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| Grade 8 1.3:
Bringing Water Home
Timing:
20 minutes
Activity
type: Cooperative
game
Description:
This
game requires little preparation as it demonstrates the concept
of availability of clean water and water conservation. It
is a variation of the "toxic waste" cooperative
game. This activity
completes ideas from The Quest for Water
, as students focus on the challenges of not only finding
clean water, but transporting it to a location where it can
be used. Teamwork, problem solving skills and kinesthetic
learning are all emphasized as part of this activity.
Expectations:
Science:
8s
121, 8s140 Geography:
8g19 Language
Arts: 8e62, 8e63 Health
and Physical Education:
8p32
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Materials:
- 2 sheets of paper per group
- chart paper and markers
Teaching
strategies
- Setting up the game
- Group
students into teams of at least six. Place one member, the
Tribe Leader, on the opposite side of the room from their team.
The Tribe Leader must get clean water for his/her family.
The remaining team members are drops of clean drinking water from
a local river.
- Provide
two sheets of paper to the Tribe Leader; these are stepping stones
for carrying the drops of water. Both the "drops"
and the "leader" must step on these to get from the
river to the village. At no point can any team member touch
the floor without contact with the paper.
If they do, "water" has been spilled, and the
member/drop is out of the game.
Variations:
Team members can be out permanently, or simply have to go
to the back of the line and try again (delaying the process
of carrying a full "container" of water across the
classroom)
Challenge:
Instruct students
that their "container" has now sprung a leak; for
every 2 (or 3) drops brought to the village, not including
the leader, one drop must be brought back.
- The first
team to transport the most "drops of water" to their
"village" in the shortest period of time are deemed
the winners (i.e. the
"water" has been brought from its source to the family
for use).
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Review expectations
of working in teams, and the rules of game, and at the teacher's
signal, the teams can begin
- Follow up:
Groups can brainstorm the difficulties
they had carrying the water back to their families, and how this
can relate to the reality of many people in third-world countries.
Small group discussions will allow for every student to have an
opportunity to voice an opinion, as well as giving students a chance
to learn from one another. This could be followed by a whole
class discussion focusing on the issues the students raise, and
comparing these to our situation in Canada. In this way, the
ideas discussed are made relative to the students' everyday lives,
thus providing for a more successful learning experience.
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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