Where Does Our Clean Water Come From and Where Does It Go After We Make It Dirty? [v1.0]


Material list

Unit Skeleton

Screen Shot 2017-12-21 at 9.59.49 PM.png


In this fifth-grade science and engineering unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. Their investigations lead them to discover connections between the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere. Their discoveries spark a series of design problems to solve in order to protect freshwater reservoirs and minimize human impacts on the environment, including ways to mitigate flooding and erosion, naturally filter water and prevent contamination of water reservoirs, and conserve water usage in drought-prone areas of the world.  


The development of this storyline was sponsored by the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Below are four links that let you take a sneak peek at one class's journey through four different parts of the storyline (from the pilot).

Development Team