Where Did The Water Go?
This three week, 80 minute block-scheduled curriculum unit addresses two core ideas from the Next Generation Science Standards: specifically how water impacts Earth’s surface processes and how humans impact the availability and the quality of that water. Students move from a historical review of the Colorado River, creator of the Grand Canyon, to its current role as the life giving force to the people of the upper and lower basins. They link population growth to depletion of fresh water at the surface and in underground aquifers. Students then shift from California to northern Delaware, to investigate the local water situation. Through hands on activities, videos, and readings, students enlarge their understanding of the water cycle to include ground water, stream flow, infiltration, and percolation. Students learn ways to minimize their own water use and discover how their decisions on land use affect the larger community’s water. Both engineering and language arts are utilized as students create a working model of a water treatment facility; design a blue print for a community taking into account green space and runoff; compare/contrast a water treatment plant with a waste water treatment plant and debate the merits of turning wastewater into potable water.
This three week, 80 minute block-scheduled curriculum unit addresses two core ideas from the Next Generation Science Standards: specifically how water impacts Earth’s surface processes and how humans impact the availability and the quality of that water. Students move from a historical review of the Colorado River, creator of the Grand Canyon, to its current role as the life giving force to the people of the upper and lower basins. They link population growth to depletion of fresh water at the surface and in underground aquifers. Students then shift from California to northern Delaware, to investigate the local water situation. Through hands on activities, videos, and readings, students enlarge their understanding of the water cycle to include ground water, stream flow, infiltration, and percolation. Students learn ways to minimize their own water use and discover how their decisions on land use affect the larger community’s water. Both engineering and language arts are utilized as students create a working model of a water treatment facility; design a blue print for a community taking into account green space and runoff; compare/contrast a water treatment plant with a waste water treatment plant and debate the merits of turning wastewater into potable water.