South Carolina ETV

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Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Not A Drop To Drink (Grade 5)

Master Teacher

Brenda Parson

Overview

This lesson will focus on ways that humans pollute our natural water supply. Students will learn eight different ways water is contaminated. In addition, the lesson will allow students to investigate an oil spill by conducting a hands-on activity.

SC Science Standards Met

Area IV—Physical Science

Strand 2, Solubility is one characteristic property of a substance.

e. Research common pollutants, their sources, and their impact as it relates to water quality.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

identify common pollutants
identify ways that petroleum pollutants get into ground water
explain the destructive impact a small amount of pollution can have on a large amount of water

Materials

Per partnership:

copy of Activity Sheet 1
clear plastic container
zip-lock bag
used motor oil
liquid dish washing detergent

ITV Series

Environmental Weekly, Lesson 1, "Drinking Water"

Previewing Activity

Introduce the lesson by playing the first segment of the videotape that depicts how important water is to our daily life. Then display jars of water gathered from different water sources: lake, creek, pond, spring, water tap.

Engage students in a discussion about the quality of the water in each jar. Ask them, "Which would they drink? Where did the water come from? What caused the difference in the water?"

Focus for Viewing

To give students a specific responsibility while viewing, give them a copy of Activity Sheet 1: Water Pollution. Review Parts One and Two of the sheet with the students so they know what to look for while watching the video. On this sheet, as they watch the video, they will record:

two major ways that oil pollutants get into ground water
examples of small amounts of pollutants contaminating large amounts of water

Viewing Activity

Fast forward to about halfway through the video to the segment where there is a man in a white lab coat standing outside a business. Pause after the narrator says, "leaks and spills are major sources of pollutants." Allow students time to record this information on their Activity Sheets. Ask students if they have seen, heard or read about examples of leaks and spills. Be sure to mention the Exxon Valdez spill if a student doesn't. This will provide background for the Post-Viewing and Extension Activities.

Resume the video and watch through the segment about underground storage tanks. Stop after you hear, "Many of them are leaking." Discuss this portion of the video with the class.

Fast forward to the place in the video where you see a WARNING sign in some water. As students watch this section, have them record the small amounts of pollutant it takes to contaminate a large supply of water.

Post-Viewing Activity

1. Have students perform the hands-on experiment, "How Oil Acts in Water" found on Activity Sheet 2. Divide the class into cooperative groups with assignments. One student will be the reader, one the experimenter, and one the recorder. All students will draw pictures of the results of their experiment. Distribute Activity Sheet 2 with the directions for the experiment.

2. Have students write a report describing what the oil did when it entered the water. Have them include their ideas on how they think this experiment would compare to an oil tanker spill.

Action Plan

1. Have a representative from DHEC come to school and explain why so many gas stations are having to remove their underground tanks and replace them.

Extensions

Art: Give students the opportunity to publish the art work they did in the Post-Viewing Activity. Go to the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water site The site gives teachers instructions of how to have their students' work displayed.

Math: Ask students, "If one quart of oil can contaminate 225,000 gallons of drinking water, how many gallons will one tablespoon of oil contaminate?" (Answer: 439)