Lesson 1

Introduction/Background:
Water conservation is important for several reasons. The more water we conserve, the more we have for other uses and the less money we need to spend on treatment and treatment facilities. The following survey is designed to increase students' awareness of the water they use, to reveal how water is wasted, and to encourage water conservation.

Objectives:
Identify the ways we use water. Identify the ways the students and their families can conserve water.

Materials:
Copy of the "Auditing Water Use" worksheet for each student. Two-liter soft drink container for each student.

Procedure:

1. Cut off the spouts of a two-liter soft drink container.
2. Distribute a copy of the "Auditing Water Use" worksheet and a 2-liter container without spout to each student.
3. Explain to the students that they are going to determine how each of them uses water and how much water they use.
4. After the students have completed the worksheet, list the total daily water use by the class.
5. Use the following questions for discussion.. In which category is the most water used? Compare the water uses to the pie chart on the adjacent panel. Discuss ways to decrease water use. Examples: Spend less time in the shower. Take a shower instead of a bath. Only flush the toilet when necessary: use waste containers for tissue, trash, and paper towels. Run clothes washer and dishwasher with full loads. Turn off the water while brushing teeth.
6. Ask each student to determine an improved daily use of water by applying the water-saving suggestions discussed previously.
7. Determine a second class total based upon the savings. Compare totals.

Question:
How can water be used more efficiently in your home?

Extension
Determine what it costs in dollars to treat water for drinking purposes and for wastewater disposal. This cost can be determined by contacting the Chicago Water Reclamation District. Use these values to estimate the potential savings in dollars for the class if water conservation methods were to be implemented. Multiply this dollar savings by the number of classes in the school. How much money could be saved if water conservation methods were practiced by everyone at school?

Assessment:
Students should be able to identify ways we use water and suggest corresponding ways in which they and their families can conserve water. This lesson is written for intermediate grade and upper grade students, however, it may be adapted (particularly the worksheet) for primary grade students.
State Goal 3 Grade 4 Chart the changes in the physical environment that result from human activity.
State Goal 3 Grade 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.
State Goal 1 Grade 7 and State Goal 1 Grade 5 Both have specific objectives regarding the water cycle, however, not specific to this experiment.

Lesson 2

Introduction/Background:
In the desert, people have been known to survive for days by making solar stills and drinking the water produced. They dig a hole in the ground and place chunks of cactus and other water bearing plants in it. They cover the hole with a sheet of plastic ad hold it in place with rocks. Water evaporates from the plant material and drips into a cup in the center of the hole.
Water desalination plants use a process similar to that described in this activity to provide fresh water in areas that have only salt water.

Objective:
To build a solar still to demonstrate how the sun can take water from the salty ocean and cause it to fall as salt-free precipitation through a process known as distillation.

Materials:
a sunny day, 2 cups of water, large bowl, 2 tablespoons salt, food coloring, a cup, plastic food wrap, tape small weight (marble or rock)

Procedure:

1. Pour the water into the large bowl
2. Mix salt and food coloring with the water
3. Place the cup in the center of the bowl
4. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap
5. Tape the plastic wrap in place
6. Place the weight in the center of the plastic wrap.
7. Carefully carry the bowl outside and place it in direct sunlight

Teacher Note:
The water in the bowl will turn to vapor ( it will evaporate) and then turn back into water ( it will condense) and run along the underside of the plastic wrap until it drips down into the cup under the weight. Note that the distilled water dripping into the cup does not contain salt or food coloring. This is because only the water is being evaporated, not the impurities it contains.

Assessment:
To be able to define distillation as the purification of liquids by boiling and then collecting the vapor as it condenses.

Extension:
Discuss how the process of distillation could have an impact on countries located in areas that have only salt water. (Desalination is the removal of salt, especially from sea water.)
This lesson is written for intermediate and upper grades.
State Goal 2 Grade 4 Compare and contrast specified environmental conditions.
State Goal 1 Grade 5 Explain evaporation, condensation and precipitation phases of the water cycle.
State Goal 1 Grade 7 Relate the water cycle to living things and to the forces that shape the faces of the earth.

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Lesson 3

Introduction/Background
It's easy to understand that a crippled tanker leaking millions of gallons of crude oil into the ocean is polluting the water. But recognizing other forms of water pollution may be more difficult. In this activity, students discover some of the not-so-obvious ways people pollute water every day.

Objective:
To use clues to figure out whether five people in a town are guilty of polluting water.

Materials:
Copies of Copycat Page "Guilty or Innocent?" A and B, chalk board or easel, paper

Procedure

1. Ask students to name ways water gets polluted. Write ideas on a chalk board or piece of easel paper. Tell students they'll be adding to this list of pollution sources later.
   
2. Explain the terms ground water and surface water. Ground water stays underground, filling the space between soil particles or rocks just as water soaks into a sponge. Surface water flows above ground- in streams, rivers, lakes, bays and oceans.
   
3. Distribute the copies of the hints ( page A) and explain that all the facts relate to water pollution. Have the students read the page and explain any facts they don't understand.
   
4. Distribute copies of the clues ( page B) . Ask students to read the description of each person and then use the hints on page A to decide whether the person is guilty or innocent of polluting water. Tell students to write " guilty" or "innocent" on the line following each character's description.
   
5. On the back of page B have students write a short explanation of their verdict. Tell them to include the numbers of the hints used to reach their answer. hints may be used more than once.
   
6. Review page B with the class, using the answers in this lesson plan. Explain that some of the people's actions might not affect overall water quality very much by themselves. However, if a lot of people in the area acted in those ways, the cumulative effect could be disastrous.
   
7. Discuss how all of us, like people from Granville, are "guilty" of polluting water without thinking about it. Every time we send cans from paint or other household chemicals to the landfill, use garden pesticides or do any number of other things that eventually involve water, we contribute to water-pollution problems. Ask students if they'd like to add anything to the list of ways water gets polluted.
   
8. Ask students what the characters on page B might do to reduce their effect on water quality.

Answers:
Fact numbers are in parentheses. Depending on how inventive the students are, they may find connections to facts on the copycat page besides the main connection listed below.
Joe Ramos- guilty. To grow "perfect" fruit and vegetables, Joe most likely uses lots of pesticides and fertilizers (12). Rain or snow melt can carry these into water (1) or pesticides may soak into the soil and contaminate ground water (1,11). Fertilizers washing into the water and waste from cows grazing next to Davies creek may cause big algae blooms, which will "steal" oxygen from the water (9).
Leila Khalil- guilty. When Leila dumps her used motor oil down the storm drain, the oil eventually flows into a water way (1). Hosing off the driveway also puts oil in the water ways (1). Oil can poison animals that live in water (10).
Michi Akizawa- guilty. Michi most likely uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides to keep lawns thick and green (4). Rain or snow melt may then wash these chemicals into waterways (1), or the chemicals may soak into the soil and contaminate groundwater (11).
Martha Stone- guilty. Martha's gas station has an underground gasoline storage tank (5). Gasoline could be leaking from this tank since it has not been replaced or repaired since 1953 (7,8 and the "1953" written in the cement that's mentioned in the description). Gasoline leaks could taint groundwater (10,11).
Sabina Karowski- guilty. The hazardous chemicals that Sabina pours down the toilet will probably end up polluting water (2,3,6,13)

Assessment:
Students should be able to recognize the clues of pollution of at least three of the people in the town. This lesson is written for intermediate and upper grades.
State Goal 2 Grade 4 Compare and contrast specified environmental conditions.
State Goal 2 Grade 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems.

Lesson 4

Introduction/Background:
Faced with dwindling water resources, people have concentrated on two methods of alleviating the shortage problem. One is conservation, which includes management of toxic waste. The second method is treatment of already contaminated water. The technology exists to purify polluted water, but economics often determines whether we use the technology. To complicate matters, the pollutants removed from the water in the purification process still exist, and handling the toxic materials creates another pollutant problem.

Objective:
To describe the steps used in water treatment and explain the results.

Materials:
gravel, approximately 250 ml, sand, approximately 250 ml, soil, approximately 250 ml, salt, approximately 250 ml , 1000 ml beaker, 1 per lab group, 250 ml beaker, 1 per lab group, 500 ml beaker, 1 per lab group, glass stirring rod, 1 per lab group granulated alum, approx. .5 g per lab group, coffee filter, 1 per lab group, tray for evaporation, 1 for the class, distillation setup, 1 for the class (optional)

Procedure:

1. Divide the students into lab groups
2. Prepare one liter of "polluted" water for each lab group by putting approximately 25 ml each of gravel, sand, soil, and salt into one liter of tap water. Ask students to work in teams of two or three and to clean a prepared sample of contaminated water as follows:
   
3. Fill a one liter glass container with a well-stirred contaminated water sample. Observe and record the water's color, clarity and particulate pollution. Stir the sample and immediately pour 250 ml of the sample into a beaker. Determine and record the density = grams of material /volume of material. Set this sample aside as a control.
   
4. Add approximately .5g of alum to the water sample. Stir with a glass stirring rod for three to five minutes. Aluminum hydroxide particles (floc) will develop.
5. Allow the water to settle for 10 to 15 minutes. Observe and record the water's color, clarity and particulate pollution.
6. Place a coffee filter over a 500 ml beaker and secure it with a rubber band or masking tape. Allow room for 250 ml of water between the bottom of the filter and the bottom of the beaker.
7. Carefully pour approximately 250 ml of the water through the filter, leaving the particles behind in the one liter container. (Be careful not to stir up the settled particles as you pour.) Observe and record the filtered water's appearance. Determine and record density of the 250 ml sample by measuring its mass and dividing mass by volume. Compare this value to the density of the control set aside in step 3.
8. Add one drop of household bleach to the filtered sample and stir the solution. Observe final sample and compare its appearance to the 250 ml control set aside in step 3.

Questions/Discussion:
Help students identify the four steps of water treatment used in this activity: flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and sterilization. See figure 1 for an illustration of a water treatment process. Different treatment plants use different processes. One important process that students did not encounter in this experiment is biological treatment, during which microorganisms digest certain impurities. Encourage students to find out about the water treatment processes used in their community.
Identify the "pollutants" you used to prepare the water sample: gravel, sand, dirt, and salt. These materials are actually impurities, not pollutants. In this activity these impurities represent pollutants like sewage, dissolved minerals, and toxic chemicals. Ask the students if they think the treatment methods they use removed all pollutants. They may suggest that the salt still remains in the water, and may also ask to taste the water; but they should follow the universal laboratory rule: Don't taste. Instead ask your students how they might test for salinity without tasting. Focus their suggestions on procedures they are capable of conducting. Measuring the mass of the polluted water and comparing it's density to a sample of clean water of the same volume is one option; or, using a distillation process may also be a viable method. Before dismissing students have them set up the procedures they intend to use for testing the presence of salt, and also have them pour a small amount of the treated water into a shallow tray so that complete evaporation will have taken place before the next class meeting.

Assessment
Be able to list the specialized treatments that can remove impurities and pollutants from water. Be able to describe them.
This experiment is written for intermediate and upper grade students.
State Goal 2 Grade 5 Suggest solutions to selected pollution and environmental problems. State Goal 1 Grade 7 Relate the water cycle to living things and to the forces that shape the face of the earth.

Lesson 5

Introduction/Background
The liquid that is found over the earth in the form of glaciers, oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ponds and in the air. Water has no color smell or taste in its pure form. It is essential to all life on earth.

Objective:
Students will be able to visualize comparative amounts of water distributed on earth through oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, ice cap/glaciers and the atmosphere and realize the importance of responsible water use.

Materials:
copy of water cycle diagram for each student, world globe or map, bucket or aquarium, measuring cups, measuring spoons, eyedropper, food coloring, water table of water quantities for each student.

Additional Background:
Read and discuss the following information. The earth has been called the water planet. Between two-thirds and three-fourths of its surface is water. The earth's water can be seen in flowing rivers, ponds, lakes, oceans, locked in the northern and southern ice caps and glaciers and drifting through the air as clouds. Water that has seeped below the ground, called groundwater, is more difficult to see. All these forms of water are connected in what is called the water cycle.
Many people assume that there will always be enough water on earth. Simple mathematics shows, however, that the supply of water is limited. Scientists believe that all the water that we will ever have is on the earth right now. Whatever amount is available to living things depends largely on how people care for it. Human being have a responsibility to conserve water, use it wisely and protect its quality.

Procedure

1. Looking at a globe or map of the earth, ask students to comment on why the earth is called the " water planet." Using a diagram of the water cycle, discuss where water comes from and the constant recycling process. Begin the demonstration of how much water we have by providing each student with the attached table of water quantities. For younger students, a grid might be helpful to show percentages as a certain number of squares.
   
2. Measure 1,5 gallons of water in a bucket. Have students imagine that the 1.5 gallons is all of the water on earth. Provide the students with the following quantity: 1.5 gallons = 320 tablespoons. Have students estimate the volumes of each of the water types on earth in relation to the 1.5 gallons. Display the measuring instruments ( cups, spoons, eyedropper) for the students to use. For demonstrating how much materials on earth, use the measurement values from the table. Start with the smallest quantities first (rivers/streams) and work your way to the largest quantities (oceans).
   
3. Use the following formula and have students determine the amount of water that is available or suitable for drinking: Groundwater + Freshwater Lakes + River/Streams = 2 TB + 1/8 tsp + 1 Drop (Ice caps and glaciers are freshwater, but are not readily available for drinking water.)
   
4. Consider the nature of the freshwater, wetlands and oceans of our planet. Discuss how all species ( including humans) depend upon this small percentage of water for their survival. Add a drop of food coloring in the container of drinking water to show how a little pollution can affect the water. Close by emphasizing the importance of keeping the earth's waters clean and healthy and, when we do use water, using it wisely and responsibly.

Assessment:
Students will be able to explain the water cycle diagram and be able to explain that although the earth ius considered the water planet, the amount of available drinking water is very small.
This lesson is written for intermediate and upper grades but may be adapted for primary grades. State Goal 1 Grade 5 Explain evaporation, condensation, and precipitation phases of the water cycle. State Goal 1 Grade 7 Relate the water cycle to living things and to the forces that shape the face of the earth.

Extension:
Review water bills from several homes and calculate how much water each family uses in a year. Check with the city utility company to find out how many households there are in your community. Figure the approximate water usage for a month/year for your entire community. Find out how much the water usage in your city has increased in the last 50 years. Make a simple graph to show the increase in usage.