  
“Protecting our Water”
Goals
The goal of this Unit is for children to demonstrate develop a basic understanding of :
QA Benchmarks
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The child should be able to identify environmental issues in her community that need to be addressed.
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The child should be able to understand how global ecological conditions and events relate to her local environments.
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The child should be able to articulate ways individuals and communities can impact local and global change.
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The child is committed to addressing global issues by way of solving local problems.
Science / Civics
W
3 Week Plan
3rd – 5th Grades
ater Quality
“Protecting our Water”
Activity 1: Water Intro Discussion (Quest)
In this activity, you and your students will discuss the importance of water. You might want to begin talking about the importance of water for all life and how it is present in all biochemical systems. Some possible questions you could ask are:
Does anyone know how long a human can go without food? How about water? It is possible to go weeks without food but only a couple days without hydrating your body with water in some form. Have you ever noticed a difference in the amount of water you drink on a cool day compared to a hot day? How about the difference in playing a chess game or playing a soccer game?
You can then talk about how important it is that we replenish the water we use in our bodies so that we do not become dehydrated. You can talk discuss how our bodies are nearly 80% water. From here, you could discuss the capability of water to dissolve so many different substances. While this allows water to dissolve essential minerals that we can use in our bodies, it also allows other harmful substances to end up in our water. Pesticides, arsenic, sodium, nitrates, mercury, acids, and other harmful substances can become dissolved in water.
From here you can ask students if anyone think of any reasons why this might be bad. You then might want to discuss some concerns with pollution and water quality. They then may also wish to visit the library and talk with adults about water quality problems in your community.
Note: your students can also do part of this as a Quest by having them (as individuals or through groups) enter the Quest Atlantis environment and complete the “Searching the Library for Water” Quest in which each student (or group if Group Questing) provides her own solution to the Quest. As a Quest, you can then respond to children’s work individually or as a group if they Quested as a group.
Science / Civics
Science / Civics
W
3 Week Plan
3rd – 5th Grades
ater Quality
“Protecting our Water”
Activity 2: Portrait of a Stream (Quest)
In this activity, your students will build a “portrait of a stream.” This activity begins with locating a nearby pond, stream, or river that your class can investigate. Students should be able to go visit this water, examining what it is like, and what are some unique qualities of this pond, stream, or river.
Students should then take a picture or sketch out the water and then write a short paragraph to accompany the image. Students should describe where the stream is located, what the surroundings are like, whether or not there are farms or businesses in the area, and whether or not they think the pond, river, or stream is healthy. You also might want to have a class description about how you decide if the water is healthy.
Note: your students can also do this as a Quest by having them (as individuals or through groups) enter the Quest Atlantis environment and complete the “Portrait of a Stream” Quest in which each student (or group if Group Questing) provides her own solution to the Quest. As a Quest, you can then respond to children’s work individually or as a group if they decided to Quest as a group.
Science / Civics
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