In this activity, students will watch a compelling video then review the sources of fresh water and the difference between ground water and surface water.

• Review relevant earth science concepts using direct instruction
• Watch and discuss “Water for Life: Diary of Jay-Z in Africa” video
• Discuss sources of fresh water: ground water vs. surface water
• Reflect on your own water usage and conservation.
  

Review Earth Science Concepts

• [ESS3.A: Natural Resources] Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
• [ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems] Things that people do to live comfortably can affect the world around them. But they can make choices that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air, and other living things. Typically as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.
• [MS-ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes] Water is found in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and ponds. Water exists as solid ice and in liquid form. Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere. Water’s movements— both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and form underground formations.
• [MS-ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes] Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity.

Video "Water for Life: Diary of Jay-Z in Africa”  Part 1

Video "Water for Life: Diary of Jay-Z in Africa”  Part 2

Water as a shared resource

• Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere.
• Which sources are ground water [aquifers, subglacial lakes] and which are surface water [streams, lakes, wetlands]?
• Even though the amount of water locked up in glaciers and ice caps is a small percentage of all water on (and in) the Earth, it represents a large percentage of the world’s total freshwater. The majority of freshwater on Earth, about 68.7 percent, is held in ice caps and glaciers. (Source: water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleice.html)

Reflection:

Reflect on your own water consumption and usage as well as the consumption and usage of water by other stakeholders in your community.  Record these reflections in your portfolio under the heading Module 2.