Summary
In this lesson on the importance of clean water as a natural resource, students will begin by observing a polluted water source within a United States community. Next, students will explore the significance of the Ganges River and the political and religious issues that impact the ongoing struggle to maintain this important water resource for the people of India. Then, students will watch a video interview to learn how clean water issues relate to state and local communities before extending their learning with a writing activity to connect the importance of clean water to their personal lives. This lesson includes optional modifications for distance learning. Resources for use in Google Classroom are included.
Essential Question(s)
Does clean water impact more than just our personal use?
Snapshot
Engage
Students examine a picture of pollution trash surrounding Lake Arcadia in Oklahoma.
Explore
Using the It's OPTIC-al and Gallery Walk strategies, students analyze several photos of pollution in and around the Ganges River in India.
Explain
Students determine how the Ganges River is used in India and what types of pollution affect the use of the river.
Extend
Students write a Two-Minute Paper about their own contributions to water pollution, then watch an interview with the president of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB).
Evaluate
Students formulate ideas about how they can support water conservation and clean-up efforts.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
It's Optical Graphic Organizer (attached, one per student)
Ganges River Facts Reading (attached, one per student)
Six images of Ganges River pollution (linked, printed in color)
Highlighters (one per student)
Chart tablet or poster paper (six, one per image)
Notebook paper (one per student)
Engage
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Display slide 2 and introduce the lesson, then continue to slide 3 and read the essential question for the lesson. Tell students they should think about this question as they look at pictures and gather information about specific water sources. On slide 4, discuss the learning objectives the lesson will cover. Display slide 5 and show the picture of pollution and trash in and near a lake. Ask students to observe all the details of this picture and draw a conclusion about what is going on.
Invite students to share their thoughts with an Elbow Partner for 1–2 minutes, and then ask partners to share what they are seeing with the whole class. Ask students to determine the photo's location. Share with the students that the picture is of Lake Arcadia, just north of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Then, ask students to think for about 30 seconds about the importance of clean water and how it might impact them. Have them share their thoughts with their partner, allowing 1–2 minutes, and then ask for volunteers to share ideas with the class.
Give students about 6–8 minutes for the entire activity.
Explore
Introduce students to the focus of the lesson: the Ganges River. Ask students to recall the essential question as they look at pictures and gather information about water pollution and its impact. Number students one through six, or assign them into six working groups. Pass out a copy of the attached It's Optical Graphic Organizer to each student. Introduce the It's OPTIC-AL strategy on slide 6. Display slide 7, have each group report to their corresponding numbered poster. Ask groups to observe the assigned picture in detail as they did previously and fill out the chart paper next to the picture together.
Once each group is done with their first poster, display slide 8 and introduce the Gallery Walk/Carousel strategy. Invite student groups to rotate clockwise to another picture and fill out the OPTIC notes for the new picture. They can also add notes to the poster board about anything they observe in the picture that was not addressed.
Once all groups have rotated to every picture and completed their notes, have them return to seats, but remain with their group. Allow time for everyone to review their notes and ask questions or clear up confusion about any of the pictures.
Display slide 9, each group should discuss the question in the Painting a Picture strategy section of their graphic organizer. As a group, have students come to a consensus and draw a conclusion about what these pictures mean for this geographic region (i.e., Northern India), the present-day impact of the water situation there, and the future issues that may arise. Ask a few groups to share their conclusions with the class.
Explain
Display slide 10. Distribute highlighters and the attached Ganges River Facts Reading about the river and its use to each student. As students read, have them use the Why-Lighting strategy to analyze the reading, looking for information that could help them respond to the following questions: What is contributing to the pollution of the Ganges River? What efforts have been made to clean up the Ganges River? Instruct students to explain why they chose to highlight specific information in the margins of the reading.
Once students have finished reading and highlighting show slide 11, have them share what they highlighted with an Elbow Partner, then ask a few pairs to share their answers with the class.
If there is any information you feel the students still need to know, or if you feel that they didn't get the necessary information from the pictures and the reading, inform them about the pollution of the Ganges in more depth. Tell students that what they see happening with the Ganges River isn't unique to India, but that water pollution is an international and national concern. Like they saw with Lake Arcadia in Oklahoma, it is also a state and local concern.
Highlight the lack of accountability, government oversight, and the corruption by government officials; the difficulty in garnering local support for conservation; and the fact that local and state governments have not been able to handle the magnitude of the work. The Hindu spiritual belief that the Ganges can heal itself also hinders efforts.
Extend
Display slide 12. Pass out a sheet of notebook paper to each student. Ask students to think back to the picture of Lake Arcadia and consider the questions: "What role do you play in water conservation and water pollution?" and "What impact does water conservation and water pollution have on more than just our personal use?" Have students answer these two questions with a Two-Minute Paper strategy on notebook paper. Use the two minute timer on the slide to help students keep track of their time.
After their two minutes of writing, tell students they will watch an interview with the president of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB), Julie Cunningham. Go to slide 13 to play the video, titled “ICAP - What’s in Your Water?” In the video, Cunningham addresses some of our state's water conservation and pollution issues, as well as ways the Oklahoma Water Resource Board works to clean up and conserve water.
Evaluate
Display slide 14. After showing the video of the OWRB interview, discuss how we can support efforts to clean, protect, and conserve water. Have students add additional information to their Two-Minute Paper discussing how they can support efforts to clean, protect, and conserve water based upon any information they picked up from the video.
Resources
Berke, J. (2018, March 3). India's holy Ganges River is devastatingly polluted, yet provides drinking water for over 400 million people — here's what it looks like. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-indias-ganges-river-pollution-2018-1
City of Edmond. (n.d.). Arcadia Lake. Edmondok.com. https://edmondok.com/338/Arcadia-Lake
Ganges facts for kids. (n.d.). Kids encyclopedia facts. Kiddle. https://kids.kiddle.co/Ganges
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/116
K20 Center. (n.d.). Gallery walk/carousel. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/118
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google Classroom. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/628
K20 Center. (n.d.). It's OPTIC-al. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/99
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 2 minute timer[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcEEAnwOt2c
K20 Center. (n.d.). Padlet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1077
K20 Center. (n.d.). Painting a picture. Strategies. Retrieved from https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1331
K20 Center. (n.d.). Two-Minute Paper. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/152
K20 Center. (n.d.). Voice Thread. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2932
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-Lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
K20 Center. (2020, February 13). ICAP - What's in your water [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/P4BAvdIznV4
Shlotthauer, K. (2018). Trash piles up at Arcadia Lake--Edmond's main source of drinking water [Photo]. The Oklahoman. https://oklahoman.com/article/5599714/trash-piles-up-at-arcadia-lake