Junior High: How Important is Clean Water to One’s Survival?
April News – Junior High
Recently, in language arts classes, the junior high students began an inquiry project on water. We began our inquiry by viewing a number of videos on water and by attending a presentation on water and water conservation by the Green Action Center. Next, we compiled a multitude of questions to help guide our inquiry and to develop the essential questions that will help guide our work. As a result, the following essential questions were developed and posted in our classroom.
1) How important is clean water to one’s survival?
2) Do we have a right to clean water?
3) What personal contributions and changes can we make to help reduce the effects of the global water crisis?
4) How can we make a convincing case about the global water crisis that will inspire others to take action?
5) How do our experiences shape our identity?
After gathering a number of facts about water and water conservation, we worked on putting together a number of Public Service Announcements to help inspire others to take action. Several of these videos have been posted on the school’s YouTube channel or they can be found by clicking on the following links.
In the weeks ahead, we will be reading several books on water, “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park and “Aqueduct” by Adele Perry which tells the story of the building of the Winnipeg Aqueduct. We will also be taking part in book clubs and will have the opportunity to read one of three books, “The Memory of Water” by Emmi Itäranta, “Not a Drop to Drink” by Mindy McGinnis or “Terrible Roar of Water” by Penny Draper. We will also be exploring the water issues on First Nations communities by reading and discussing a large variety of news articles and by viewing a number of videos. We have a lot of work ahead of us and will be sharing our learning journey through our Google Classroom site. If any of the junior high parents would like to be invited to join our Google Classroom, please let us know!