Friday, June 29, 2012

How to Protect the Environment? Water Pollution


Big Idea: Environment Protection

 Purpose/Big Idea
The purpose of this activity is to help students be aware that the protection of our environment is important for human health. As the human population increases, the environmental problems increase such as more garbage around us, more pollution, more disasters, and so forth. Over time, we become more aware of trying to protect the environment. Protecting the environment ensures our own longevity, our good health, and a healthy environment all around us.The ability to breathe clean air, to have a wholesome supply of drinking water and to be protected against the harmful effects of things like waste are essential to our well-being. Human beings consciously protect and reasonably make use of natural resources and prevent natural environment from pollution, because we are totally dependent on the natural environment.  In order to learn how to protect the environment, we divided our lesson into four sub-categories: 1) Air Pollution, 2) Water Pollution, 3) Pesticides, and 4) Recycling. In each lesson, we provide important websites associated with each environmental problem and also provide an activity for each sub-category. 
 
Water Pollution


 
Background information

We cannot live without water. It is part of our lives. We need to drink water to stay alive. We need water for cooking, planting, and bathing. We eat fruits and vegetables. They all come from plants that can survive with the help of water. Everything living in this world depends upon water. This shows that water is a very important element we need to live. Nowadays, we use shortcuts to do everything. People sometimes throw garbage into water. Factories dispose their wastes into the bodies of water around them. This makes the water dirty and maybe harmful. If clean water is destroyed, life is going to be much worse on the Earth. In this lesson, students will find out information about how to protect water pollution. Students will have an opportunity to search for the causes, treatment, prevention, and effect of water pollution. 

 
The causes of water pollution

Water Pollution Guide: This website provides useful information about the sources of water pollution and how they can be treated.

Environmental Pollution Center: This website is designed to communicate the most updated and acute environmental problems and risks as they may appear to you in everyday life. 

Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii: This website will respond to all questions or requests related to subjects provided. 

Grinning Planet: This website provides a variety of cartoons and great information about health, energy, and environmental issues.

Treatment of water pollution 

Water Pollution Guide: This website provides useful information about the sources of water pollution and how they can be treated.

Environment and Heritage: The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) support the Premier, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Heritage in performing their executive and statutory functions. OEH develops and leads policy, reform and education in sustainability, biodiversity and native vegetation, coastal protection and Aboriginal cultural heritage.
 
California Environmental Protection Agency: The mission of this website is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality.

Prevention of water pollution

Environmental Health and Safety, the University of Texas at Austin: This website presents information about healthy and safe operations on campus in order to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to ensure protection of the environment.

EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency: As for environmental pollution, EPA provides a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. Since its inception, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.

Environment Agency: The purpose of this website is to protect and improve the environment and to promote sustainable development.

Effect of water pollution

Natural Resources Defense Council: This website works to protect wildlife and wild places and to ensure a healthy environment for all life on earth.

Girlshealth. Gov: This website focuses on health topics that girls are concerned about and provides reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face.

Lovetoknow: This website has a growing community of over 6 Million women looking for expert advice on over 80 topics, including human health effects, overall ecological risks, and water pollution impacts.

National Geographic: This website provides free maps, photos, videos and daily news stories, as well as articles and features about animals, the environment, cultures, history, etc
 
Activities

 
Common Core Standard
Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6–8
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
9. Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

In order to see this video, Adobe Flash will be needed.  By doing this interactive activity, students will understand how water is treated and delivered to their home or school as water that is safe to drink. In addition, students will learn how to protect the nation’s sources of drinking water.  This video can be viewed in English and Spanish.



Common Core Standard

Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade8
Mathematics
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
3. Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical
problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
d. Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing
quantities.
2. Recognize and represent proportional relationships betweenquantities.
c. Represent proportional relationships by equations. For example, if total cost t is proportional to the number n of items purchased at
a constant price p, the relationship between the total cost and the
number of items can be expressed as t = pn.

Speaking and Listening
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics,
images, music, sound) and visual displays in
presentations to clarify information
5. Include multimedia components and visual
displays in presentations to clarify claims and
findings and emphasize salient points.
5. Integrate multimedia and visual displays into
presentations to clarify information, strengthen
claims and evidence, and add interest.
Reading
Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text.
1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text.

The activities in Water Watchers help students to learn how monetary value is applied to a family’s water service by examining a typical water bill and by designing a conservation slogan and bumper sticker, students express water’s value to the community. 










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