Grade 8 1.2: The Quest for Water

Timing:20-40 minutes

Activity type: Game

Description:

This is a variation of a treasure hunt designed to help motivate students and capture their interest about water conservation. With a focus on kinesthetic learning, students will focus on how much water is suitable for human consumption on earth, where it is located, and why conservation is essential. An opportunity to focus on teamwork and build a cooperative spirit in the classroom is also inherent in this activity.  

The main ideas/concepts from this game can be reinforced with the apple activity from the water filtration lesson, which demonstrates the same principles in a visual, concrete manner.

Expectations:

Science:  8s140 Geography: 8g19 Language Arts: 8e62, 8e63 Health and Physical Education: 8p32 Art: 8a34, 8a35


 
 



Materials:

  • Map of your classroom (individual teachers must create this) 

  • Bodies of water cards / stickers:




Clean water I


Clean water II


Bacteria-filled freshwater



Sewage contamination



Salt water



Industry/garbage pollution

 

Teaching strategies

  1. Prior to the lesson, prepare stickers / cards for use in the game: blue for clean water, green for salt water, brown for polluted/contaminated water or use the graphics provided.   There should be a greater number of cards representing salt, sewage, industry, bacteria-filled water; and there should only be one or two of clean water.  Keep track of how many there are in total, and have a sample of each type of "sticker" on hand.

  2. Hide the stickers / cards in various locations around the classroom.  (prior to class)

  3. Ask students to hypothesize how much clean water the students believe is available in Canada, and then the world.  As reinforcement, this discussion could be linked to Water Facts that they may have found during their In Search of Water work.

  4. Instruct students that they will be playing a game to discover the percentage of drinkable water on earth. 

  5. Provide pairs of students with a piece of grid or plain paper and have them create a simple map of the classroom (or prepare this beforehand for them)

  6. Instruct the students that there is water hidden around the classroom and show them samples of bodies of water.  Highlight that , not all water is clean and it is their task to find the CLEAN water!  Review the rules of pair work, and safety when moving about the classroom; and remind them of the need for keeping their answers within their own "company".

Context:  Environment Canada has put out a mapping water contract to locate all the bodies of water in Class Land.  Companies (pairs) will compete for the contract.

  1. Pairs must map out the location of the bodies of water in the class.  The first team to find all the clean water locations wins.  Bonus points can be given to those teams who most accurately map out all the bodies of water.  (This way, the game can continue even if there is a winning pair).

  2. Debrief with the students, and ask them to share how they felt looking for clean water, and how difficult a task they found it to be.  Discuss how getting clean water in Canada may be different from other countries, and the possible impacts of such a difference.

Extensions: 

Students can draw/paint a picture that represents the correct ratio of the world's useable water supply (i.e. the whole paper is 100%, etc.)

Assessment / evaluation:

Anecdotal observations, checklist for group work and cooperation skills, and for participation in class discussions.

 

 

 

Download a Word version of this lesson plan.

 

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