Lesson 3

Lesson 3

UNIT TOPIC: Water Pollution

LESSON TOPIC: Water pollution continued with different cultures

AGE/GRADE: 3^rd Grade

TIME: 1 ½ hour

LESSON ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How are different cultures effected by water pollution?

RATIONALE AND CONTEXT: For this lesson I want my students to understand that water pollution doesn’t just happen in our community, but all around the world. Even if it isn’t effecting us, it may be a bigger issue to others. During this lesson they will have the opportunity to learn about water pollution in different cultures to give them a greater idea of how important water pollution is to understand. I’m building on my student’s prior knowledge of what water pollution is, in this lesson they will be able to see many different examples of water pollution. I want my students to see a greater effect of water pollution after this lesson and grow a greater appreciation.

TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE:  

In order to teach this lesson, I researched water pollution in different countries and the different forms that each are suffering from. I was able to find many paintings by artists who painted water pollution, which I will use to show my students how art is influenced. I will also use the book One Plastic Bag as a resources for both my students and myself, this book is a great example of how we can learn to reuse certain materials, instead of just throwing them away.

DESIRED RESULTS:

Common Core/Vermont Standard GE(s)/National Arts Standards:

Students communicate their findings by… Giving an oral, written, or visual presentation that summarizes their findings

Students develop reasonable explanations that support the research statement by…  Organizing and displaying information in a manner appropriate to the research statement through tables, graphs, charts, narratives, and/or posters, maps, dioramas. Classifying information and justifying groupings based upon observations, prior knowledge, and/or research. Using appropriate methods for interpreting information such as comparing and contrasting.

Learning Objective(s): My students will be able to understand the different emotions and effects water pollution has on different cultures and communities, they will experience a variety of different questions and thoughts that they will be able to share to better observe the content.

Focusing Question(s): How are different cultures and communities around the world effected by water pollution?

Language Objectives: Different countries, such as South Africa, India, Indonesia, Argentina, and Peru. Also different forms of water pollution such as plastic bottles, sewage, trash, surface runoff, etc.

ASSESSMENT: 

Strategies: In this lesson, my students will be participating in several different activities where they will be asked to reflect on different images, they will also be active in group and individual work to show they fully understand the lesson topic.

Process: I will be able to give my students constant ideas and feedback during this lesson. Whether we are in a large group or working on individual work, I will be able to interact with my students so they know what is expected of them for this lesson.

Criteria: In order for my students to understand the importance of water pollution, I ask my students to reflect and observe in several different activities during this lesson. They will be able to see many different examples of ways water pollution effects cultures, communities and the arts.

Reflection to Students: I will provide feedback to my students by questioning them further into their thought. When observing different paintings and images in the classroom, I will ask them to deepen their understanding of the topic and understand how it makes them feel, even though it might not be effecting them personally.

LEARNING PLAN:

Hook:  The lesson will start with observing and reacting to different cultures suffering from water pollution and the effects it has on their lives. This will create my students to question these paintings and want to learn more. I will show my students a variety of paintings, some abstract, some realistic to show how art is influenced by water pollution.

Instruction:

1. First I will show my students a variety of different paintings of water pollution and have them ask questions, make comments, reflect and observe them in order to spark interest in this lesson and topic.

2. After I will have my students share in small groups (four students) the item they brought into class that is a form of water pollution. (this is from my last lesson)

3. I will next be reading the book One Plastic Bag, which shows my students an example of a different culture and the form of water pollution they have. I will ask them to reflect on what they saw and how it made them feel.

4. I will hand out to each group of students a photograph from all different places that have water pollution, I will also give them the location. I will then ask them to talk in their groups about what they see, how it makes them feel, ways they could maybe prevent this pollution, etc.

5. After discussing in groups about the photograph they’ve received, I will ask them to draw this same image, but without water pollution and at the bottom of the sheet, write ways they can prevent this from happening in the future and different emotions they felt while drawing this image.   

    

Closure and Connections: I want my students to be able to take their experiences with observing images, and be able to reflect on a deeper level. This will help them understand the message of this lesson, which is I want them to question water pollution and motivate my students to become more involved in making sure our water stays clean. This will also lead into our next lesson, which is a beach cleanup.

Extensions: This lesson will connect to my next lesson, which is to have my students participate in a beach cleanup to help them understand ways they can help prevent water pollution. From this lesson they will be able to transition into the next lesson by reflecting on how water pollution makes them feel and feeling like they are contributing to help the cleanup.

ACCOMMODATIONS:  To make sure all of my students are able to understand this lesson topic, I created this lesson to be more interactive. After reading One Plastic Bag I make sure to review the main points of the book to help my ELL students better understand it. They will be able to communicate their learnings from the drawing my students will be participating in, they will use art to communicate their emotions and observations, which will help them make the message clearer. They will also be provided with group discussions, where they can express themselves and their ideas in a smaller group setting.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS: One Plastic Bag, 5-6 different images of water pollution in different countries, drawing materials such as crayons, colored pencils, markers, paper, and several images of water pollution paintings.