Water is Life

We have been studying about problems and solutions around the world and the effects and consequences on people who live there. Our curriculum is "site based" in that we have divided up our year into continents (4 weeks on Monsoon Asia or 5 weeks on Europe) , rather than by theme (women's rights or the role of extended families in a society).

This trimester (March through June), we have made a greater effort on expanding a theme through many geographic areas so students can compare and analyze those themes. As we talked about water usage and sanitation, students were able to connect ideas from place to place. We discussed how access to clean water has an impact on lives from agriculture to education. They asked specific questions about India and asked if I would have access to clean water while I was there.

Students became keenly aware of the need for clean water and the challenges that kids--many younger than them--face on a daily basis to acquire water for their families. Through readings, GoogleEarth, map work, debates, TEDtalks, and presentations, students were able to uncover some startling facts about fresh water and its availability all over the world. They became quite alarmed at some of this information and insisted that we could do something to help.

We talked about getting creative and coming up with ways to conserve water, educate people on water usage, and create innovative projects that would collect, purify, or save water (see the TEDtalk video attached here from Ludwick Marishane):

One of our results has been students driving an amazing project called "Walk for Water," based on a walk they did last year for H20ForLife, an organization dedicated to providing clean water supplies, education and materials for peole around the world. They have some great ideas and momentum is building. I can't wait to see what they come up with to support this cause!