The Journey of a Drop

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

Grade Levels: 3-6

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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 quantify 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.

Suggested Activities and Learning Objectives by Grade Level:

• 5:

• 5-ESS3-1 What ways can we save water at home and school?

Essential Question(s) that Connect CCCs and SEPs:

• 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? (Scale, Proportion & Quantity; Using Mathematics & Computational Thinking).
• What are some of the causes of water waste? What about the effects?(Cause & Effect; Constructing Explanations & Designing Solutions)
• What changes can you make to reduce your water use? (Stability & Change; Constructing Explanations & Designing Solutions)

Materials:

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

Prep:

Activity Procedure:

Engage:

Begin by asking students, “What ways do you use water every day (Think, Pair, Share)?

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 a big adventure where water travels around our Earth. It's the process of water moving between the air and the land, and it's been happening for a very, very long time! 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 takes a very long time to move through this cycle. When we use too much water too quickly we can disrupt(or mess-up) the earth’s natural water cycle.

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:

Call on students to share how many gallons of water they use in a day. If the students are old enough, see if you can figure out what the student's daily water use is on average. Discuss the differences between the typical water usage of American households with those of desert regions of Africa and the Middle East. Ask students to brainstorm ways they can save water at home and in the garden. Write a list on the board of their ideas.

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.