A Water Resource for the Community Science Action Guide

What's the Cost of Not Conserving?

Help Other Know the Issues and Problems

Objectives:

To develop a campaign designed to heighten awareness of the issues surrounding limited water resources.
To brainstorm ways to conserve water.
To practice problem solving in groups.
To create materials or presentations using language arts and technology skills.

After reviewing information on water conservation, help students to list key or important points that they think their audience might need to know and use.

Elicit from students ways they think might be effective in getting the ideas and information across to their audience.

Divide students into groups and have them work on their "message" or information using a variety of methods. Let them decide which might work best for their needs.

Students might plan to use demonstrations or science experiments to get their audience involved.

Students might create posters and signs with catchy phrases to get the message across.

Think creatively to offer a variety of choices to students. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Develop a water saving tip of the day for the school news broadcast or announcements.
Use PowerPoint to create a presentation.
Create door hangers or signs to hang in places where students think a reminder can save some water.
Write letters to the editor about issues.
Write articles and stories for school or local newspaper.
Develop a survey to collect data to see who knows about water issues, restrictions, and conservation. Tally the results and post a display. Students could compare different age groups' knowledge or awareness. (Survey results can help them select a target group for their campaign.)
Create comic strips.
Create a web page.
Create materials to use with younger students - coloring pages, word puzzles, fact sheets.
Create a tri-fold brochure to give out.
Create buttons or badges with catchy water saving phrases.
Create a self-checking quiz for people to take that includes facts and information to make them more knowledgeable.

Develop a rubric to assess student projects which includes both content and effective or appropriate use of presentation method selected.