The Value of Water

Water is essential to our lives and all life on Earth — so it is important to take care of our water resources and we have an important role to play.

Driving Question

• What is the value of water?

Guiding Question

• There are many ways we each connect with water in our lives- what is the way that you and your classmates feel most connected in your life ?

Water is essential for all living organisms. Students will explore the many ways they feel connected to water.

Engage

Ask the question: What is the value of water?

There are so many ways we engage with water in our world – culturally, spiritually, practically and everything in between. In this first learning experience, we want to offer some simple and quick ways students can connect and reflect upon their relationship to water.

Slide 3 presents the students with a number of options to explore their relationship with water.

–> You may decide to hide this slide and make a decision for which activity you will facilitate in your classroom.

Depending on how many options from the list you decide to implement, you may set up the activities at their desks or as a station rotation around the room, individually,  in pairs,  or  as a small group.

A slide deck is linked with instructions. Learning Station Water Image cards 

The menu of activities includes:

• Use the Learning Station Water Image Cards Slide Deck to give students a variety of paintings and images that all include water. Send this deck out using Google Classroom, assigning small groups or individual students one or two of the images to respond to.
• Have students write their own list of words, terms, synonyms, other languages for water. This can be done as a popcorn activity as a whole class or in small groups/pairs at desks to consolidate as a class.
• As a class generate as many adjectives and verbs/adverbs that describe water.
• Have students estimate their own daily water usage. Students might first create the ways they use water. Then using units of measure that makes sense to them (1 water bottle, 1 glass, estimated time to brush teeth, etc) have them make an estimated calculation of their daily water usage.

Give students no more than  5 minutes for the activity. For the images, you may choose to give them more than one to look at.  Ask them to write a caption or title for the image.

Give time for the students share their reflections.

(If you opted for student choice, you can also ask them why they made that choice)

 

Explore and Explain

As a final part of the class (or as take home) ask students to express in writing their valued relationship with water in a Love Letter to Water. If there is time or students would like to, add illustrations to their love letter.

A Love Letter to Water

Slides 4 and 5: introduces this activity and provides prompts for a love letter and thank you note to water.

To wrap up this learning experience, discuss as a class the ways they may value water (personal, recreational, cooking etc) . Explain what value means and ask for examples of other things we value.

 

Extensions

If you would like to extend the exploration of water and the arts at a deeper level there are additional resources available to provide students.

Included in the Materials section on the right menu are selections of Water and Art

Take a walk to a nearby body of water. Bring drawing or painting supplies. Create a landscape painting and/or a drawing. If students are not able to draw while outside, partner with the art teacher to collaborate on this activity.

Look out the window to the school yard. Add an imaginary water element to the scene. Create a pencil sketch and then add color.