Teacher Tips Activity Conservation Worksheet (use back key to return) Conservation Chart (use back key to return) Activity #1 -- Water Uses Activity #2 -- Daily Doings Extension People to Contact Science Standards Students Materials Return to WatershED Table of Contents

Activity

Objective 

This activity will help students and their parents become aware of the many different ways they use water. It will also introduce them to simple conservation steps they can take. 

Materials 

Copies of Personal Water Use and Water Conservation Chart Student Worksheets. (Use back key to return) 

2 or 3 gallon jugs 

Activity #1 - Water Uses

1. Discuss daily water uses with students. Talk about how much water it take for different activities (e.g., flushing the toilet used between 4-7 gallons of water/flush). 

2. Pass out copies of the Personal Water Use worksheet and explain to the students that for the next week they are to keep track of their water use. 

3. At the end of the week, have students figure out their average daily water use in gallons/day. How can students reduce their average gallons/day? Have students make a conservation pledge listing ways that they can reduce the amount of water they use. 

Activity #2 -- Daily Doings

This activity will help students appreciate how often they use water daily. 

1. Tell students that for one week the only water the class can use is what is kept in the gallon jugs in the classroom. They have to use it for their drinking water, to wash their hands, for water classroom plants, etc. 

2. Designate a spot in the school to be the well where students will go to draw water when the gallon jugs go dry. The well should be located somewhere far from the classroom, such as a faucet in the basement or across the school. 

3. Discussion Questions: Do students use less water when they know they have a limited supply? Is it a pain to have to fill it up at the well each time they run out of water? What things would they do differently if they had to draw water from a well instead of just turning on the tap in the kitchen? 

Have students try this activity at home for a day or a week with their family. Have them write a page about their family’s reactions. 

Water Conservation Specialist 413-7407 

#5 Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they can affect the world. 

#6 Students understand that science involves a particular way of knowing and understanding common connections among different disciplines. 

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