Created by Vernell Griffis/RDG 8653/501
Subject: Life Skills Science Class/SHS
Introduction
8th-9th Grade Environmental Science
Standard: ENV.2: Students will relate the impact of human activities on the environment, conservation activities, and efforts to maintain and restore the ecosystem.
In this WebQuest, students will research the impact of human activities on water pollution, because humans are the main source of water pollution. Water pollution is the contamination (dirtying) of our water bodies. Unseen water pollution can usually be detected in a laboratory. Examples of water bodies include lakes, rivers, ponds, and oceans. As you know, around 75% of the Earth is covered with water, only a small portion of that water is freshwater. Most of Earth’s water is ocean water, which is salt water. It cannot be used for drinking or growing crops. Freshwater/groundwater is an important natural resource. It must be kept clean and free of pollution. Ground water can still get polluted far under the ground. Only 3% of Earth's water is drinking water. The average household use about 400 gallons of freshwater each day. One way people can conserve freshwater is by taking shorter showers.
Task
During this WebQuest task, you will work in pairs to learn about the causes of water pollution, and how water pollution affects living things.You will also learn about ways to protect the environment from water pollution.
At the end of the WebQuest, you will be required to come up with ways to keep our water bodies clean, and you will also be required to complete a quiz on what you learned about water pollution.
Process
One way that our water bodies get polluted is through factory waste. For years, countries have dumped waste into oceans, lakes, and rivers. The majority of this garbage cannot be broken down. It stays there for a long time and can have long lasting harm. Toxic materials from factories cause water pollution when they get into the water supply. Factory waste is often dumped into bodies of water or groundwater. Sewage is a major water pollutant.
Task 1: Click on or go to the following link to PBS Learning Media and watch the video "Chicken Waste and Water Pollution." https://thinktv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/envh10.sci.life.eco.chickenwaste/chicken-waste-and-water-pollution/
Answer the following question in complete sentences.
1. What type of pollution did the chicken factory produce? Why was there a concern for the Chesapeake Bay?
Task 2: Go to the website https://www.ducksters.com/science/environment/water_pollution.php
(a) Complete the 10 questions at the end of the reading.
Task 3: Watch the following video. Answer the following questions.
Question 1. What sources of pollution make their way into ponds and streams in rural areas?
Question 2. How does Phosphates and Nitrates cause pollution?
Question 3. What are Algal Blooms?
Question 4. What effects does oil spills have on the aquatic environment?
Question 5. How does Natural Disasters cause water pollution?
Question 6. What effects does human litter have on the aquatic environment?
Task 4: Where does your sewage go? Use the KWL chart to indicate what you already know, and what you what to know about sewage. After the video write down what you learned about where sewage goes.
KWL chart here: https://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/kwl.pdf
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an organization in the United States Federal Government. The EPA was created in 1970 under the orders of President Nixon. This agency is designed to protect human and environmental health. The agency creates laws that protect our water in order to keep it safe and clean. The EPA determines safe levels of chemical and other pollutants in our water. If any factories, businesses, or humans are found guilty of polluting our environment, fines, sanctions, and other procedures can be enforced on these entities for polluting the environment. Acid rain develops from pollutants being released into the atmosphere from factories. Farmers using chemicals is another major cause of water pollution.
Watch the video on Nutrient Pollution.
Go to Environmental Science book, chapter 18 at http://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/hesc118.pdf and read about pollutions
Task 5: After reading chapter 18 and watching the video, write an essay on the information. Use the questions below to help you organize your essay. Name your essay "Water pollution and the harm that it can cause."
- What is Nutrient pollution caused by?
- What 2 places where Nutrient pollution is a widespread problem.
- What cause an excess of nitrogen and phosphorus in the environment?
- Nutrient pollution threatens our drinking water and places where we like to ____________ and __________.
- What are Algal blooms?
- What can Algal blooms harm?
- Where does Nutrient pollution come from?
Grading Rubric for Essay:
| Poor Performance (0 points) | Fair Performance (15 points) | Good Performance (25 points) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | no understanding of content | demonstrate minimal understanding | demonstrate great understanding of content | |
| Examples | 1 example of water pollution | 2 examples of water pollution | 3 examples of water pollution | |
| Grammar | 5 or more grammatical errors | 4 or more grammatical errors | less than 3 grammatical errors | |
| Paragraph | 1 paragraph or less | student has 2 paragraphs | student has 3 paragraphs or more |
Evaluation
Go to PBS Learning Media and watch the collection of short videos on water solutions. https://thinktv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/watsol/
1. Use the word cloud above to Write down 5 ways to keep our water bodies clean or free of pollutants.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Complete the Quiz "water pollution" at https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/574d7b0fcbd8c28dc3c183dd/water-pollution
Conclusion
- Throughout the Web Quest, students will learn about water pollution and ways to prevent the pollution of our waters.
- Reading and writing will be integrated as activities throughout the lesson.
- The students will explore real world situations through short real world videos.
- The TTW will use a Nearpod lesson (Causes and Effects of Water and Air Pollution) for remediation or differentiation of instructions.
The students will receive a formative grades for each task within the WebQuest.
Credits
Ducksters.com (Ducksters: Educational Site)
Quizizz.com
ABCya.com word cloud
Nearpod.com
PBS Learning Media