Embedded Files
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Guiding question: What can society do?
Time Estimate: 60-100 minutes
Purpose: Students will understand that designing and picking solutions to the water situation is not a clear-cut process, and governments must consider what is available to them and the best for their populations’ well-being when making these decisions.
Overview: Students will first divide the responsibility of solutions into government actions, personal decisions, and technological innovations to understand that there is a shared responsibility for managing the water crisis. Students will analyze the ways four different countries use and manage their water while considering the economic resources, natural resources, and technologies available to these countries that have led to the current practices and culture surrounding water.
Design Principles:
Global and local dynamic
Public data
political/economic/ethical dimension
Affordances and limitations of science
Background Knowledge: It would be beneficial for students to have already watched the Netflix documentary “Explained: The World’s Water Crisis” as part of lesson set 3.
Common Misconceptions:
Safety:
Unit Connections:
📂 Materials
📂 Materials
Teacher Materials:
Teacher PowerPoint titled: 4.1 What can society do?
Sticky notes or sticky notes-sized pieces of paper for students to write on
Student Materials:
Optional
Instructional Sequence
Instructional Sequence
Materials: 4.1 What can society do?
Class Discussion & Affinity Mapping (slides 1-6)
After the previous three lesson sets, students should understand that there is a water crisis and it can affect them; now, we want to turn students attention toward solutions. Therefore, this discussion is designed to get students thinking about how we, as a society, can go about valuing water without taking it away from vulnerable populations.
⏰ Recommendations for timing & modifications
The discussion protocol on slides 2 and 3 are designed to increase engagement with the discussion and give students more solutions to draw from to complete the activity on slide 5. However, they can be cut if time is limited.
🗣️ Discourse opportunities:
small group discussion
⏰ Recommendations for timing & modifications
Affinity Mapping can also be cut down to small group discussion if time is limited.
📒 Instructional Support
Optional materials: student discussion notes
Put students in groups of 4-5 if they are not already in groups.
Students will discuss in small groups what the quote means and how we can do that.
A protocol for small group discussion that generates a lot of dialogue is below.
This is a small-group discussion strategy that gives students exposure to more of their peers’ ideas and prevents the stagnation that can happen when a group doesn’t happen to have the right chemistry.
Students are placed into a few groups of 4-6 students each and are given a discussion question to talk about. After sufficient time has passed for the discussion to develop, one or two students from each group rotate to a different group while the other group members remain where they are.
Slide 2: Once in their new group, they will share some of the key points from their last group’s conversation. If you are worried that there is not enough discussion to share, pose an additional question such as, “How is water different from other commodities?” It might be prudent to provide a definition for a commodity such as “a material or product that can be bought and sold such as coffee”
Slide 3: For the next rotation, students who have not rotated before may be chosen to move, resulting in continually evolving groups. An additional question can be, “What is the benefit of valuing water? How do we help people value water?”
Once students are back in their original groups, they should have a diverse set of ideas to pull from. They will then answer the question on slide 4, “What do you think should be done to address the water crisis?” They need to generate three different responses to the question and then bring their completed sticky notes to you . You can give out extra sticky notes to students who have a lot of ideas to make the exercise more fruitful.
Materials: Sticky notes
Pass out three sticky notes to each student.
Students will then answer the question on slide 4, “What do you think should be done to address the water crisis?” Students need to generate three different responses to the question and then bring their completed sticky notes to you . You can give out extra sticky notes to students who have a lot of ideas to make the exercise more fruitful.
Students will then complete an activity called affinity mapping. As students bring you their sticky notes, divide them into piles. One pile for each group. Once all students have brought you their notes, redistribute a pile to each group.
Instruct students to work in their table groups to categorize these solutions into three groups: government policy, personal decisions, and technology innovation.
In some cases, teachers can allow the students to form their own categories. Use teacher discretion as the best way to instruct students.
Lastly, ask students to share what they put in each category.
Discuss why the ideas fit within the category and if it was challenging to decide how to classify them.
Teacher-Led Discussion: The government’s responsibility in the water crisis (slides 7-10)
This part of the activity encourages students to look at what is available to governments as they make difficult decisions: economic considerations, natural resources, and available technology.
As students think through the Mexicali example from the documentary, they should unpack the government's decisions using these three considerations as a class. In the next activity, students will be asked to do this type of analysis independently or in small groups.
📒 Instructional Support: if you had to skip documentary
If you had to skip the documentary, or if you need to refresh the students, you will want to explain that the Mexicali government approved of a brewery being built in an area that is already water stressed. In order to meet their water needs, they would have to pull from groundwater sources at excessively high rates. The citizens of Mexicali protested and got the attention of the Mexican government. The brewery was dismantled and moved to a different part of Mexico that is not considered water stressed.
Materials: 4.1 The World & Its Water reading & student chart
The World & Its Water:
In the activity “The World & Its Water,” students will read a short paragraph detailing how a country uses its water. Students will then use that information to complete the chart that asks students to consider the economic factors, natural resources, and available technologies that each government must consider. The purpose of this activity is for students to realize that the water crisis is caused by and dependent on many different factors. There is no one approach to dealing with water. It’s a complicated issue.
⏰ Recommendations for timing & modifications
The activity is set up in a way that students can complete the entire set independently, or you can arrange for the jigsaw method. In the jigsaw method, each group of students will be in charge of reading and completing the questions for one country. At the end of an allotted time, students will share either as a whole group or in their small groups what they learned, and the other students will record their findings on their own charts.
✍️ Assessment Opportunity
The World & Its Water
We recommend only using this activity as a formative assessment to gauge if students are realizing the complexity of finding solutions to the water crisis. In some cases, an investment in infrastructure is necessary while in others, they can explore emerging technologies. There is not a single right answer for each country to pursue.
Information for Planning & Teaching
Information for Planning & Teaching
Background Knowledge
Background Knowledge
Summary of Netflix’s Explained: The Worlds Water Crisis (if you did not watch it):
The episode sheds light on the increasing strain on water resources due to factors like population growth, industrialization, and agriculture, highlighting the unsustainable practices that contribute to this crisis. For instance, the series examines the water scarcity issues faced by Mexicali, a city in Mexico's arid region. Mexicali relies heavily on water for agricultural activities, but due to climate change and unsustainable water use, the region has been experiencing severe water shortages and declining groundwater levels. The series also dives into the impact of climate change on the water cycle, examining how changing weather patterns, droughts, and floods further exacerbate the challenges. With a strong emphasis on solutions, the documentary showcases innovative technologies and approaches that address the crisis, such as desalination, water recycling, and conservation practices. It also raises critical questions about the need for international cooperation, policy reforms, and equitable access to clean water resources.
Water management decisions made by governments require careful consideration of economic factors, natural resources, and available technologies. In the United States, economic factors play a significant role in water management decisions. The country has a diverse economy with sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism heavily reliant on water resources. For instance, in arid regions like California, water allocation is crucial for agriculture, which contributes significantly to the state's economy. The government must balance the economic benefits of water-intensive industries with the need to protect natural resources and ensure water availability for other sectors and ecosystems.
Israel, a country known for its innovative water management practices, faces the challenge of scarcity due to its arid climate. Economic factors heavily influence its water policies, as water scarcity necessitates advanced technologies for efficient water use. Israel has invested in desalination plants, wastewater recycling, and precision irrigation techniques. These technologies help optimize water usage and reduce economic costs, ensuring sustainable water availability for agriculture, domestic use, and industrial purposes.
The Ivory Coast in West Africa boasts abundant water resources, but economic factors and population growth pose challenges. The country's water management decisions must consider equitable access to water for urban and rural areas, as well as for economic activities such as cocoa farming and industrial production. Balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability is crucial to prevent overexploitation and pollution of water resources.
In India, a country with diverse climates and varying water availability, economic factors and natural resource considerations are of utmost importance. The agriculture sector, which accounts for a significant portion of India's economy, heavily relies on water for irrigation. However, water scarcity in certain regions and increasing water pollution pose challenges. The government must formulate policies that incentivize water conservation practices, promote sustainable agriculture, and invest in technologies like drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting to ensure efficient water use.
These examples highlight the importance of considering economic factors, natural resources, and available technologies in water management decisions. Governments must carefully evaluate the potential economic benefits, environmental impacts, and societal implications of their choices. By understanding these factors, teachers can help students grasp the complexities involved in water management and foster a broader perspective on the challenges faced by different countries in utilizing and protecting their water resources.
Lesson Timing
Lesson Timing
Class Discussion & Affinity Mapping can be shortened to a class discussion using the same questions as probing questions. Following that discussion, the teacher-led discussion about how Mexicali handled its water crisis will help to prepare students to do the next activity. The point of these first two activities is to help students see that governments make choices about how to use and protect their water based on what they have available to them. The Mexicali example from above is a perfect example to do as a class before learners are asked to do it on their own.
The World & Its Water activity can be implemented in a few different ways. The reading can be dense, and if students are asked to complete all four passages, it can be quite fatiguing. Therefore the jigsaw method could be very effective for this activity. The method involves dividing students into small groups and assigning each group a specific piece of information or a topic to become experts on.
Divide students into expert groups: since there are four passages, you need four groups.
Allow time for students to read the passage and discuss it with the other experts in their group.
Form jigsaw groups: after students are comfortable with their passage, reorganize the students into new groups called jigsaw groups. These groups should consist of one student from each expert group, ensuring that each jigsaw group has an expert on a different topic.
Jigsaw group sharing: In their jigsaw groups, students take turns sharing the information they learned from their expert groups. Each student presents their findings, explains key concepts, and answers questions from their group members. This sharing process allows students to teach and learn from one another, building a comprehensive understanding of the overall topic.
Whole-class discussion and synthesis: Finally, bring the whole class together for a discussion to synthesize the information shared by the jigsaw groups on their charts. Facilitate a dialogue where students can connect the various pieces of information and explore the topic in its entirety. Encourage students to ask questions, make connections, and identify common themes or patterns.
Student Ideas & Experiences
Student Ideas & Experiences
Science Practices
Science Practices
Teaching Cases
Teaching Cases
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