Lesson Plan: Water Pollution
Lesson Plan: Water Pollution
Water Pollution
Jyotsna + Geoff
LESSON PLAN: Water Pollution
Grade
: 6th grade students
Subject
: Science
Unit
: Caring for my locality / environment, Environmental Awareness
Skills
: Students will develop an understanding of the language associated with
water pollution and being environmentally aware.
• Analysing
MATERIALS
PROCEDURE
SCRATCH GAME
1. Fill 3 separate clean clear glasses or bottles halfway with tap water in and
observe the water, as is. Students should record their observations in the first
section of the worksheet. Elicit answers from the students as to what they think
will happen to the water once oil/washing up liquid/soil is added.
2. Add the oil to the first glass of water to create “polluted water”, the dish soap to
the next glass, and the soil to the last glass. Students should complete their
observations in section 2 of the worksheet. Elicit answers from the students as to
what will happen once the polluted water is stirred up.
3. Stir the glasses of water with a spoon to create movement in the polluted
water; observe what happens to the water. Prompt the students to answer if this
could happen in nature, when and why? What do they expect to happen next?
Record observations as above.
4. Continue to observe the water and see what happens after 5 minutes. Elicit
from the students what they think is happening. Record observations as above.
5. Filter the polluted water through the coffee filter into a clean glass, repeat for
each of the glasses. Record observation as above. Filter with other items for
advanced students for section 6.
Record data after conducting the experiment
Observation:
What does it look like?
Water samples used in the What colour is it?
experiment What does it smell like? Are
there any particles in the water?
Tap Water
Polluted Water
1. What happened to the clean water when items were left in it for …… (Number of days)?
4. Explain which was the most effective filtering system - clean stones, sand, coffee filter? Compare
the colour of the water samples and particles in it.
Activity Theory:
Activity theory focuses on understanding human activities as
complex phenomena. Activity is an interaction (of a human being with an object)
that is carried out for a reason and that produces meaning. We express ourselves
through activities, so our activities also represent us.
Anchored Instruction:
Anchored Instruction is a way of planning education
around an interesting activity or situation, during which students have more
freedom to explore around the topic and construct their knowledge on the
subject. It encourages students' active thinking and promotes problem solving
abilities, and in the meantime, makes sure that the students don't get carried
away with the "anchor".
Case-based Learning:
This learning theory focuses on searching for the solutions
of a specific activity, event or problem. In our case the collaborative team work
on the Scratch would make the kids work on the case and understand and talk
about the game together.
Socio-constructivism:
According to this theory the way we construct knowledge
is very much dependant on the culture in which we are raised and are thus
socio-culturally determined. The social interactions a child has when growing up
guides their thoughts and behaviors and builds their knowledge. The three ways
this knowledge is achieved is through imitation, instruction and collaboration.
References:
Website: explorer.ie
http://www.marine.ie/Home/site-area/areas-activity/education-outreach/explorers-educ
ation-programme