UNIT TWO: Water, Water Everywhere!

Learning Plan: 3 of 4
Class: Standard 2 Term: 2 Theme: Water – I see
Duration: Topic: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Water
Context: CONSIDERATIONS:
Less than 1% of all the water on Earth can be used by people. The
 HFLE:
rest is salt water (the kind you find in the ocean) or is permanently Problem Solving
frozen and we can't drink it, wash with it, or use it to water plants. Creative Thinking
Water is therefore a very limited resource. It is important that children
adopt as their norm, the practice of using water wisely and not Literacy
wasting it. Water conservation should be considered a part of our Reading
Writing
daily lives.  Oral
Outcomes: Communication
At the end of this learning experience students will:  Literary
Appreciation
 Media &
 answer at least three literal, two inferential and one evaluative Information Literacy
questions orally and in writing from texts presented
 suggest ways in which to preserve the environment Numeracy
 reduce, reuse (constructively) and recycle items so as to  Problem Solving
preserve the environment ☐ Critical thinking
 read title and study illustrations to gain understanding of or ☐ Communication
 Representation
make predictions about the text  Reasoning
 apply familiar vocabulary to gain understanding of texts
 research and interpret bits of information presented in a variety ☐ ICT Skills
of media including symbols and signs
 identify key words when scanning texts  Differentiated
Instruction
 construct sentences using multiple-meaning words
 use relevant level-appropriate high frequency words and  Assessment for
vocabulary taught learning
 select appropriate phonic skills to decode multi-syllabic words
to read literary texts.
 explain the reasonableness of answers by using estimation

Activities:
How much water do you use in a day?

Introduction- The word “Water” is written on the chalkboard and

students are asked to say why we need water. The students will then
help generate a list of all the ways people use water.

1) Activity: Students will work in teams to brainstorm all the

different ways that they have used water in the last twenty-four
hours (wash hands, brush teeth, water the plants, take a
shower, do the dishes, drink water, flush toilet, do laundry, fill

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 fish tank, water plants, cooking, cleaning, etc.).
2) A chart shaped like a plastic water tank is stuck on the board
or wall. Blocks representing cups or buckets are given to
students to stick on the chart to show the amount of water
used per day. After students fill part of the tank with strips or
blocks, the teacher can stop and ask questions.
Questions may include: How many more strips or blocks
do you think will be needed to completely fill this tank?
Why do you think so?

Note: Questions should be at the literal, inferential and

evaluative levels.

3) Students engage in discussion about other places besides

their home where water is used. They think about how they are
connected to those places (i.e. farmers need water for their
crops and animals for their food, manufacturers such as juice
and soft drink companies need water to make their products,
businesses use water for washing the premises e.g. markets
etc.)
4) Ideas based on the discussion about the uses of water are
written on blank lined paper. Students will come together as a
class and compare lists. Further discussions reinforce or add
any new ideas.
5) Students will be asked to write a short paragraph on one
beneficial use of water and also state how they think their life
would be without it. (Writing prompt can be completed for
homework).

My Reason to Protect the Earth

STEP 1: Students are asked to think about their favourite activity near
rivers, ponds and beaches.
Suggested questions:
Can you name the place you visited?
Why do you enjoy going there?
What are some of the activities you did there?

STEP 2: A few students are then asked to share their experiences

(positive/ negative) with the class. Teacher explains that all of the
activities they enjoy and places they’ve been are good reasons to
protect the earth.

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STEP 3: Pictures are shown depicting water pollution. Students are
led to discuss some of the things they observed in the pictures and
from their own experience, at their favourite ‘water’ spots that could
ruin them or are ruining these places. Students’ discussion is
focussed on pollution of the rivers, ponds and beaches. Students are
asked to suggest and list ways they think they can help preserve the
environment.

Students are told that they will be illustrating their ideas for preserving
the environment on paper.
(Alternatively: Students can use “Kerpoof”, which is a free online story
making software (which can also be used to present their illustrations)
for educational purposes.) Students should title their creation, “My
Reason to Protect the Earth.”

STEP 4: Students are given the opportunity to present their artwork to

the class describing the process used.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Water!

STEP 1: Students are given the task of researching:

i. They are asked to find out what the terms Reduce, Reuse
and Recycle mean as they pertain to preserving the
environment.
ii. Students are also asked to bring in any newspaper articles
and objects in their environment that exhibit the recycling
symbol.
iii. They are asked to collect discarded materials such as
paper, plastic bottles, beads, cloth etc.

STEP 2: Students are placed into groups of three or five and are
asked to collaborate by putting their research together to create
presentations. Each group presents a combination of each student’s
research effort.

STEP 3: An anchor chart will be created by the teacher using the

information generated by the groups’ presentations (as well as from
the following section-if not enough information was gathered from the
presentations).
The recycling symbol is placed at the centre of the chart and
important details are placed around the symbol.

The process of recycling is explained for the class. Recycling is

pointed out as actually the third step in reducing waste. There are
three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and then Recycle. The three R’s are in

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order of importance, so reduce is the most important step!
i. Reduce means to use less – it’s the most effective way to
prevent waste from happening in the first place. Students are
asked to think about and suggest ways to reduce wasting: e.g.
use a bucket instead of a hose when washing your vehicle,
yard or watering plants, using and buying less, turning off the
lights when you leave the room, taking shorter showers, and
walking, carpooling or taking the bus to school.
ii. Reuse means using something as many times as you can.
Students are asked to think about and suggest ways to reuse
items: e.g. collect dishwater to water plants, use laundry water
to wash the yard, use both sides of a piece of paper, repair
broken items instead of replacing them, shop at garage sales,
read books from the library, and include second-hand clothes
in your wardrobe.
iii. Recycle means to convert waste into reusable material. In the
case of water, WASA recycles waste water by boiling and
filtering it for reuse.

STEP 4: Students, in groups, are guided to create different craft

pieces using the discarded materials collected in Step 1, above. The
craft pieces must have a link to the topic of “Reducing, Reusing and
Recycling Water”. Examples of these can be:
a) a collage depicting a water related item such as a waterfall,
river, beach etc.
b) a 3D relief of the Recycle symbol using the Papier Mâché
process
c) making a herb planter for the kitchen using a 2 litre plastic
bottle.
d) making a fish ornament using a 2 litre plastic soft drink bottle.
e) cardboard tubes from paper towel rolls to make a Rainstick
etc.

Students will present their pieces and explain their link to the topic of
“Water”. Students will be asked to state which of the three Rs they
are representing with their piece. E.g. Using the 2 litre bottle shows
that they reduced waste by buying a large bottle instead of 4 smaller
bottles (500ml). Also, the bottle is being reused by the creation of the
fish ornament (see example below), which is a reminder of food
sources from water.

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Discovering the Scarcity of Water

Step 1
Relevant Vocabulary:

Students are introduced to the following vocabulary terms:

Conservation: Preservation and protection of materials and

resources

Scarce/Scarcity: Deficient amount of something to meet the

demands; not plentiful or abundant

Salt Water: Water located in the ocean that contains salt.

Fresh Water: Water without salt that makes up lakes, streams,

rivers, and rainwater.

Glaciers: A large body of ice, usually found in mountain areas and at

the north and south pole

Ask questions such as:

i. Why do we need water?

ii. What types of activities is water used for?

iii. Where and when do you use water the most?

iv. Where do you think the water that you use comes from?

v. What is the difference between fresh and salt water?

vi. Do you think it is possible to run out of water?

vii. What would happen if your water supply was reduced?

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1. Students observe a pie chart and teacher explains how only a
little of Earth’s water is available for human use. (97% is salt water,
2% is fresh water trapped in glaciers and less then 1% is available
fresh water). Use a projector, or print at least one copy per table so
everyone can see.
2. An illustration of the planet Earth is presented on a Bristol
board. The oceans, large lakes and the ice caps are all covered with
100 little cut-outs of water droplets. An example is shown below:

The students are asked to guess how much of the Earth’s water is
usable by human beings. The teacher then removes one droplet (this
represents 1% out of a hundred droplets) and explains that the
droplet represents how much water is usable by human beings.

3. Students and teacher discuss the importance of conserving

water since the entire world needs to share the small amount
available. Emphasize that it is important that water should not be
wasted because there is a limited amount available and we do not
want to run out. Students use the vocabulary words highlighted above
in oral sentences to convey ideas about the topic. E.g. Fresh water is
water that contains no salt, this type of water can be found in rivers.

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4. Multiple meaning words associated with the topic ‘water’ are
identified. Students will discuss the meanings of the words as they
are used in different contexts. E.g. “volume; bank; litter, fresh, etc.”
i) The volume of water in the dam has been reduced
because of the drought.
ii) The volume on the television is too high/loud.

ACTIVITY:
Reading About Water Conservation:
A factual text is presented to students which focuses on Water
Conservation. Each student is given an individual copy of the story.

Students are guided to read title and study illustrations to gain

understanding of or make predictions about the text.
E.g. What does the title tell you? What do you see in the illustration?
What do you think this story is going to be telling us or teaching us?
The words “conserve” and “conservation” are highlighted. Students
are guided to say what they think these words mean.
The meanings are written on the whiteboard.

Scanning Text:
Teacher explains the concept of scanning texts for information:
Why scan?
 To pick up on detail.
 To fill in gaps in your knowledge (give depth).
Steps for scanning
 Look for key words, or words that are repeated.
 Look for definitions.
 Look for highlighted words, e.g. words in “bold” or “italic”.
 Look for numbers, e.g. dates and statistics.
 Look for examples, including diagrams.

Students are shown a demonstration of the concept of scanning text.

Students are asked to scan the text to look for specific information
(teacher will determine tasks). The required information is recorded
by the students.

Students are now asked to read the story on an individual basis and
are told to underline words that they do not know or understand.
All underlined words are recorded on the board by the teacher.
Students are guided to use phonetic skills to decode identified words.

Students are directed to identify familiar vocabulary. These familiar

words are then used to develop a better comprehension of the text’s

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message. Students are directed to think about the familiar words and
how they are helping to give meaning to the sentence or paragraph.
Students are asked to restate the ideas/meanings identified in their
own words.

Students are given a worksheet based on the passage and are

required to answer four literal, three inferential and two evaluative
questions.
Students are guided to identify which questions can be answered by
finding the answer directly in the text.(literal)
Students are guided to identify which questions cannot be answered
by directly finding the answers in the passage, instead they have
work out the answer by considering the hints and clues in the text.
(inferential)
Students are guided to identify any questions which require them to
give their opinion, make a judgment or give a summary of the
passage. (evaluative)
Students will then write their answers in the spaces provided on the
worksheet.

Resources:

 Stationery: paper, pencil, marker etc.

 Art Supplies: paint, brushes, glue etc.
 ICTs: computer, posters, pictures etc. (any technologies used
in the lesson)
 Literature: factual passage
http://pbskids.org/eekoworld//parentsteachers/pdfs/lessonk_1.pdf

http://www.freekidscrafts.com/recycled_crafts-t27.html

Assessment:
Completed pieces judged on creativity, relevance to topic “Water” and
identification of links to the 3R’s, reduce, reuse, recycle
Worksheets
Oral Presentations

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 FACTUAL TEXT

Water Conservation Tips

Conserve, every person can make a difference! So tell your friends and
neighbours to "Turn It Off" and Keep It Off when your pipes are not in use.

Do You Know How Much Water You Use?

Many people do not realize the amount of water used in everyday activities.
Knowing how much water is used will help you determine what is "normal" for
your household and may show you ways to conserve.

Indoor Water Conservation Tips

You can save water indoors by following these conservation tips:
Never pour water down the drain when it can be put to another use such as
watering a plant or general cleaning around the home.
Drinking Water
Keep bottles of drinking water in the refrigerator. Don't run tap waiting for cold
water without collecting for other use. Make only the amount of coffee or tea you
are going to drink. Use ice cubes to cool water. Recycle leftover drinking water.
Check for leaks
Inspect all pipes and taps. If you find any leaks, have them repaired as soon as
possible.
Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food colouring to the tank. If the toilet is
leaking, colour will appear in the toilet bowl within 30 minutes.
Repair dripping faucets by replacing faulty washers. If your faucet is dripping at a
rate of one drop per second, you are wasting 10,000 litres per day.
The Shower
Take shorter showers. Replace your showerhead with an ultra-low-flow version.
Some units are available that allow you to cut off the flow without adjusting the
water temperature knobs.
Turn off water while soaping. See how light a spray you can wash with. Less than
5 minutes for a shower is adequate. Any longer comes under the heading of
recreation.
The Utility/Washroom Sink
Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully
loaded. Set the water to the size of the load you are using.
Hand wash. Soak clothing well with the smallest possible quantity of low sudsing
detergent. Save rinse water for next wash. Just add soap. Pre-soak very dirty
items overnight.
When you buy a new washing machine, select the one that uses the least water
per pound of wash. Be sure to check energy consumption.
The Kitchen
Do not use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. Defrost food
overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost setting on your microwave.
Use a vegetable brush for fruits and vegetables.

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 Hand sprayers should be used sparingly with shorty bursts of water.
Hand wash efficiently. Scrape leftovers from dishes with paper napkins. Rinse all
at once. Soak pots and pans overnight if very dirty. Cut down on clean-up by
serving more single dish meals.
The Washroom
Don't let water run while shaving or brushing your teeth.
Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insets and other
similar waste in the trash can and not the toilet.

Source: http://www.wasa.gov.tt/WASA_ConservationTips_general.html

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