Activity
type: Classroom Activity, Research Homework
Description:
This research-based group activity is designed to help
students identify the ways in which the human body depends on water
for survival and health. Students will need to conduct individual research and then work together in a group to compile a common presentation.
Expectations:
English Language – Reading: 5e22, 5e24, 5e26 – Oral and Visual Communication: 5e45, 5e46, 5e48, 5e49, 5e50, 5e53 – Group Skills: 5e60, 5e61
Science and Technology – Life Systems: 5s1, 5s2, 5s3, 5s12,
Global
Water Stats
Canadian
Water Stats
Materials:
Paper (8.5x11)
glue and/or tape
scissors
magazines
crayons/markers
Teaching
strategies
Before class begins, prepare small pieces of paper with the names of organs (one organ per piece of paper) and crumple them up and place them in a hat or cup. Names of organs: heart, skin, lungs, brain, kidneys, blood, muscles, stomach, intestines, bones.
Ask students to get into small groups (3-4) (or place them in groups)
Ask one person from each group to select a piece of paper from the cup and then return to their group. Inform students that they will be investigating the ways in which the organ uses water to help keep us alive and healthy. Ask students to write down the following research questions in their notebook:
Which of the various systems (respiratory, circulatory, digestive, excretory, nervous) is your organ a part of?
Describe the basic structure (what does it look like) and function (what does it do) of your organ?
Identify and describe (in one or two sentences) five (5) ways in which water interacts with your organ (e.g. water keeps our skin moist and flexible – this helps us move).
Give students a set amount of time, i.e. 1 week, to do research individually on these questions, respond and submit a one page ‘report’. To complete this research, students can use textbooks, go to the library or use the Internet.
Students should also look through magazines or print images off websites that illustrate their organ and water. Ask students to bring in magazines from home (that they are allowed to cut from) and to give students time in the computer lab to find pictures and to print them up. Each student should find at least 2 images relating to their organ and 2 images depicting water.
Once the research has been completed and visuals compiled, ask students to gather in their groups and discuss their research findings to determine if members came up with similar answers or very different ones. After ten minutes of discussion, ask students to develop 3 statements that answer the question: How does water influence your chosen organ?
Using the collected images, give students paper, scissors and tape/glue to create a collage about their organ and its relationship with water. Students should title the collage and include their three statements.
Once the collage is complete, one person from the group should present the collage to the class and explain their statements.
After the presentations are complete, ask one student to lay down on some poster paper and ask a second student to outline the student using black marker. (The outline could be coloured or painted blue to emphasize the connection to water). A third student should then cut out the outline and, with the teacher’s assistance, tape it to the wall.
In an orderly fashion, ask a second student from each group to tape the collage to the outline, in the general location of the organ. This human body collage will serve as a reminder of what was learned in this activity.
