Water and Global Responsibility STEM Unit
LP21_Water Walk
Lesson Plan 21: Water Walk
Overview
In this lesson students carry water around the school grounds to experience what it is
like for many children around the world that need to collect water for their family’s
survival. This lesson helps build empathy and a deeper understanding of the global
water crisis.
Background Knowledge:
Students should do the Tikho’s Story – Part 1 prior to this lesson, as well as the Day in
the Life activity. This lesson and activity will give students an understanding of how
people in different parts of the world interact with water. It is also useful for students to
complete their personal water audit to help with the second half of the lesson.
Time Required: 2.5 hours
Grade Level: Grades 5 and 6
Subject Area: Language Arts, Social Studies, Math
Key Words: Water Source, Litres, Volume
Alberta Curriculum Links: See curriculum link table
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Water and Global Responsibility STEM Unit
LP21_Water Walk
Lesson Plan 21: Water Walk
2.5 hrs
Learning Expectations
1. Describe how much 20 litres of water weighs and what it looks like.
2. Discuss how it feels to carry 20 litres of water.
3. Evaluate your personal water consumption.
Materials
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One 20 Litre Gas jug/ Jerry Can per group
1 small bucket per group
Map of route and written instructions – 1 per group
Preparation
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Set up a course inside or outside of the school about 400 metres long that
students will walk with the jugs of water.
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Create a map of the route with written instructions of what students need to
do.
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Set-up the following stations at strategic places along the route:
o
Grandma’s House
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Set up one small bucket per group and assign a teacher or parent
to the station.
Bush telephone
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Assign a teacher or parent to stand at this station
Introduction
10 minutes
1. Ask students what they think it is like to carry 20 litres of water.
2. Explain that today they are going to discover what this feels like.
Water Journey
1 hr
1. Divide students into groups of 3 or 4. Provide each group with a 20 litre jug of
water.
2. Provide each group with a map with the route they must follow and written
instructions.
3. Respond to any questions, and then send students out to begin the journey.
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Water and Global Responsibility STEM Unit
LP21_Water Walk
4. When students arrive at the stations along the route they should do as
follows:
a. Grandma’s House
i. Drop off some of their water for grandma.
ii. Parent or teacher should ask students if they will return to the
source to get more so they arrive home with a full jug or if they
will continue to their destination. If they choose to go back to
the water source, they should start at the beginning of the
route and refill their jugs
b. Bush Telephone
i. At this station the teacher or parent must share community
gossip with students as a way of illustrating the communication
that occurs at the water source.
5. Once they get back to the class, students should share their “bush gossip” as
a ticket back into the room.
Calculating Results
1 hr
1. If they have done their water audit, ask students if they can remember how
many litres of water their family uses per day.
2. If they haven’t completed their water audit, explain that the average person in
Canada uses approximately 327 litres per day.
3. Ask students to calculate how many times they would need to make the
journey they just completed to collect enough water for themselves and then
for their families each day.
4. Ask them to calculate how much time this journey would take.
Review
20 minutes
1. Ask students to write a journal response on the following questions:

What was this experience like?
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What would it be like to do this journey every day to get the water your
family needs?
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If you had to do this journey multiple times every day, how would it
change the way you use water?
Teacher Reflection
This lesson was a lot of fun. It was a really great way to conclude module two of the unit.
It was perhaps the most impactful thing and the greatest connection to the Day in the
Life work.
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