Lesson 1

Lesson 1

UNIT TOPIC: Water Pollution

LESSON TOPIC: Uses of water in daily routine

AGE/GRADE: 3^rd Grade, age 8-9

TIME: 11/2 hours

UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is pollution and how does water influence our lives?

RATIONALE AND CONTEXT: During this lesson we will start with learning about different forms of water and how much we use water in our lives, this is important because I wanted to start off with introducing this topic before we dive into water pollution. I want my students to understand how important water is to our lives and our daily routine. I’m building on my student’s basic understanding of water by having them learn different bodies of water and learning the purpose of each. I thought it was also important to be able to understand the way the water cycle works, to make sure they have a full understanding of the water process.

 TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE: While teaching this lesson I will first help my students form a list of different bodies of water (lakes, streams, ocean, ponds, and rivers) and help them then understand each of their uses and resources they provide. Some resources are for survival, agricultural purposes, business, electric power, and just for enjoyment. Next I’ll explain the water cycle by using a model which describes each of the steps to the water cycle, which is evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and accumulation.

 DESIRED RESULTS:

Common Core/Vermont Standard GE(s):

Students interpret geography and solve geographic problems by…

 1. Observing, comparing, and analyzing patterns of local and state land use (e.g., agriculture, forestry, industry) to understand why particular locations are used for certain human activities.

 2. Asking appropriate geographic questions and using geographic resources to answer them (e.g., what product is produced in a region and why; atlas, globe, wall maps, reference books).

 Learning Objective(s): This lesson my students will have a full understanding of water and be able to use geographic resources to understand the topic further. They will learn about different forms of water and local and global types of bodies of water. From learning about what their resources are, they can next learn about water pollution and have a full understanding.

Focusing Question(s): What are different forms of water and how does water affect our lives (what resources does it provide)? What is the water cycle?

Language Objectives: My students will be learning different vocabulary regarding the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and accumulation

ASSESSMENT:   

Strategies: We will both have an artistic response to their favorite body of water. With this drawing they will be able to connect their personal live to their learning. Also they will be learning a song to help them memorize the water cycle, with this song they will be able to use it to make a dance to help them understand it more. Lastly to keep the water cycle in mind, they will create bracelets with each bead representing a cycle in the water cycle with different colors.

Process: When my students start the lesson, they will start off with making a list of ways we use water in our lives, then form another list of different bodies of water and what resources they provide. This will start the students off with basic lists of information that they can relate to, with this they will produce a drawing of their favorite body of water, and explain to the class why it’s their favorite and what resources it provides to them. Later in another lesson they will be adding pollution to these photos and reflect on them. After, they will learn about the water cycle and go on to learn a song to create a dance to and create bracelets to help their memorization.

Criteria: I will be watching to see how much they are fully participating in the activities that are given, but also how well their completion of the work (drawing and bracelet) and how well they understand the assessment given. I want them to think creativity during our activities and come up with different ways of thinking that might help them learn the topic better.

Reflection to Students: I will reflect how I feel my students learned the topic, by seeing how well they come to understand the water cycle and the importance of forms of water. Also by how well they participate in making the lists and their drawing. When we learn the song to go along with the water cycle I will be looking for participation and will guide them. Later they will be acting out the water cycle song in groups to make sure they fully understand it; while they do this I will give each group feedback on how well they acted out the water cycle and participated.

LEARNING PLAN:

Hook and Introduction: Before I introduce water pollution, I wanted my students to understand the importance of water. My first lesson includes many ways for my students to get involved in their work, and begin the unit with fun activities to get them to be interested in what the unit will include. With the different forms of arts, the students will learn and memorize things in a more interactive way, this I hope will make them more engaged in the learning. 

Instruction:

1. To start off the lesson, my students and I will be forming a list of different bodies of water, with this list, we then will create a list of resources each of these bodies of water will and do provide to us.

2. Next they will spilt up into groups and come up with ways we use water in our everyday life, with the list they have created, the class will come back together to make a large list of everyone’s ideas.

3. After creating all three of these lists, they will be asked to draw a scene of their favorite body of water, including themselves. I want them to focus on the things surrounding them, what they are doing and their emotions they feel while in this space.

4. Next they will share their drawings with the class and explain why they chose this place and what they like to do there, after that we will hang them on the wall to use as a reference.

5. After completing the drawings, we will gather to learn about the water cycle, I will first show them a diagram of the water cycle and will take questions to see what we might need to talk about more.

6. After showing them the water cycle, we will learn a song as a class to help memorize the water cycle. Once I feel they have a good understanding of the song, they will break up into groups again and come up with a creative way to reenact the water cycle.

7. Once the time I have given them is up, they will share these creative dances to the other groups and I will provide feedback.

8. Then the students will head back to their desks for one last memorization activity, by making bracelets. I will hand out the different colored beads (yellow, white, blue, clear and green) to each desk and string to make their bracelets. They will be able to take these bracelets home and are asked to share with one person at home what each of the beads represent.

Closure and Connections: My students will demonstrate their knowledge in this lesson by participating in the activities I have provided for them. By learning a song to go along with the water cycle, I hope that this will help them understand and memorize. I will also see the different skills they used when working in groups and coming up with a creative dance to go along with it.

Extensions: By learning about different forms of water and their resources, they can extend their knowledge into the next lesson, by using this to understand how different areas might get effected by pollution, and how much of an affect it could cause to our daily lives.

 ACCOMMODATIONS:  By having different ways for my students to interrupt their learning in this lesson, I give them opportunities to learn in different ways that might be more suitable for them. By creating a dance, learning a song, using colors I make sure that each of my students understand the task. Since they will be sharing their own personal work, I make sure that it’s do-able and a comfortable environment for everyone in the class. When they make their dances, I want them to feel comfortable enough to explore their creativity and branch out, this might be a challenge for some, but they will learn how they can be creative in different ways. I will try to make sure that my ELL students feel capable enough to complete each task, and if not I will be able to guide them to complete their work. I try to make my activities very engaging, which might be a challenge, but it might also be a good way for them to show that they fully understand the topic at hand.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS: The materials will include large note paper for making several different lists, paper and different drawing materials (paint, colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc.) to create their own drawings, yellow, dark blue, white, clear and green beads, and string to represent the different cycles of the water cycle. Lastly I will include a large sheet of paper for the writing of the water cycle song that they will be learning.