Begin with a class discussion.

Ask students:

“Where do you use water in your house?”

Record answers on chart paper (sink, shower, bath, washing machine, drinking water).

Project the graphic (slide #2) of places where water is used in the home. The graphic is from the Fairmount Water Works’ Activity book Run Water Run . A pdf of the full book is in the materials menu.

Students take turns using equity sticks (or a similar tool to ensure all students have an equal chance to participate)  to come up to the board and circle the ways they use water. (Click here to see Equity Sticks example)

Ask the engaging questions:

I’m wondering… how does water get into our house in the first place?

Where does the water come from?

Where does the water go?

Allow students to share ideas before they give their answer.

Tell a felt board story explaining how water travels to, through, ( in and out) our homes,  and, if you like, introduce downspouts and rain barrels and gardens for over too.

Vocabulary words are shown in bold letters. As each vocabulary word is read, show the picture in the slide deck.

Story explanation:

1. In this story, water begins as a river. (Slide 3)
2. The water is carried through pipes to a special place where it gets cleaned and tested to make it safe to drink. This place is called a drinking water treatment plant. (Slides 4 and 5)
3. After it is filtered and passes the safety test, the water travels through a system of pipes underground. (Slide 6)
4. These pipes bring the water into our homes where we use it in sinks, showers, and washing machines. We see the water coming out of our faucets by turning or pushing a tap.  (Slide 7)
5. When we finish using the water, it goes down the drain. (Slide 8)
6. The water travels through another set of pipes to a water pollution control plant to be cleaned and tested once again , then safely returns to the river.

1: Draw the Path of Water

Students draw the path of water through their homes.

Instead of drawing a person like the previous lesson, they draw a house.

Students complete the sentence:

“Water comes to my house through ______.”

Encourage students to include:

• pipes
• sink
• drain

2: Water Journey Stations

Students rotate through hands-on stations to model the journey water takes to reach our homes.

Station A: River

A clear container represents the Delaware or Schuylkill River.

Students:

• Drop blue beads (rainwater) into the river.
• Add other colored beads to show the water is not clean yet. Explain that these multi-colored beads represent  pollutants like oil, bacteria, parasites (bad bugs) etc. that can make us sick.

Station B: Drinking Water Filtration Plant

Students pour the bead mixture through a funnel. Explain the funnel represents the filtration using sand, gravel and charcoal used in actual drinking water treatment plants to clean the waste water.

Only the blue beads (clean water) pass through.

Explain that this represents the water treatment plant filtering the water.

Station C: Distribution Pipes

Use large tubes or straws under a table to represent underground pipes.

Students pour the clean blue beads through the pipes.

Station D: House Sink

A cardboard sink model represents the sink in a home.

Students:

• Turn the faucet “on”
• Pour the clean beads through the faucet.

Station E: Drain to Wastewater Plant and back to the River 

The sink model includes a drain hole and pipe.

Students pour a mixture of blue beads and multi-colored beads representing our wastewater into the drain to show where water goes after we use it.

Explain to your students that the water we use in our homes, as they discovered,  is cleaned up before we use it and after we use it.  Rain (also called stormwater) landing on our roofs, streets and sidewalks is another story.  Stormwater can run off into our rivers too, but can carry whatever we leave behind with it as pollution (such as litter, dog poop, or oil from a car) and harm the plants,  fish and animals who live there.

Ask students:

“If the freshwater we use starts and ends in our rivers,  how can we help protect life in the river from polluted street runoff ?”

Possible student responses:

• Throw our trash in the garbage can so it doesn’t blow into the water.
• Never pour harmful things (like chemicals, oil, or paint) down the outside storm sewers.
• Pick up after our pets so their waste doesn’t wash into rivers when it rains.
• Help pick up litter at the park or near a river.
• Use nature to absorb and capture rain running off the land before it carries pollutants into the waterway

Show the video in slide 9 to explain the whole story!