dry up rivers and lakes too quickly. (Tip!Fill a snack-sized baggie with pennies and tell students, ‘This represents all the water on Earth, salt water, fresh water, and water in the atmosphere.’  Take out three and say ‘This is how much of that water is fresh water’. Then put two pennies back and, holding just one, say, ‘This represents the tiny amount of freshwater we actually have access to. That’s why it’s so important to be mindful about how we use it!’)
• When we cover the ground with roads and buildings, rainwater can’t soak into the soil, which means less water goes back underground.

Think, Pair, Share: How can we try to use less water at home?

Action:

1. Review your Garden Agreements
2. We are going to be doing something called a “water audit.” Does anyone know what the word audit means? Call on some students who may say things like “counting, measuring, documenting”... An audit is a calculation of an item, for us today it is water, and determining the total by estimating the usage from records.
3. Tell students that you will be passing out sheets of paper and they are to write their names on it first but don’t fill it out yet. Hand them the Home Water Audit Handout.
4. Explain how the worksheet works, that you will be multiplying the number of gallons typically used for each activity by the number of times you do that activity in a day.
5. Go around and assist students who need additional help. *You can also do this activity together as a class

Reflect:

Think, Pair, Share: What ways are you excited to try to conserve water at home?

Extension Activities:

• Water Cycle Video
• Have students develop letters in class with their teachers that make a constructive argument or inquire about water conservation and have them suggest better practices to their principal on their campus. You could also have them make a brochure or flyer on water conservation tips for both indoors and outdoors. These letters or PSAs could be shown at Open Houses, in the library or cafeteria on exhibit, during Science Weeks, or at any event where families and other classes would be exposed to them.
• Personal Water Use Estimate is a good take-home or extra math extension for students to be challenged with in-class
• The Water Conservation Checklist is a good take-home sheet too. It digs deeper into what families can do and how students can lead efforts in checking on operations at home that could save them resources!
• Water Audit Footprint Handout can be used to color in their totals now and/or what their goals are to reduce and by how much… This could be a window hanging in their classroom perhaps to share with passersby being water conscious about personal consumption.