Unit 7: Using Water
Global water activity guide
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Unit 7: Using Water
Global water activity guide
Estimated duration: 70 minutes Aim •
To create an awareness of the inequities in water availability in different countries throughout the world
Outcome By the end of this class, students will be able to: • appreciate that all people do not have equal access to fresh water • understand that many people in developing countries suffer from diseases caused by unclean drinking water • estimate the time they would need to spend accessing water without effective water infrastructure
Resources • • • • • • •
Slideshow: Global water Video download: http://www.thewaterchannel.tv Computer & projector Buckets Taps Stop watches Measuring tape
Activity Description 1. Global water presentation (15 minutes) Present the slideshow “Global Water”. Ask students what they know about water and its use in other countries. Some students may come from developing countries or have travelled to developing countries. 2. A water hauling experiment (40 minutes) This can be done with one student as a whole class demonstration or in small groups. Students: a) measure a point 100 m from a tap b) time how long it takes to fill a bucket and walk it 100m
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c) Ask students to calculate the time it would take to carry their daily water consumption (e.g. 175L) from a well 100m from their house. For example, Australians use 175L per day per person using conservative estimates. If it takes 4 minutes to fill the 9L bucket and walk 100 m, the calculation would be 175/9 = 19.4 or 20 bucket loads 20 buckets x 4 minutes = 1 hour 20 minutes If there were four people in the family, it would take 320 minutes or 5 hours and 20 minutes each day, NOT including return trips with the bucket!!! 3. Video case study (15 minutes) The water channel is a dedicated web‐based video channel on water. It caters to a large audience, making a large amount of video material available in support of many initiatives throughout the developing world. Select a video and download it to show the class. The Water Channel can be found at www.thewaterchannel.tv.
Student Roles and Responsibilities Participate in agreed tasks Contribute to class discussions Complete activities and worksheets Work cooperatively with others
Level of Teacher Support Facilitate discussion Organise materials and equipment Present slideshow Provide encouragement Introduce tasks and activities Provide assistance when requested. Teach or reinforce arithmetic skills and understanding
Assessment To use this learning activity as an assessment task, collect evidence such as: Teacher checklist and observation Teacher checklist for class discussions
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