Preparation

Grades: 5-8

Time Required: This project should take approximately two weeks of 40- to 50-minute daily lessons.

Group Formation: Groups of five

Computer Resources

You will need at least one computer workstation with Internet access; an e-mail account; word-processing software; and, if available, the software programs Microsoft PowerPoint and Inspiration. We recommend, as a minimum, using a Macintosh II-series computer running System 7.0 or higher, or a 386 IBM-compatible PC running Windows 3.1 or higher. We also recommend a minimum modem speed of 14.4K bps, though 28.8K or more is preferable. See "Different Computer-Access Scenarios" below for more details on how to teach the lesson with different numbers of available computers.

Bookmarks

Bookmark the following Web sites:

Research
Water Science for Schools
http://www.ga.usgs.gov/edu/

Mr. & Mrs. Fish (with Children and Grownup strands):
http://www.mrandmrsfish.com/

Ask an Expert Sites
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN)/ U.S. Department of Energy
http://www.eere.energy.gov/informationcenter/

Scientific American
http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_topic.cfm?topicID=10

Ask-a-Geologist (bodies of water)
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/docs/ask-a-ge.html/

local water experts (teacher should research)
http://www.eweb.org/water/ask.html

Sources for Additional Research
Project Wet for Educators
http://www.montana.edu/wwwwet/

Global Water Project
http://www.globalwater.org/

U.S. Water News (an online publication about water)
http://www.uswaternews.com/homepage.html

Student Learning Goals

• Students will learn to work cooperatively to solve a problem.
• Students will learn to assume individual roles as well as work as a group to achieve consensus.
• Students will learn about community water: where it comes from, how it is stored, how it is delivered, and its many uses.
• Students will gain an understanding of drought: how a drought is iddentified, what causes a drought, etc.
• Students will learn about their own communities and how water is used, stored, distributed, and conserved in them.
• Students will communicate with experts to obtain advice and feedback on the students' proposals.
• Students will learn how to communicate information to different groups of people.
• Students will learn how to find useful information on Internet sites.
• Students will learn how to use the computer software application Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Students will learn how to use the computer software application Inspiration.
• Students will use a word processor to present a report.

Planning is important for every lesson, but it is especially important for one involving technology. The last thing you want is for technical problems to derail students -- or yourself. Before starting to teach this lesson, you will want to explore and bookmark the Web sites, find some of the suggested books on the subject, get to know all the software, and read (or at least skim!) any user manuals provided with the software.

You will also want to ensure that the computers are working properly and that all of the software is loaded and accessible. If your school has a technology-support specialist, you may wish to contact him or her in advance and describe in detail your needs and plans and the dates when you will be using the computers. That way, if there are any problems, the technology specialist will be "on call" and ready to help.

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