Grade Level: Fourth Grade
Time Required: 45 minutes
Primary AZ State Standards:
(Cross-reference “Standards Matrix” for full listing)
Science:
S04-S1C2-03: Conduct controlled investigations in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences.
S04-S3C2-02: Describe benefits and risks related to the use of technology.
Social Studies:
SS04-S1C2-01: Describe the legacy and cultures of prehistoric
SS04-S1C2-02: Describe the cultures and contributions of the Hohokam.
Objective(s):
Students will describe the irrigation techniques of the Hohokam.
Students will investigate the water efficiency of three different types of irrigation systems.
Materials:
 Empty 5-gallon bucket
 A plastic cup
 Access to online computer
Key Vocabulary:
 Irrigation
 Gravity
 Sprinkler
(if no live computer in classroom, print out information ahead of time. See Pre-Lesson Preparation for website.)
 Any Flat Stanley book
 Whiteboard or butcher-chart paper
 3 plant flats (with closed bottoms)
 Slightly moistened potting soil
 3 short lengths of gutter material (long enough to reach across bottom of plant flats)
 a graduated beaker
 a watering pot
 Micro-drip
 Canals
 three one-liter water bottles

Preparation
Instruction Features
Scaffolding
_X_ Adaptation of Content _X_ Modeling
Grouping Options
_X_ Whole Class
_X_ Links to Background _X_ Guided Practice
_X_ Links to Past Learning __ Independent Practice
_X_ Small Groups
___ Partners
_X_ Strategies Incorporated _X_ Comprehensible Input ___ Independent
Integration of Process Application
___ Reading
___ Writing
_X_ Hands-on
_X_ Meaningful
_X_ Speaking
_X_ Listening
_X_ Linked to Objectives
Assessment
__ Individual
__ Group
__ Written
_X_ Promotes Engagement __ Oral
Background Information:
Throughout history, cultures everywhere have devised ways to move water from sources to places where it is needed. From back-breaking methods of hauling water in buckets from a well or stream to intricate canals and aquifers, water is moved across landscapes to sustain communities of people.
The Hohokam was one such group of people who learned how to move water across the arid southern regions of Arizona to support large agricultural communities. From 600 A.D. to 1450 A.D., the Hohokam developed intricate systems of canals that carried water from the Gila and Salt Rivers to their fields. Many of the canals were more than 12 miles long, stretching as far as 20 miles! When the Phoenix area was settled by Europeans centuries later, farmers and engineers used many of the ancient canals to develop modern-day irrigation systems (Howard, n.d.).
Today, many farmers and gardeners have adopted more technology-dependent methods of irrigating such as sprinklers and micro-drip systems; however, many
Southwest Native American communities continue to use canal and gravity feed type systems in their dry-farming techniques. With these two systems canal and gravity, a main irrigation canal is dug with a slight gradual downward tilt. Along the main irrigation canal smaller ditches are formed which can redirect and feed water into each individual farming plot. As each section is filled it can then be closed off to redirect the water into another area. After all plots have been sufficiently watered, all smaller branches can then be closed directing the water flow back into the main irrigation line (Alan Honyestewa, personal communication 2010).
However, some Native American communities have begun to install other more water-efficient systems in their field – the most water efficient method being the micro-drip system. By using either above ground point-source drip technology, or underground soaker systems, water is fed more directly to the root systems of plants with less water being wasted due to evaporation or runoff.
Whatever method is used in gardens at the school or students’ homes, it is important to emphasize to students that watering the garden should not be viewed as a hassle but rather a great opportunity to check in with the plants. When gardens are set up with automatic timers and sprinkler or micro-drip systems, not only do we

lose perspective on the quantity and quality of the water our garden is receiving, but we also run the risk of allowing the plants’ needs to go unattended.
Pre-lesson Preparation:
For Activity 1:
1.
Queue computer to Flat Stanley’ Hohokam website: http://archaeology.asu.edu/vm/Education/stanley/pages/hohokam.html
2.
Draw a large K-W-L chart on whiteboard, or hang a large chart paper with a K-
W-L chart for the first activity. (K=Know, W= Want to Know, L=Learned)
For Activity 2:
1.
Fill plant flats with soil.
2.
Place gutters and the bottom of the flats with graduated beaker at end of flat to catch and measure the water.
Activity Instructions:
Activity 1: Ancient cultures: Hohokam’s irrigation systems
Whole class
20 minutes
1.
Ask students, “Who in this class has to haul water to their house? How do you get the water?” Students who live in Doney Park, on the reservation, or south of town may say they haul their own water from in town, in a
truck in a big cistern.
2.
Ask students, “Does anyone have to go down the river with buckets and walk them back up to your house? How long do you think it would take to get all the water you need for your house?”
3.
Put an empty 5-gallon bucket on the desk, marked to indicate 3 gallons. Tell students, “While we are starting the next activity, I am going to time the class to see how long it takes you to go back and forth to the water fountain to get water to fill this bucket. The line on this bucket represents about how much it would take to flush a toilet, about 3 gallons.”
4.
Give one student a plastic cup to fill. Note the time. Tell students to take turns filling the cup and dumping it into the bucket. Shift student attention to
next activity.
5.
Explain to students that today they are going to look irrigation system that both gardens and farms use.
6.
Ask students, “Have you ever wondered how all the farms in Phoenix can grow without rain?” Discuss.
7.
Tell students, “In previous classes, we have talked about water sources in
Arizona and how to harvest rainwater. But how do we get the water to where we need it? Today, we are going to take a tour with Flat Stanley who is going to show us some things about irrigation in the Arizona.” Show Flat Stanley
books for those students who may not know the story character.

8.
Tell students, “For centuries, different cultures have had to figure out how to move water to places where they need it. In particular, there was a large group of people who lived in the deserts Arizona called the Hohokam. Somehow they figured out how to live successfully in the desert for over 1000 years.”
9.
Ask students to recall what they already know about the Hohokam. Write these things in the chart at the front of the class under K for “Know”.
10.
Have students brainstorm some questions they still have about the
Hohokam to write in the “W” section of the chart. Help students assess if
11.
they know how the Hohokam could survive 1000 years in the desert!
Show students the Flat Stanley Hohokam website
( http://archaeology.asu.edu/vm/Education/stanley/pages/hohokam.html
) focusing in particular on the irrigation information toward the bottom of the
12.
page.
With the class, fill in the “L” section of the chart to reflect what they have learned.
13.
Note the time when students finished filling the bucket. Ask students, “If you had to carry all your water this way, do you think you would be flushing your toilet so much? Would you be using water in the same way? Think about this as we talk about irrigation systems.”
Activity 2: Comparing irrigation systems
Smaller groups
25 minutes
1.
Explain to students, “We are going to do an experiment that looks at three different types of irrigation systems used commonly in Arizona: gravity flow, sprinkler, and micro-drip.” Explain irrigation systems using information in the
Background section.
2.
Ask students, “What are some factors you need to think about when deciding how you want to irrigate your plants?” How much water the plants need,
soil types (drainage), slope, equipment, water sources.
3.
Tell students, “Today, we are just going to focus on figuring out which irrigation system is most water efficient.”
4.
Explain the experiment. a.
Each group will get one tray of dirt and 3 liters of water. b.
The group should elevate one end of the tray (away from the gutter) on a stack of books. Every group should use the same degree of elevation. c.
Group 1 will look at gravity-flow systems. This group will pour water along the top of the tray, and then measure the water that pours off the tray into the gutter. d.
Group 2 will look at sprinkler systems, simulated by watering the tray slowly with a watering can. e.
Group 3 will look at micro-drip systems, simulated by poking holes in 3
1-liter bottles of water, and letting the water slowly drain into the soil. f.
Groups will measure the amount of water and compare results.
5.
Have the groups come back to a whole class setting and compare results.

6.
On the board brainstorm with students the advantages and disadvantages of each method:
Irrigation type Advantage Disadvantage
Gravity-flow Uses most water
Sprinkler
Easy to do, don’t need pump
Fairly simple equipment, water on leaves evaporates quickly
Wastes some water
Micro-drip More expensive equipment, have to maintain equipment
Goes most directly to where plants need it, wastes least water
7.
Emphasize to students that whatever system is used, taking time to be outside in the garden when watering is an important way to not only monitor that your irrigation system is working correctly, but it is a good time to check in with you plants to see how they are doing. Some people become disconnected with their plants if they are using automatic timers.
Resources:
Howard, J.B. (n.d.) Hohokam legacy: Desert canals. Pueblo Grande Museum Profiles
No. 12. Retrieved on June 25, 2010 from http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/hohokam2/
Honyestewa, A. 2010. Personal contact.
Stanley Explores the Hohokam Culture. Arizona State University: Archaeological
Research Institute. Retrieved on June 25, 2010 from http://archaeology.asu.edu/vm/Education/stanley/pages/hohokam.html
Extensions:
Willow Bend Environmental Center offers a 4 th grade classroom program called
“Water Quality in the Classroom” which teaches students the basics of water quality testing focusing on primarily on pH and PO testing. Suggested follow-up
field trip “Water Quality Fieldtrip” at Willow Bend.