Water Crisis Activity
7th Grade PSI
Teacher’s Notes:
 Students will need internet access to complete this activity.
 The purpose of this activity is for students to think through a problem (water
shortage) from a practical standpoint. They should learn from this activity that:
o there is more than one solution to any problem.
o each possible solution will bring both positive and negative aspects.
o in order to solve a problem, positive and negative aspects must be
weighed against one another.
 After completing the chart, bring the students back together. Have them share
their opinions. If possible, have students who disagree about an option have a
nonconfrontational discussion about their decisions.
 The important thing for the students to realize is that they are bound to have
different opinions about issues. It is ok to disagree but they still need to be
respectful.
 Option: Hold a debate about the options.
 Option: Hold a “town hall” meeting in which one student is the mayor and other
students give their opinions about how to proceed with the water shortage.
www.njctl.org
7th Grade PSI
Natural Resources & Human Impact
Water Crisis Activity
Name: __________________________
7th Grade PSI
Congratulations! You have been elected mayor of your city. Your first job as mayor is to
address the water shortage that is negatively impacting your city. Follow the directions
to research water shortage options and make some important decisions about this issue
for your citizens.
Procedure:
1. Go to http://water.usgs.gov/edu/sos3.html .
2. Read the top of the page.
3. The bottom of the page lists six ways that you could choose to handle the water
crisis. Beside each option is an up/down arrow. Click on this icon to read
information about each of these options.
4. After reading the positive and negative aspects of an option, decide if you want to
choose to use this option as mayor.
5. Fill out the chart with your decision for each option. For each option, write:

one positive aspect

one negative aspect

how many stars you give the option (4 stars being “great idea”, 1 star
being “bad idea”).

your reasoning for your opinion about the option (explain why you gave it
that many stars)
6. Be prepared to share your opinions with the class.
www.njctl.org
7th Grade PSI
Natural Resources & Human Impact
Option
Positive aspect
Negative aspect
Rating
(1-4 stars)
Reasoning
Mandatory
restrictions on
water use
Find new water
supplies
Raise the price of
water
Cut back/stop
new
developments
Encourage water
conservation
Buy water from
another city/state
www.njctl.org
7th Grade PSI
Natural Resources & Human Impact