Title: Water Efficiency - Is your home water-wise?
Context: These activities were designed to introduce pupils to the topic of water efficiency at
home. This is an area of growing importance for all consumers in today’s society. The
importance of water in general and in our everyday activities was investigated. It raised pupils’
awareness of the need to conserve water and the ways they could easily do this at home.
Year Group: Upper Key Stage 2
Subject/Curriculum Reference: Literacy, Science, Geography, Art and Maths.
Topic Reference: Water Efficiency
Time/Length: 3 x 1 hour lessons
Aims:
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To highlight the importance of responsible water use by all consumers.
To increase pupils’ awareness of the various ways water can be wasted in everyday
situations.
To identify ways we could improve water efficiency in our homes.
Learning Outcomes:
As a result of the activities pupils will be able to:
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Understand the importance of water to our everyday lives.
Identify simple ways we can conserve water in our homes.
Have a basic understanding of The Water Cycle.
Realise that the provision of clean drinking water is an expensive process for which
consumers will be charged directly for in the future.
Conduct a water audit and a survey in their own homes.
Measure how much water a dripping tap wastes if left unnoticed.
Resources: Worksheet for water audit, word search and water quiz worksheets.
Websites: www.waterintheschool.co.uk, www.h2ouse.org, www.hrwet.org,
www.wateruseitwisely.com.
Artefacts: Poster showing the Water Cycle process and Water Efficiency Brochures by the
Water Service.
For display/posters: Card, felt pens, paint and paper.
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
Lesson summary/organisation/activities:
Teacher Starting Points
Pupil Activities
The importance of water
Discuss with the pupils the importance of
water in our lives and the fact that all
living things need water in order to
survive. This is because nearly every
living organism on earth is made up
mostly of water ranging from 50% to
90%. A large part of your own body is
water; in fact about 75% of the human
body is made of water.
As water is so important to every living
thing, we need to be sure we are using
our water supply wisely. In the future we
will have to pay a charge for our water
usage, so we need to start thinking about
ways we can use it more efficiently in our
everyday lives. The European Union
requires that all countries have in place a
form of charging that encourages people
to use water wisely/encourages
conservation. It is two to four times
cheaper to save water than it is to build a
completely new source (E.g. a new
reservoir). Let us think of all the ways we
use water in our homes
The Water Cycle
Water never gets used up because of the
water cycle. Water doesn’t disappear
when it leaves the surface of the earth it
only evaporates and turns into a gas, like
the steam rising from a boiling kettle.
When evaporated water rises high
enough, it cools and condenses, and
turns into droplets. We can see these
droplets as clouds in the sky. When
clouds become ‘heavy’ with lots of
droplets, it rains, snows, hails or sleets
depending on the temperature outside.
Water is returned to the earth’s surface
where it gathers in lakes, rivers and
oceans. Sometimes water even goes
underground before it makes its way into
the ocean. As water always reappears
and can be reused we say it is a
renewable resource.
Discussion
Emphasise the importance of water and
its conservation especially in light of the
new water charges, which will be
introduced in the near future.
Group Activity
Make a list of different ways you use
water in your homes each day.
Activity - Water Audit
Have you ever wondered how much
water you use in one day? Fill in the
chart – Write down the activities you did
that used water - toilet flushes, washed
hands, brushed teeth etc.
A list of the most common ways we use
water inside the house
Toilets -30%
Washing machine -20%
Shower -18%
Taps- 14%
Bath-10%
Toilet leaks-6%
Dishwashers-2%
Literacy Activity
Design a picture book telling the story of
a water droplet to illustrate the Water
Cycle for younger children.
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
Ways we can conserve water in our
homes.
Bathroom
Don’t let the water run while brushing
your teeth or when Dad’s shaving.
Always put the plug in when washing
your hands.
Take a short shower instead of a bath
and small children can even share a bath
if possible to save water.
Never pour water down the drain if you
can find another use for it like watering
indoor plants for example.
Kitchen
Put water in the kitchen sink to wash
dishes don’t rinse them under the
running tap.
Keep a jug of drinking water in the fridge
instead of running the tap until the water
becomes colder.
Wash fruit and vegetables in a basin
instead of under a running tap.
Operate the dishwasher only when it is
full.
Use the appropriate energy efficient
cycle on the washing machine and switch
it on when there is a full load inside.
Outside
Use a trigger control on the hose to
adjust the water supply or turn it off
completely when you don’t need a steady
flow of water.
Sweep driveways and steps rather than
hosing them.
Wash the car from water in a bucket and
not using a hose.
Get a water butt to collect rainwater for
watering the plants outside with a
watering can.
ICT Activity
Pupils go on to the website
www.h2ouse.org and go into each of the
rooms in the interactive house to find out
various ways they could conserve water.
Maths Activity
Pupils will measure the amount of water
produced from a dripping tap in one hour
and then calculate that for one day, one
week, one month and one year.
Word search
Find the water conservation words in the
word search square.
Group Activity
Construct a set of Water Conservation
tips for families.
Art Activity
Pupils design a poster to show the ways
we can conserve water in our daily lives.
Equipment
Always turn taps off tightly to stop drips.
Repair all water leaks as soon as
possible.
Use a low flush toilet or install a device
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
called a ‘Water Hippo’ which uses less
water when you flush. These are free of
charge from the Water Service Customer
Service on 08457 4400888.
Don’t use the toilet as a dustbin- extra
flushes wastes water.
If replacing kitchen appliances purchase
environmentally friendly models which
are water efficient.
Water Quiz
Pupils complete a multiple choice answer
style worksheet that covers all the
information we have learned about water
conservation.
Extension Activity/Homework:
Pupils will design a colourful poster to encourage school children to use water efficiently. Make
a list of Water efficiency tips they could follow in their own homes.
Teacher Reflections:
These lessons were used to prepare pupils for an art competition on the topic of responsible
water use that was organised by the Consumer Council.
The children showed a clear understanding of the water efficiency messages we had discussed.
They realised the importance of conserving water in their homes especially in view of the fact
that there will be an introduction of water charges in the near future. Water conservation is an
ideal cross-curricular topic as it links science, geography, art and literacy together, as well as
exploring the consumer dimension.
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
Water Quiz
1. How much of the human body is made up of water?
a) 50%
b) 60%
c) 75%
2. What uses more water?
a) a bath
b) a shower
3. When you brush your teeth should you
a) use a glass of water
b) keep the tap running
c) turn the tap off as you brush
4. When you want a cold drink of water should you
a) run the water until it gets cold
b) add some ice
c) use cold water from a jug in the fridge
5. When you use the washing machine it should be
a) half empty
b) full
6. How can you save water in the toilet?
a) put a rhino in it
b) by using a hippo
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Primary