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Pollution Is Not a Solution (5th Grade)

Lesson 1:

From Unit Pollution Is Not a Solution (5th Grade)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

3rd-5th Grade

Subjects:

Library / Technology, Philanthropy, Science and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Communicate; Narrative Writing
PHIL:	4 lesson genOn; Environmental Stewardship; Helping; Need; Stewardship
SCI:	Natural Resources; Water
SOC:	Common Good; Core Democratic Values; Geography; Maps

Focus Question(s):

What is each person's responsibility for environmental stewardship?

NOTE: Prior to this lesson, use the Blue Sky Activity in which students envision a better world. If you already have a Blue Sky display, revisit it before beginning this lesson.

Purpose:

The purpose of the lesson is to help learners understand the importance of watersheds and ways in which water pollution occurs. After understanding the importance of the watersheds, they will recognize that wise usage of their local watershed is an example of environmental stewardship.

Duration:

One 60 minute class period plus time to set up demonstration

Objectives:

The learner will:

define watershed and identify their local watershed.
name local pollutants that may get into the watershed and affect groundwater.
brainstorm ways to protect the local watershed.

Service Experience:

Although this lesson contains a service project example, decisions about service plans and implementation should be made by students, as age appropriate.

Brainstorm project ideas that the class might do to help conserve and take care of the Earth's water resources during the Earth Day Event.

Materials:

Self-sticking notes and pencils
(Optional) a recording of the song "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid
Projection of Attachment One: Water Usage Table

Handout 1: Water Usage Table
Handout 2: Groundwater Pollution Demonstration Instructions - Optional

Instructional Procedure(s):

Anticipatory Set:

While the music “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid is playing, have the students write five specific ways that they use water. They should use one self-sticking note for each response. When the music stops, tell the students to put their responses on a prepared chart under the category in which it fits best. The chart should have different categories of water use, such as recreation, health, and household. If someone else has the same response, have them put the sticky notes on top of each other. Read over their responses and discuss why water is important to us. Share the information found on Attachment One: Water Usage Table to raise awareness about the quantity of water we use for some common actions.

Ask the students where they think their water comes from. (They may indicate a well or nearby lake.) Ask them if they think the water they use is clean. If so, how does it get clean? Listen to their ideas to determine their prior knowledge about the water cycle and water treatment. Make sure students understand that water is a resource we share with everyone in the whole world and with everyone over time. The water we have on our Earth is the same water the dinosaurs had on their Earth.
Tell them there is an important word related to water that they have probably never heard of. In fact, many adults don't even understand this important concept. Ask if anyone has heard of the term watershed. Provide a simple definition for a watershed. (See http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/whatis.html for an illustration and definition.) A watershed is an area in which all the water drains into the same place. The people, animals, and natural resources within a watershed are bound by their shared water. The Earth is made up of numerous watersheds, and the water in each watershed tends to stay in that watershed.
Tell the class they are going to make a quick model of a watershed. Give each student or group of students a sheet of (recycled) paper. Tell the students to crumple their papers and then open them again, but not to flatten. This paper represents the land within the boundaries of a watershed. The paper should still be crumpled enough to have portions that resemble mountain ridges or hills and valleys.
- Tell the students to use a blue marker to mark streams or rivers on their papers, and also have them mark where they think the water will collect as it runs downhill. (This could represent a lake.).
- Have them color with brown marker some areas that represent soil and farmland.
- Using red markers, have students draw in some pollutants that may be found in their watershed, such as soap from washing cars, pesticides from lawns, and animal waste from a nearby farm.
- Tell the students you are going to add water to their system and you want them to observe what happens. Walk around with a sprayer and spray a very light mist of water over each paper watershed model. (In a real watershed, all the water runs into the same place.)
- Questions to consider:

Why does water flow down into the creases?

What happened to the ink from the markers as the water flowed? Where did it end up?

How is this a problem if the inks represent pollutants?

Use the following website to find the boundaries and water resources in your watershed: http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm. As you look at this map, explain that the health of a watershed is determined by many factors, including the use of land throughout the watershed and what pollutants these uses may put into the watershed.
Ask the students to name some of the land uses within your community and your overall watershed. Think of factories, farms, and small businesses within the area. Ask the students, “Do you think these uses could affect the water quality of our watershed?”
Tell the students that any pollutants that get into the water system of your watershed stay in the watershed as they are recycled through the water cycle. Discuss how each of the land uses within your watershed could lead to pollution going directly into the drainage areas and also indirectly into streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Runoff from crop and forest land, failing septic systems, construction sites, irrigation drainage systems, lawn chemicals, and automobile exhaust can all contribute to polluting the watershed.
Explain to learners that the responsible use of the watershed is an example of environmental stewardship. We share the Earth, and we need to take care of it for ourselves and for those who come after us. Ask the students to explain why it is for our common good to take care of the water in our watershed.
Brainstorm project ideas that the class might do to help conserve and take care of the Earth's water resources during the Earth Day Event.

Assessment:

Have students write at least one way their watershed could become polluted and three reasons why it is important to protect their watershed.

Learning Link(s): (click to view)

Have an idea for a Learning Link?

Submit your idea here.

If your Link is accepted for publication on the Web site you will be credited with your name, school, and city.

These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. READ: We have been learning about watersheds and about how all the water in our area runs to one place. It is important to protect the watershed so that we and other animals have clean water to drink.
DISCUSS: Let's quickly list ten ways that a watershed can become polluted. Then, decide whether you as an individual could be responsible for causing each kind of pollution. Feel free to disagree with your classmates and be prepared to tell why.

2. READ: Zack rode in the truck with his dad to the garden center. Zack didn't know why they were going, but he went because he loved to do yard work with his dad. When they got there, his dad went up to the service counter.
Zack heard his dad order two loads of sand.
“What's the sand for, Dad?” Zack asked.
“I'm going to fill in that wet, marshy area on our property. Watershed, wetlands, fooey! Those EPA guys are a bunch of liberal-minded tree huggers. What good is it to me if I can't do what I want with my own land?”
Zack didn't know what “liberal-minded tree huggers” were, but he recognized the word watershed from Earth Day activities at school. He knew watersheds were important for providing clean water for people and animals in their community.
Zack nibbled on his top lip. Should he say something to his dad? He didn't want to get in trouble or make his dad mad, but he also wasn't sure if his dad knew how important their marsh was.
DISCUSS: What do you think would be the effect on a wetland if it were filled in with sand? Should Zack say something to his dad about his plans to fill in the wetlands marsh, and why?

3. READ: In the U.S. we don't usually have to worry about unsafe drinking water. But in many parts of the world people get very sick or die from drinking water that is not clean. The water may contain small organisms that can cause people to become sick and die. About 1.8 million people die each year from these causes. That's more than 4,900 people a day! Most of these people—about 9 out of 10—are kids. Children get sick much easier, and it is harder for them to get well.
Countries where there are so many people dying from unclean water do not have places that can clean their water or money to dig fresh wells. The people in these countries often have to rely on the help of people in countries that have more money and resources to help provide safe drinking water for their families.
DISCUSS: We can easily forget about how our actions affect people we don't even know or can't see. How can we help ourselves remember others, even those very far away, during our Earth Day service project?
(www.cleanwaterfortheworld.org/)
(www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterborne_diseases )

4. READ: "The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives"
-American Indian Proverb
DISCUSS: Why wouldn't a frog drink up the pond in which it lives? Since this doesn't make sense for a frog, explain why it doesn't make sense for people either? How can our Earth Day service project show that we are not ready to drink up our whole “pond”?

5. READ: Protecting our local watersheds involves conserving water. This is something we must all do every day. Water is a renewable resource. This means it can be replenished by nature faster than humans can use it. However, it takes energy to clean water. We should all do our part not to use more than our fair share of water.
DISCUSS: What are some easy ways for us to conserve water on a daily basis? Do you know of any other ways to conserve that might take a little more time and money? (For example, installing a low-flow shower head helps conserve water, but also costs a little money and takes time to install.)

6. READ: For their Earth Day project, Mrs. Johnson's class decided to pick up trash on the street and sidewalk around their school. Because they lived in a very rainy community, any trash on the ground very easily added to the pollution of the ground water. Kailee and Nala had work gloves on and were cleaning the trash out of the storm drain on the street. Their teacher stood in the street to watch for cars while each team of students worked on their assigned drain or section of the sidewalk. So, she didn't see Shawn and Joel fooling around instead of cleaning up. They were poking at worms with sticks and laughing whenever they skewered one.
Kailee looked up at the sky. Once again it looked like it might rain. If Shawn and Joel kept knocking off, there would just be more work for the rest of them to do. Kailee got up and went to talk to Mrs. Johnson.
DISCUSS: Did Kailee do the right thing? What else could she have done? Why is it important for everyone to be a good environmental steward and do their part, especially during our Earth Day service project?

7. READ: The school bus stopped in the beach parking lot, and the students got off. They lined up with their backs to the beach and waited for their instructions from the teacher.
“Okay, kids, let's review our Earth Day project. We're here to make our beach a more beautiful place to play and also to protect the water in the lake from being polluted by the trash that people leave here every day. We'll start at the top of the beach and work our way down to the water. Pick up any trash you see. Don't forget to wear your gloves; we don't want anyone getting hurt.” She pulled a trash bag and rubber gloves out of her backpack and held them up. “Does everyone have their clean-up tools?”
The teacher looked around at the students. Most of them were smiling and holding up gloves and bags. But, Katie had a frown on her face. She'd forgotten all about the tools she needed to bring. Mostly she'd thought that this “service project” thing was pretty lame. She never thought they'd actually make students pick up other people's trash. How totally gross!
Katie raised her hand. “Ms. Hassan, I forgot mine. And isn't it kind of gross to pick up trash anyway?”
“Well, Katie, since you feel that way, you can observe from the windows of the bus. Back on board, please.”
Katie trudged up the bus steps, and the bus driver closed the doors behind her. She watched for an hour while her classmates laughed and had fun working together on the beach.
DISCUSS: How do you think Katie felt at the end of the trip? What did she miss out on besides just picking up “gross” trash? What could you say to Katie to convince her it wasn't gross or that the gross part was less important than the end result of cleaning up?

8. READ: Here is how much water you may use doing daily tasks (try to think of these in terms of the amount of liquid in a gallon jug of milk):
Take a shower:                       15–30 gallons
Flush the toilet:                        4–7 gallons
Brush teeth:                            1 gallon
Wash the dishes:                    9–20 gallons
Drinking:                                  ½ gallon
DISCUSS: Imagine if you had to carry your water from a well or watering hole far away, as some people in other countries do. Or, imagine that you knew only some of your water was safe to drink or wash with. How might this different perspective cause you to change your water use behavior? Why is it important, when we are thinking about our Earth Day project, to consider other points of view?
(www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/activity_grades_4-8_funfactsmatchinggame.pdf)

9. READ: Long ago, some people believed that you could find water underground using something called a divining rod. This was usually a Y-shaped tree branch, often cut from a hazel, peach, or willow tree. The two forked ends of the stick were held while the “stem” of the Y stuck out. A person would hold the rod and slowly walk over a piece of land. People believed that if there was water underground, the stick would bend down or twitch.
DISCUSS: Most people nowadays don't believe that this actually works, but it does show us that people on Earth have always been looking for clean water. They had some of the same environmental concerns back in the Middle Ages that we do now. How is knowing this fact important to environmental stewardship and especially important to remember as we take part in our Earth Day service project?
(www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing)

10. READ: Most people in the United States do not know where their water comes from. About 88 percent of people get their water from community water-supply systems. This water comes from large natural sources like lakes or reservoirs. It is purified at community water-treatment plants. The other 12 percent of people get their water from non-community means, such as campgrounds, resorts, and private wells.
DISCUSS: Do you know where the water in your home comes from? If you do know, how does this make you feel about how we treat our sources of water?
(www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/pdfs/activity_grades_4-8_wherewatercomes.pdf)

Cross-Curriculum Extensions:

Set up a sample water filter using soda bottles to show how pollutants can get through a filter and stay in the groundwater. See Attachment Two: Groundwater Pollution Demonstration Instructions.
For kid friendly activities related to watersheds: http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/kids_4-8.html
For more lesson ideas: http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/kids/teachers_4-8.html

Reflection: (click to view)

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service experience. Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE: Have each student write a paragraph about his or her personalservice project experience using one of these prompt analogies:

This service project was:
Like baking a cake, because…
Like hugging a friend, because…a
Like reading a good book, because…
Like running a race, because
Like planting a flower, because

ACTIVITY TWO: Holding one end of the yarn, toss the yarn ball to a student and have that student use one word or phrase, describe/summarize his or her personal service project experience. After the student has responded, have that student hold the end of the yarn and toss the yarn ball to another student--continuing to unravel the yarn ball-- repeating the process until everyone is part of the web created by the yarn. Passing is permissible. (Note: Point out to the students that the web represents the interconnectedness of people and their experiences.) If time permits, have the students “retrace” the yarn ball tosses. This time the student with the yarn ball rewinds the yarn onto the ball while sharing what he or she feels might be the effects of the event or what more they would like to do before tossing it back to the student who originally tossed it to him/her. Continue this process until the yarn ball is back in your hands.

ACTIVITY THREE: Collect a bag of inexpensive small toys. (These could be borrowed from a Kindergarten classroom.) Place these toys in a large brown bag. Assign students to groups of four or five. Have a member of each group select from the bag, without looking at any of the toys. Have each group explain to the other groups how this toy might represent what they did, how they felt, or suggest in some way what impact they might have had as a result of the project. Allow the groups time to meet and brainstorm together for a few minutes before making their presentation.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Have the class determine how much money they “saved” others by offering their volunteer service(s) or donations during this service project. To calculate the volunteer services amount, have each student identify the number of hours they were involved in the activity and multiply this number by the minimum wage for your State. (The Federal minimum wage can also be used which is approximately $7.00 per hour.) To calculate the donations amount, have the students count the total amount of money raised during the fundraiser. Celebrate the grand total savings to others that the students have provided during this service project.

Bibliographical References:

What Is a Watershed? http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/whatis.html
Adapted from Learning to Give Lesson: What is a Watershed
http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit374/lesson2.html
"Under the Sea," The Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Disney Studio, 1997. ASIN: B000001M3Z.
Getting to Know Your Watershed:
www.ctic.purdue.edu/KYW/brochures/GetToKnow.html
For local watershed information and maps:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm
http://www2.ctic.purdue.edu/kyw/
15 Things You Can Do
http://www.epa.gov/owow/adopt/earthday/index.html

Lesson Developed By:

Heather de Koning Foley
New York City
P.S.132
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Handouts:

Handout 1Print Handout 1

Water Usage Table

Water Usage	Number of Gallons Used
Flush a toilet	5
Full bath in tub	36-50
Wash hands (with water running)	2
Brush teeth (with water running)	2-10
Dishwasher	60
Wash clothes	50
Drinking water	2-12
Cooking	10
Washing the car	100

**On the average in the U.S., a person uses 100 gallons of water a day
**A dairy cow must drink 3 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk
**An ear of corn needs 26 gallons of water to grow
**A meal at a fast food restaurant can take 1,400 gallons of water to make (burger, fries and drink)

From the Saginaw Bay Watershed Middle School Curriculum Guide Lesson “Some Ways We Use Water.”

Handout 2Print Handout 2

Groundwater Pollution Demonstration Instructions - Optional

TEACHER NOTE: Complete steps 1-5 before class and demonstrate steps 6-7 during class time.

Supplies: two clear 2-liter bottles, water, two cups of sand, coffee filter, scissors, red food coloring, one-cup measuring cup, utility knife, drill or nail

Using two clear two-liter bottles, create a model of the water table.

Use a utility knife to cut off the bottom two inches of a two-liter bottle. Recycle the top.
Drill six holes in the bottom of the bottle. This can be done with a low-speed drill or a hot nail.
Cut off and recycle the top two inches (five cm) of the second bottle.
Cut a coffee filter to fit into the first bottle. Cover the coffee filter and the bottle bottom with two inches (five cm) of sand.
Fit the bottle bottom with holes into the second bottle. You now have a working model of ground water and pollution.
To demonstrate how rain water becomes ground water, pour one cup of water on the sand. The water will filter through the sand and collect at the bottom of the bottle.
Put five drops of red food coloring on the sand to represent pollution. Slowly pour another cup of water on top of the food coloring. It will filter through the sand and appear in the bottom of the bottle.

The ground water has been polluted.

Academic Standards:

State/Country:

Philanthropy Framework:

Unit Contents:

Overview:Pollution Is Not a Solution (5th Grade) Summary

Lessons:

1.: Pollution Is Not a Solution (5th Grade)

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