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Primary Activities |
WATER |
Spring Session |
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES
Water is the source of all life and it is part of our everyday
life. Yet, we have a tendency to take this resource for granted.
Conservation of water, (the wise use of water) has become of great
significance to our qualify of life. We must concern ourselves
with both the quality and quantity of our water resource.
As in the "waste" and "energy" segments of this unit, a
consideration of the water resource should commence with a
gathering of the knowledge that the students already possess.
Brainstorming the question "Where do we use water?"
would be a good place to start. (A variation of this activity
would be Aqua Words, page 55, Project Wild Activity Book
.) Guide the thought process to include home uses, school
uses, industry, municipal uses, agriculture, wildlife, recreation,
health care, power generation, etc. Perhaps following the
brainstorming activity, and prior to free-play, students could
create a large mural or a series of posters to illustrate the
presence and uses of water.
Free-Play Activities: Water
Allow children a chance to acquaint themselves with this resource
in a non-structured manner. A few suggested activities follow:
Science
- have students add food colouring to water in various containers, or a water table
- in a water table, allow children to play with several groups of objects/toys, e.g., things that float, things that sink, water-animal toys ...
- have students/teacher first discuss and refine, then execute various water experiments of their own design
Mathematics
- have students fill an assortment of household containers (margarine containers, ketchup bottles, etc.) with water, predict the comparative liquid capacities, and verify in measuring containers, or in a marked tub
- measure the distance water balloons can be tossed between classmates before breaking
Physical Education
- using waterguns, sponges, or soft plastic containers, let the class have a free-spirited "water-fight"
- using two buckets per team (one full of water, one empty), have students work in competitive relay to transfer water from one bucket to the other, using a small unbreakable container
Suggested Exploratory Activities: Water
- Water Treatment Plant - tour your local facility after preparing students with pre-visit information and appropriate questions to be asked.
- Lake/River/Pond/Wetlands - visit a local/nearby wetland, creek or ditch to discover what kinds of life exist there, e.g., aquatic life, plant life, birds, mammals, reptiles, crustaceans, amphibians.
- Library - field trips are not always feasible. Try having students "dig" deeply into the school library compiling a body of appropriate materials (books, magazines, videos, posters, film strips) pertaining to water - anything to do with water.
*These exploratory activities allow for a range of follow-up activities as illustrated in the following example:
Sample Follow-Up to Exploratory Activities
Water Treatment Plant
Language Arts
- Journal entries and illustrations describing details of the visit.
- Letters (or big books) to the treatment plant manager giving thanks for the opportunity and describing points of interest.
- Verbal or written reports on how water is treated.
- News reports to school paper or community newspaper.
Mathematics/Science Technology
- (Blocks, chalkboard, mural, plasticine) recreating facility with verbal or written description.
- Develop experiments and complete reports on water filtration. Beginning with silted water, have students explore such water filters as sand and gravel, cotton balls, fabric and coffee filters.
SPECIFIC LEARNING ACTIVITIES
These activities would follow the exploratory activites and would enable the students to progress from the concept of "What is Water?" to conservation of water.
Film and Follow-Up
Show the film Journey of the Blob, from the N.F.B. which
shows what happens to a green blob that he disposes of.
The video illustrates the water cycle and explores the concept of
environmental responsibility.
If you wish, you could, at this point,
have students illustrate or colour a "Water Cycle Map".
GAMES
Some excellent games that primary teachers may choose from the Project Wild Activity Guide (Canadian Wildlife Federation) are:
GUEST SPEAKERS
Suggested guest speakers for the class would be:
- P.U.C. Worker
- Town Engineer
- Bottled Water Rep.
- Public Health Personnel
- M.N.R. Personnel
- Ducks Unlimited Personnel
- Hunters & Anglers Association Personnel
- M.O.E. Personnel
FIELD TRIPS
Suggested locations for class field trips would be:
- local wetland, river, beach or ditch
- conservation area
- outdoor education centres such as Wye Marsh, Tiny Marsh, Tiffin Centre
- water treatment plant
- water park
WATER - CULMINATING ACTIVITIES (SPRING)
Students would choose an activity for their presentation or demonstration involving the following writing-oriented multiple intelligences.
Linguistic Strategies:
- letters, poems, stories, descriptions (paper, computer)
- written project, e.g., specific research project
- journal
Logical - Mathematical Strategies
- list or organize facts
- solve environmental story problems
- conduct an experiment (to test hypothesis or demonstrate cause-effect).