Day 2: Social Studies Lesson - Water
1. Topic: The importance of Water for daily life
2. Objectives:
 Students will be able to describe the importance of water to daily life

Students will be able to identify the negative effects that pollution can have on the water around the world.
 Students will be able to identify characteristics of different waterways
3. Materials Needed:
1.
PowerPoint for notes
2.
Notes on Presentation
3.
Journal Handout
4.
Video of Jay-Z, “Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life” (link in closure)
5.
Waterways Crossword puzzle
4. Strategies:
Introduction: Have students pair up with one or two partners and ask each other the following questions:
1.
Why is water so important? a.
Answer: We use it every day and we cannot survive without it
2.
When do they use water? a.
Showers, drinking, making food, washing hands, washing cars, washing pets, washing dishes, etc.
3.
Where does the water they use come from? a.
Perhaps a local reservoir, or a well on their property. Some may not know and may just answer from the faucet
4.
Do they use water on a need basis, or a want basis? a.
Mostly on a want basis, because it is not necessary for us to consume and use as much water as we do most of the time, however when it comes to drinking and eating, this is mostly on a need basis.
After about 5 minutes for discussion, bring the class back together and ask for sample answers, writing the answers on the board. Explain that these are several of the issues that will be discussed in today’s class on the importance of water and its pollution around the world.

Lesson Steps:
1.
Notes from PowerPoint on waterways and the importance of water (teacher notes are included in the notes section of each slide). Hand out notes outlines for the students to fill in from the PowerPoint.
2.
Discussion/Example of a local river water source (included in PowerPoint)
3.
View a video on the rapper Jay-Z and his plan for reducing the number of people without access to clean drinking water.
( http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/120275/eyes-wide-open.jhtml#id=1545981 )
The first video is a 2 minute summary, the following videos are more in depth descriptions of Jay-Z’s plan and visits to villages and towns to see how people without easy access to water live. If possible, it may be more informational to show the longer clips, but if there is not enough time, then just the overview can be shown to give students an idea of his plan to raise awareness. Students will be given a chance to discuss whether or not they think the plan will be successful and what they could do to help raise awareness among their community. Break students up into groups of three or four and have them write a description of what they could realistically do to improve the situation for people living in communities that do not have adequate access to water. These plans do not need to be elaborate, but just a brief idea that will be shared with the class after about 10 minutes to work on it. The plans do not need to be handed in.
Closure: The lesson will end with a Class Discussion on how we can prevent water pollution and how water pollution affects us (last slide of PowerPoint )
5. Assignment: Students must keep a journal, imagining that they are Eugenia, a girl living in
Africa who does not have access to clean drinking water. They must make one entry, explaining where they live, why they do not have clean water, where the closest drinking water is, and how this affects their lives.
Extension: a crossword puzzle on Waterways vocabulary
6. Evaluation:
1.
Participation in/attention to group discussions (participation points)
2.
Journal ( Rubric )

Name: _____________________
Date: _____________________
Water Vocab:
 Ocean
 a large body of _______ water that _______________ a continent. Oceans cover more the ________________ of the Earth's surface
 Sea
 a large body of ________ water that is often __________ to an _________. A sea may be partly or completely surrounded by__________.
 ___________
 a part of the ocean (or sea) that is partly surrounded by land (it is usually larger than a _______).
 Bay
 a body of water that is partly _____________ by _________ (and is usually smaller than a gulf).
 Channel
 a ____________ body of water that connects __________ larger bodies of water
(like the English Channel). A channel is also a part of a _________ or
___________ that is ___________ enough to let __________ sail through.
 Cove
 small, ____________________ body of water along the coast; the water is
 Lagoon surrounded by land formed of ___________________.
 a ________________ body of water that is located alongside a ___________ and separated from the ocean by a strip of _________ or a _________________.
 Lake
 a _____________ body of water surrounded by_____________ on all sides.
Really huge lakes are often called ___________.
 _____________
 a man-made ___________ that stores water for future use.
 Pond
 a ____________ body of water surrounded by land. A pond is smaller than a
 Swamp
__________.
 a type of ____________________________ that has _____________, muddy land and a lot of water. Many ___________ and _____________ grow in swamps.
 ____________

 a _____________ body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.
 Canal
 a ______________ waterway used for _______________ or ________________.
 River
 a large, ______________ body of water that usually _______________ into a sea or ocean.
 ___________________
 When a river falls off _______________
 Estuary
 where a ____________ meets the _________ or ___________.
 Tributary
 a stream or river that _____________ into a larger __________.
Water Pollution
 any contamination of water with chemicals or other foreign substances that are detrimental to human, plant, or animal health.
 What sort of things cause pollution?








What has caused a growth in Water Pollution and loss of water?





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
Case Study: ___________________________________
 Tributaries: __________________ in northeast Sioux County, IA
 Tributary to the ____________________
 The _______________ in ___________________ is what gave the city its name.
 Pollution: mostly _____________ from farms and _______________ from the animals on the farms or being used to ________________. Also some pollution has come from
____________ of soil on the banks of the river.
 The major pollutants that have been identified are _______________ and
___________
 Why do we care?

Your name is Eugenia and you live in Madagascar with your seven brothers and sisters.
Each day you must walk 2 miles to the closest river in order to get clean drinking water.
Though there is a pump in your village, it hardly ever works and when it does, the water looks a bit brown and smells funny. The river where you get your water runs through a lot of farm land, and your mother is concerned about what is in the water, but you have no other choice but to drink it because there is no better alternative.
Write a journal explaining your life as Eugenia and the hardships that you face. Describe your home life, where you live, where the closest drinking water is, and how this affects your life. How can your situation be fixed; how can you be given the access to drinking water that you need? Why is it important that you have clean water?
Your journal should be at least half a page long with correct grammar and punctuation.
Creativity is encouraged, and extra points may be given for it, but you will not be penalized for not including creativity. Please write your entry on a separate piece of notebook paper or type it. If typed, it must have 12 point font and 1-inch margins. Late papers will follow normal rules of penalization.
Due next class period.

Student Name: _____________________________________
CATEGORY 4
Capitalization &
Punctuation
(Conventions)
3
Writer makes no errors in capitalization or punctuation, so the paper is exceptionally easy to read.
Writer makes 1 or 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation, but the paper is still easy to read.
2 1
Writer makes a few errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and interrupt the flow.
Writer makes several errors in capitalization and/or punctuation that catch the reader's attention and greatly interrupt the flow.
Grammar &
Spelling
(Conventions)
Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content.
Flow & Rhythm
(Sentence
Fluency)
Sentence
Structure
(Sentence
Fluency)
All sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud.
Each sentence is clear and has an obvious emphasis.
Almost all sentences Most sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but when read aloud, but
1 or 2 are stiff and awkward or difficult to understand. several are stiff and awkward or are difficult to understand.
The sentences are difficult to read aloud because they sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, or difficult to understand.
All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.
Most sentences are well-constructed with varied structure.
Most sentences are well-constructed but have a similar structure.
Sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling.
Support for
Topic (Content)
Relevant, telling, quality details give the reader important information that goes beyond the obvious or predictable.
Supporting details and information are relevant, details are given. At least 2 details / fact.
Some supporting details and information are relevant, but details are lacking.
Supporting details and information are typically unclear or not related to the topic.
Creativity: +1 +2
Total: ___/20

Water Vocab
Note: some clues are on the back of the handout so don’t forget them!
1
2 3
6
8
4
7
9
10
11
12
14
13
5
15
Across Down
4. a type of freshwater wetland that has spongy, muddy land and a lot of water
6. where a river meets the sea or ocean
8. a man-made lake
1. a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean
2. a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water
3. a rather small body of water that is partially surrounded by land
11. an example would be Niagara Falls
13. a man-made waterway
4. a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water
15. a large body of water surrounded by land on all sides
5. a small body of water surrounded by land
7. a stream or river that flows into a larger river
9. a large body of salt water that surrounds a continent

10. a shallow body of water that is located alongside a coast; separated from the ocean by a strip of land or a sandbank
12. a rather large part of the ocean that is partly enclosed by land
13. small, horseshoe-shaped body of water along the coast
14. a large body of salty water that is often connected to an ocean