This cross-disciplinary unit will help learners discover how our waterways are polluted and how necessary it is to keep our waterways and rivers clean. The instructor will use a thematic approach to this lesson through literature, history, math, science and social studies. Learners have the opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills acquired through meaningful voluntary service for the common good. Philanthropy combined with strong content in Social Studies, Language Arts, Math and Science leads learners to conclude that keeping their water supply clean is everyone's responsibility for the common good . Learners practice core democratic values through their service-learning activity.

The Language Arts portion will introduce the literature through the book, A River Ran Wild. Social Studies will pursue the progression of the pollution and cleansing of the Nashua River. Math lesson will focus on the concept of one million and the simulation of the effects of one million gallons of sewage on a river. Through science, the water cycle will be explored with the underlying question of what would happen if pollution were injected at different intervals of the cycle. Learners will explore the Core Democratic Values and the relationship to the Common Good through a mock trial, produced to engage other students in learning about the issue of water pollution and keeping their water supply healthy.

• Invite a speaker from the local water supplier to talk about how the city purifies its water.
  
  
• Take a field trip to the local water shed or water-treatment plant to observe the cleansing of the water system.

See Lessons One through Four.