Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students examine how water is used in the school. They identify how it is used, ways it might be wasted and their tip or tips for reducing the waste of water.

Learning goals:

  • Students collect data about water use in the school.
  • Students distinguish between appropriate water use and wasteful water use.
  • Students identify issues with plumbing maintenance and from the data collected, communicate using a tip list the best ways to avoid wasting water.

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 7 Science

  • Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS125)
  • Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions (ACSIS130)

Year 7 English

  • Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Year 8 Science

  • Collaboratively and individually plan and conduct a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed (ACSIS140)
  • Summarise data, from students’ own investigations and secondary sources, and use scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions (ACSIS145)

Year 8 English

  • Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that raise issues, report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual choices, and including digital elements as appropriate (ACELY1736)

Syllabus Outcomes: SC4-5WS, SC4-6WS, SC4-7WS, EN4-4B. 

Topic: Water

Year levels: 7 and 8

Indoor or outdoor activity: Indoor/outdoor

Time required: 60 mins

Learning areas addressed: Geography, Health and physical education.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Keep students on track with making their saving tips.

Resources required: Internet.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Introduction

On average a school uses about a third of its water passing through toilets and urinals. The other large user of water in schools is watering gardens, lawns and sport fields. Grass is an excellent surface for children to be active and reduces injuries when they fall, and is therefore an important part of the school's environment.

Schools cannot illuminate water use, but they can find many ways to not waste it. This will require the entire school community.

Activity

This activity can be done by small groups, dividing the work among them. Students will need to go around the school and see how the different water outlets function. Teachers will need to confirm with students what rules are set about where they may go and what they might do. In many schools students would not be allowed to go into staff toilets or science preparation rooms and would need supervision in staff rooms, etc.

For each aspect of water use in the school students collect data:

...
 
- or - to view worksheets

Leave your Feedback

We appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you like or don't like about this activity:

Sorry. You must be logged in to view this form.