Separate the class into groups of 5 and number the students within each group 1 through 5. Explain to the class that you will hand out an article titled Will There Be Enough Water? The article is divided into five sections and the students are responsible for reading and taking notes on the section that corresponds to their assigned number. They must understand their section and be able to explain its contents and importance to their group.
Once the article is handed out, have everyone read his or her section quietly. When everyone is finished, have the students meet in their ‘expert’ groups (all of the number 1's meet, all of the number 2's meet, etc.). The students are to discuss their section. Prompt them with some questions: What is the importance of their section? What information is it providing? What are the ramifications?
Once the students feel confident that they have a thorough understanding of their section and have taken notes, have the students return to their initial groups. One-by-one, the students should explain their section. Once everyone has a turn, have the students discuss possible strategies the government could use to restrict or deal with water wastage in Canada. Afterwards, have a class discussion about some of their ideas. Are these ideas realistic and sustainable? Extra credit could be offered to students who write a letter to the government outlining these ideas.
