The Sixth Grade Water Project

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The Sixth Grade Water Project

• Developed for
• Long Cane Middle School
• by Jean K. Martin

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(No Transcript)
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Overview The 6th Grade Water Project

• Goals
• Students engaged in learning about a critical
  natural resource for human life and local water
  sources (Phase One) and sources of water in
  selected countries across the world (Phase Two
  on)
• Students working individually and in small
  heterogeneous groups of 5 on learning objectives
• Objectives
• Students will demonstrate understanding of
  targeted 6th Grade Georgia Performance Standards
  in
• Science (Phase One)
• Social Studies (Phases Two, Three, Four, Five)
• Reading Across the Curriculum Science and Social
  Studies reading informational texts
• Students will use scientific and academic
  vocabulary accurately
• Students will improve their performance on the
  CRCT
• Decrease Does Not Meet in Reading/ELA in all
  subgroups (non-fiction a substantial portion of
  the reading passages)
• Increase Meets and Exceeds on Science and Social
  Studies CRCTs (soon to be secondary AYP
  indicators)
•  

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Rationale

• Long Cane Middle School has met AYP goals in
  recent years, but understands that the
  performance requirements are starting to rise
  steeply . It will be a challenge for this
  student body to meet the required targets of the
  future. 62 of Long Cane Middle Schools
  population of 1,000 is Economically Disadvantaged
  as defined through the participation in the free
  and reduced lunch program. As seen in the charts
  below, significant numbers of students in the
  large black and economically disadvantaged
  subgroups are not meeting the CRCT cutoffs in
  Math and Reading.
• With such a high at-risk population, students
  will benefit from opportunities to increase their
  levels of engagement in their own learning and to
  use new knowledge across the curriculum and
  beyond school. A multi-curricular project
  presents such an educational opportunity. By
  developing a project that is based in 6th grade
  performance standards and ties to their local
  community, students will develop enduring
  understandings about the world they live in.
  Through the essential topic of water, students
  will also learn about the issues surrounding
  drinking water across the world. They will then
  be equipped to make personal choices on water
  usage and the resources that impact the quality
  of our water today and in the future.
• School-wide CRCT Results in 2009
• Does not Meet in Math
• 24 of all students
• 19 of White Subgroup
• 34 of Black Subgroup
• 32 of Economically Disadvantaged Subgroup
• Does Not Meet in Reading/ ELA
• 11 of all students
• 9 of White Subgroup
• 13 of Black Subgroup
• 16 of Economically Disadvantaged Subgroup

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Prerequisites

• Skills Required
• Conduct primary and secondary research via
  Internet
• Analyze artifacts
• Analyze graphs and diagrams
• Determine adequacy and/or relevancy of
  information
• Check for consistency of information
• Willingness to learn Comic Life Software and
  conduct research via the Internet
• Prior knowledge required - Completed unit on
  weather and its effect on the atmosphere and the
  water cycle
• Potential benefits to participants
• Use information and skills across the academic
  disciplines to learn about a relevant real-world
  issue
• Communicate findings and conclusions to
  audiences in the school and community
• Use technology to research and present
• Increase proficiency using science (Phase One)
  and social studies (Phase Two) vocabulary

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Resources

• Entire Project Participation of 6th Grade
  Science and Social Studies in various phases of
  planning and executing the project, including
  providing in-class time for students to work
  individually and in groups on their project.
• Phase One Only 6th Grade Science Teachers
• Phase One The Water Cycle and Local Sources of
  Drinking Water in Troup County
• Technology
• Computer and Internet Access for Class
• Comic Life Software for Individual Projects for
  Class
• Speakers and Field Trips
• Buses for 1 day field trip to LaGrange Wastewater
  Treatment Plant and West Point Lake to take water
  samples
• Guest Speaker(s) UGA Extension Service Well
  Water Testing
• Science Lab with Projection Microscope to view
  water samples before and after treatment
• Phase Two Water in Canada, Europe, South
  America and Australia
• Internet Access for web quest research project
• Phase Four Develop Group Contrast Compare
  Project Storyboard Microsoft Word
• Phase Five Group Presentations (after the CRCT)
  Using MovieMaker

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Processes Phase One

• Essential Questions
• How is clean water made available in Troup
  County, Georgia?
• How does water continually move through the water
  cycle?
• How does the location of water on Earths surface
  and the condition of the atmosphere affect its
  path through stages of the water cycle?
• Enduring Understandings
• Clean fresh water is essential for human life.
• Human actions can impact water quality both
  positively and negatively.
• There is a finite amount of water on Earth that
  is moving through the water cycle.

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Processes - Phase One Cont

• Phase One The Water Cycle and Local Water
  Sources in Troup County
• Product for Phase One A presentation using Comic
  Life Software that
• 1) demonstrates an understanding of the source
  of your drinking water at home
• 2) demonstrates an understanding of the water
  cycle on drinking water
• 3) includes the major threats to local drinking
  water
• 4) suggests water conservation strategies for
  your family
• 5) demonstrates proper use and understanding of
  required academic vocabulary

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Processes Phase One Cont.

• Day 1 Access Prior Knowledge KWL Chart
• United Streaming Video Clip on Water Cycle
• Note taking activity
• Example Pre-Assessment - Knowledge Rating
  Activity on Key Unit Vocabulary
• Day 2 Pre-teach key water vocabulary, include
  Water Cycle vocabulary
• Example Formative Assessment - Word Sort
  Activity
• Day 3 Local Water Research incorporated
  LaGrange vs. unincorporated LaGrange via
  pre-selected resources on Internet and school
  server
• Note taking on graphic organizer
• Day 4 Field trip to LaGrange Wastewater
  Treatment Plant and West Point Lake
• Day 5 Reflection activity on information
  learned using graphic organizer and required
  vocabulary
• Day 6 Speakers from UGA Extension Service
  Testing Well Water note taking on graphic
  organizer class located in a lab that can
  project water samples from wells and those taken
  from lake
• Day 7 Research home water supply, vocabulary
  activity

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Processes Phase One Cont.

• Day 8 Complete compiling information needed to
  begin Comic Life Project, Read Excuse Me, is
  this the Way to the Drainpipe?, make sure
  vocabulary activities are complete and accurate
• Day 9, 10,11
• Develop the story of a local water drop from the
  faucet all the way to returning to the faucet
  using Comic Life Software.
• Homework may be given during the project, but
  all research and creation requiring software,
  computers, and the Internet will be completed
  during school hours

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Feedback Phase One Project Assessment
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Required Vocabulary for Final Project

• aquifer
• groundwater
• permeable
• impermeable
• water table
• saturation zone
• wastewater
• evaporation
• condensation
• transpiration
• precipitation

• conservation strategies
• acid rain (or acid precipitation
• agricultural sewage
• Army Corps of Engineers
• downstream
• drought
• humidity
• infiltration
• pollution

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Optional Vocabulary

• iceberg
• glacier
• desalination

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Internet Research Resources

• U.S. Geological Survey 'Water Cycle Website
• http//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html
  EPA's Water Information Website for Kids
• http//www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/ Georgia Water
  Conservation Website
• http//www.conservewatergeorgia.net/Documents/tool
  s_teachers.html Georgia Public Broadcasting
  Digital Library
• http//www.gpb.org/digitallibrary NASA's Earth
  Observatory Website
• http//Earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library

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Instructional Materials

• Is This the Way to the Drain Pipe?

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Project Assessments

• Pre-Assessment

• Formative Assessment

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Project Assessments Cont.

• Summative Assessment
• Summative Assessment Rubric

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Extension Questions

• What is the role of the Army Corps of Engineers
  in the United States? What is their role in
  managing West Point Lake?
• What is the background and status of the current
  3-State water dispute?
• How does metro-Atlantas water usage policies and
  practices affect Troup Countys water supply?
• What are the issues in Troup County surrounding
  development and water?