A Long Walk to Water Project

The set of resources will engage students to think critically about their water consumption habits. Through investigation, data collection, analysis, and reflection, students will consider the importance of water and how their own water use may affect the environment. It is an active inquiry into the daily habits that they might take for granted but that can have a big impact on the environment. All the activities also develop skills aligned to Common Core State Standards, such as close reading, critical thinking, examining perspectives, and conducting and presenting research, among others. In the end, students will have enhanced their ability to think critically, conduct research, and synthesize information. Equally as important, they will have deepened their understanding about how seemingly small choices add up to make a large difference.

Anticipation Activity: The set of resources will engage students to think critically about water consumption. Through an interactive game, students will consider the amount of water it takes to produce household items and food. The activities will see students through an experience that will broaden their perspective about the ways their daily habits require water, in ways both seen and unseen. Its “surprises” will motivate and prepare them to study this topic in-depth through the nonfiction readings and final project.

Nonfiction Readings: The 2 nonfiction close readings will expand your students’ perspective about water scarcity. The articles examine this topic in order to build their background knowledge about issues present in the novel A Long Walk To Water. Students will learn about water scarcity, its causes, and its effects on humans and the environment. In the process, students will not only have the opportunity to read informational texts but also practice key literacy skills aligned to the Common Core Standards, such as using textual evidence, identifying author’s purpose, and making inferences, to name a few. By the time students finish reading, writing, and analyzing these materials, they will have developed their ability to think critically and have a much deeper understanding of the importance and impact water has on the planet and its inhabitants.

Project: Through this project, students will take their learning outside of the classroom and into their everyday lives. They will engage in a study of their own water consumption habits, analyze the implications of their habits, and synthesize their data to draw conclusions about the difference they can make in addressing water access issues.

Digital Links: This resource is also technology friendly! It can be utilized in classrooms where computers or tablets are central to instruction because the resource has been adapted for digital completion. The resource includes links for students to complete the student pages in Google Slides™. For instance, students can work with the documents in Google Drive™ or via Google Classroom. With these links, you can have students complete their work online. (NOTE: Not all assignments are conducive to digital completion; however, the pages are still provided in the digital format.) All they will have to do is create a text box! There are links for every student work page, making the format friendly not only for technology but also trees.

The entire resource and its inclusive set of questions allow for multiple potential uses based on your determination about when and where it would be most helpful. All aspects of the assignments, though, are aligned to the Common Core State Standards in order for students to have ample opportunities to practice and demonstrate their knowledge across numerous, essential literary skills.

PLEASE NOTE: This resource is NOT EDITABLE! It is intended to be comprehensive, but if you have particular needs for your classroom, please contact me! (lauren@lit-lessons.com)