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Conserving Water Puts Money
in Your Pocket

A Web Lesson for the Grade 6 - Science

Designed by

Dennis Day & Kathy Johnson

dennis.day@shorelineschools.org
kjohnson@seattleacademy.org

|  Essential Question/Scenario  |  Standards  |   Task  |  Resources  |  Assessment  |

 

Conserving Water Puts Money
in Your Pocket

 


 Essential Question / Scenario

How can we better manage earth's resources by acting as individuals to conserve resources in our household?

Earth's population is increasing dramatically while its resources are being depleted. The present generation is caught in the middle, and must make decisions on a daily basis that affect the way human beings live on this planet.

This lesson shows you how to evaluate your families home use of water and to create a plan to use less.   Additionally, this scenario proposes an imaginary opportunity: your  parents are interested in saving money on their water bill.  They are so interested in doing this that they will give you 50% of the money saved in the first month of implementing the plan.

Please print and take home this letter to introduce your parents to our learning unit. Please have them sign and return the letter.

 


Standards

Science Standards

Students demonstrate the skills necessary to engage in scientific inquiry.

  • Benchmark: Develop conclusions and explanations showing the relationship between evidence and results drawn.
  • Performance Standard: Collects and organizes accurate data and displays appropriately for analysis.

 

Economic Standards

Students understand the impact of scarcity on their personal lives and on the households, businessess, governments and society in which they are participants.

Benchmark:  Understand that the condition of scarcity requires people to choose among alternatives and bear the consequences of that choice.

1.2A   Provides examples of how groups and individuals face choices and consider price and personal values, etc., in making choices in present and historical situations. (opportunity cost)

 

National Technology Standards for Students (ISTE)

Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
  • Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
  • Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Technology productivity tools

  • Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.  
  • Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.   

 


Your Task

Your task involves assessing your families current use of water.

  • How much water does your family use in a day?

Day 1:

  1. Introduction
  2. Letter to Parents
  3. Estimate your family's daily water use for one typical day. Use the calculator at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html
  4. Print your results.

Homework:

  1. Take home the print-out of your water estimations.
  2. Check with your family to confirm water estimations.
  3. Make notes of any changes to these estimations and bring the notes back to class.
  4. Have parents sign the  letter and bring it back to class.

Day 2:

  1. If you have changes to make on your water estimation calculations return to the website http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html,  and put in the new daily estimates for water use.
  2. Read at least 2 websites about how to conserve water at home.
  3. Make notes of ways to save water.
  4. Download or print this template to guide you in writing your families water saving plan.
  5. Following the template, propose at least 3 ways your household can reduce its water usage. 
  6. Finish the template and write your family's plan to save money.
  7. Print this plan out and take it home.

Homework:

  1. Discuss your printed plan with your family.
  2. Ask them to comment, revise and commit to this new plan.
  3. Returning to the calculator,   http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html,  put in the new future estimates for water use.
  4. Using this new daily figure, in gallons, open this excel document and put the new figure in the first colored box.
  5. Prepare your oral report: 
  • 1. State total savings per month in dollars.
  • 2. State savings per year in dollars.
  • 3. State the 3 actions you are making to conserve water in your household.
  • 4. State water savings in gallons per month and total savings in "ccf" per month.

Day 3:

  1. Presentations.
  2. Turn in all paperwork:
  • First calculation.
  • Final calculation.
  • Plan
  • Excel sheet

 

 

 


 Additional Resources

Water Use and Savings Websites:
 

 

 

 


Assessment

This rubric will be used to score your progress through the water conservation project.

 

CATEGORY

4

3

2

1

Data

Professional looking and accurate representation of the data in tables and/or graphs. Graphs and tables are labeled and titled.

Accurate representation of the data.

Representation of the data in written form is sloppy and difficult to interpret.

Data are not shown OR are inaccurate.

Written Plan

Plan for action is typed, written  clearly, with no spelling or grammatical errors.

Plan for action is typed, written  clearly, with no more than two spelling or grammatical errors.

Plan for action is not typed, written  poorly, with many spelling or grammatical errors.

Plan for action was not completed.

Presentation

Data and plan are clearly and effectively presented to the class.

Data and plan are adequately  presented to the class with minimal difficulties.

Data and plan are poorly presented with improper voice level, little eye contact

Data and plan are not presented.

Assignment

All of the assignment elements are completed on time.

All of the assignment elements are completed on time.

Some of the assignment elements are late.

All of the assignment elements are late or not completed.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

|  Essential Question/Scenario  |   Standards   |   Task   |   Resources   |   Assessment  |