WATER CONSERVATION
TEACHER LESSON INFORMATION
Summary: In this unit, students will develop an understanding for the importance of conserving water and learn that their own actions have an impact on whether their region has enough water to meet everyone's needs. Water, Water, Everywhere shows the small percent of the earth's water which we can actually use. The Fill the Well game exemplifies how everyone's individual actions impact the amount of water available to a group. The final activities are personal water surveys in which the students learn how to estimate the amount of water an individual uses and conduct a study to see how well water is conserved in their homes.
Materials : Handouts for use with your class are indicated in blue underlined text. Clicking on the blue text will automatically open a copy of the handout in Adobe Acrobat Format which you can then print. The following additional materials are needed for the activities:
Water, Water, Everywhere : large container (greater than 5 gallons), 3 small containers, measuring spoons, 5 gallons of water.
Fill the Well: Each group of approximately 4 students needs a die or paper squares with the numbers 1-6 and a cup or bag.
Grade Level: 1 - 8
Activities:
Introduction : Ask the class to think about all the types of places in the world where water is found. Help the class generate a list which includes the following: oceans, glaciers, lakes and rivers, snow, and groundwater. Next have the class to tell you which ones of the above are sources for drinking water (lakes and rivers, groundwater). Ask the class if they think people need to be concerned about using too much water.
Water, Water Everywhere: (All Ages) This demonstration shows how much of the earth's water is available for drinking water. Fill a large container with 5 gallons of water. Ask the class if this represented all the water in the world, how much of the water would be available for people to drink. Remove 34 tablespoons of water and pour it into a second container. Tell them the water remaining in the first container is all of the water in the world's oceans. Remove 8 tablespoons of water from the second container and put in a third container. Tell the class that the remaining 26 tablespoons in the second container represents how much of the world's water is in ice caps and glaciers. The 8 tablespoons in the third container represents how much of the world's water is in freshwater (lakes, rivers, and groundwater). Ask the class which container represents the water available to people for drinking. Ask the class again if they think people should be concerned about using too much water.
Fill the Well : (1 st – 4 th ) Divide the class into groups of four and give each group a Fill the Well game board , a scoring card , and either a dice or a set of folded paper squares numbered 1-6 in a paper bag or cup. Explain that they will be playing a cooperative game. The players in each group will play the game together until they either fill the well or run out of water (dry well). Each group places a raindrop game piece on the START location on the game board and a second raindrop game piece on the START location of the scoring card. Players in the group take turns rolling the die or drawing a number card and then moving the playing piece around the game board the corresponding number of spaces. They will land on either a +1 or -1 square which reflects either a positive or negative water situation. If they land on a +1 square they move the raindrop up the Fill the Well game card, if they land on a -1 square they move the raindrop down the Fill the Well game card. Play continues until the game card raindrop reaches the top of the well (Full Well) meaning the group wins or the raindrop reaches the bottom of the well (Dry Well) meaning the group loses. Emphasize how each person's individual actions impacted the amount of water available in the well for the entire group.
Daily Water Use Survey: (Grades 3-8)
Give each student a copy of the Daily Water Use Survey sheet. Have each student complete the survey and ask an adult in their family (choose the adult most likely to use the dishwasher and/or washing machine) to complete it as well. When the students return the completed surveys, have each student give their totals for themselves and the adult in their family. List all the results on the board.
Ask the class if children or adults used more water and why. Have the class find the range for the results and average amount of water used per person. Help the class visualize how much water this is by discussing how many baths they could take with that amount of water (1 bath = approximately 50 gallons of water).
Discuss with the class whether their numbers are precise or an estimate. Ask if a person leaving the faucet on while brushing their teeth uses the same amount of water as someone who turns it off. Have the class think of other ways the water usage number would vary (small or large washing machine, turning the shower on low or all the way, depth of water in the bath, etc.).
Water-Wise Survey : (Grades 3 -8)
Give each student a copy of the Water-Wise Survey . The survey will help students evaluate ways their family uses water efficiently and ways water is being wasted. Ask each student to write a short evaluation of their findings including steps their family could take to reduce the amount of water they use. Have the students pick three water conservation improvements their family could make and estimate how much water they could save each day. Refer students to the Texas Water Development Board Web site for additional water conservation measures and some estimates of potential water savings ( www.twdb.state.tx.us/assistance/conservation/pubs.htm ).