H2O: Global, National, & Educational Conservation

Curriculum

Implementing water conservation is important not only on an architectural level but also on an academic level as well. Bringing sustainable water practices into curriculum gives students’ an opportunity to understand the reasoning behind the special design of their school and to find ways that they can have a positive impact on their environment as individuals. Teachers have the power to excite their students about water conservation by creating interactive lesson plans and activities as well as by helping them to establish personal goals for a sustainable lifestyle. Below is an example of a brief lesson plan with an objective that students will learn about their individual water usage as well as ways to save water in everyday ways.

Sample Lesson Plan

I. Opening

a. Spark students’ interests with surprising water facts.

ex: In 2005, about 410,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water was
withdrawn for use in the United States.

b. Prompt students to think about what their water usage might be. Show the

students what a gallon of water looks like and ask students how many gallons

of water they think they might use when they take a shower, flush the toilet, or

run the faucets at their home. Do this in a group discussion format.

c. Have students write down their guesses.

d. Ask students why it might be important to find out how much water they use?

Ask students why they think learning how to save water would be important.

Graphs/Maps

Here are some graphs that compare water usage around the world, and the differences between developed countries and those that are still developing. These graphs also include the percentages that go towards agriculture, domestic use, and industry, and how much is taken from fresh water sources. (Jade) and this is the source I used to obtain this information:
http://blogs.princeton.edu/chm333/f2006/water/2006/11/how_does_water_use_in_developing_countries_differ.html