Water Pollution Sustainability Conservation Unit Print & Digital

Explore the urgent crisis growing with our world’s most necessary natural resource: fresh water.

Everything from shortages to river pollution to sanitation and some surprising solutions like desalination and recycled water are covered in this unit.

Grab students' attention with shocking numbers, make it real with a personal audit, guide them to dig deeper with engaging documentaries and current issues, and inspire them with the work of water activists.

This unit comes in both print PDF and editable digital Google files.

It's routinely revised to keep up-to-date with the most current statistics, data displays, and outside sources. You'll have free access to all future updates. It was last updated in 2023.

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Greatness is believing in the power of one person’s choices to impact the world.

Few teenagers know the world beyond their own don't realize their lifestyle, consumption levels, and “normal” behavior aren't the reality for much of the world, especially when it comes to our natural resources.

Guide your students through a variety of sources, from documentaries and charts to a simulation and news articles, as they grapple with the urgent question: “How can I better protect our limited freshwater supply?”

Set each of them up for success with this high interest, multi-faceted unit with highly scaffolded graphic organizers, student directions, and supplemental resources included at each step of the way.

And empower your students to become globally-aware water citizens in this 3-week unit!

Included in this complete inquiry-driven Fresh Water Supply & Conservation unit:

Teacher Materials

• Teacher Unit Overview with general notes, links, standards, and a pacing guide with standards (3 pages)
• Daily Lesson Plans with step-by-step directions, planning tips, and lesson takeaway notes (13 pages total)
• Detailed Answer Keys for each activity
• Image Files of each of the included data displays
• Unit Review and Skills handouts with self-checking questions and "I Can..." statements
• Skill Handouts that include Annotating a Text, Analyzing News Media Sources, Analyzing a Political Cartoon
• Digital Quick Links File all the links to editable Google file of all student materials

Student Materials

• Unit Notes: deepen learning on the concept water throughout the unit
• Incoming Brainstorm: open unit with discussion of the unit's central concept, water
• Water Pop Quiz: kick off the unit with some eye-opening statistics and facts
• What If... Simulation: using a gallon jug, demonstrate just how little freshwater is available for human use
• Water Supply Video Notes: gain a solid overview of the world's freshwater supply crisis with guided notes for a short National Geographic video
• Case Study: Water by the Jug: dig into the human rights issue of water collection that is a daily reality for tens of millions of women
• The World's Most Polluted River: investigate how various groups use, and abuse, the life-given water of Indonesia's Citarum River
• Water Supply & Access: analyze a wide variety of maps and graphs for how water is unequally available and used throughout the world
• Last Call at the Oasis: compare various water stakeholders, activists, and experts trying to solve the impending water crisis
• Creating Water: research the different ways technology and policy are working to create more fresh water for generations to come
• Political Cartoon & News Article Analysis: incorporate timely events with these templates, and comes with ideas for how to incorporate them throughout the unit
• Socratic Seminar Discussion: culminate learning with a deep conversation about what all this means for the future of the planet and for your students
• Assessment: confidently assess with short-answer and extending written response questions

Note on Resources Used

All of the activities utilize video clips, news articles, and data displays that can be accessed free online at the time of this latest update.

Two full-length documentaries used in this unit, The World's Most Polluted Water and Last Call at the Oasis are available for free streaming at the time of this latest update.

While this unit supports many related Environmental Science standards and has been used successfully by many science teachers, it is created with a Human Geography lens. Check out the last page of the Preview for a complete list of standards and topics covered.

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What Other Teachers are Saying

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ THE BIGGEST LIFE SAVER. I am a first-year teacher and have no experience teaching Natural Resources. This unit was perfect for my class. We all learned a ton from this unit and I cannot wait to use it again next year! – fellow TPT seller

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You can't really go wrong with unit plans from Let's Cultivate Greatness. Everything is laid out with links, questions, activities, documentaries, and assessments. Really a great investment. – Melanie B.

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Looking for more units on sustainability?

These units can be easily integrated into your Current Events, Human Geography, or Environmental Science course

• Fossil Fuels & Alternatives: a 3-week unit exploring our addiction to oil, the harsh impact it is having on our air pollution and greenhouse gas levels, and the urgent need to switch to clean renewable energy sources
• Plastic & Garbage: a 3-week unit exploring the modern invention of garbage, landfills, and single-use disposables, the effects it is having on our oceans, and how a zero-waste lifestyle can be possible

Interested in making this into a full-course?

Global Issues, a semester-long current events, human geography, and environmental science all-in-one course

• World Population, Demographics, & Poverty PBL Unit: explore worldwide population numbers, extreme poverty, and demographics
• Growth, Globalization, & Natural Resources PBL Unit: explore the growth and shrinking of our global population, connectivity, and resources
• Sustainability PBL Unit: explores the ever-increasing water, fossil fuel, and garbage footprints
• Global Priorities Research Project: a 2-option, 2-3 week capstone research project where students complete either a one-pager or research essay on the global issue they find most pressing

This listing is for one license for regular, non-commercial classroom use by a single teacher only. Commercial use like online teaching (ex. Outschool) or sharing with other teachers (ex. shared drive, in a Facebook group, in a professional development training) is strictly prohibited.

By purchasing a license to this resource, you have access to all future updates at no cost, available under “My Purchases." Multiple and transferable licenses are available for purchase. PDF files are uneditable, other files have editing abilities, unless otherwise stated. All files are protected under federal copyright laws.

To request a complete terms of use prior to purchase or if you have any questions about this resource, please leave a question below under Product Q&A.