Week 1 Importance of water + What are the essentials for making water clean?

Week 2 Who has clean water?

Week 3 Discussion forum and debate.

Week 4 Research, expert inputs , real-world example of relevant projects.

Week 5 Research, expert inputs, real-world example of relevant projects.

Week 6 Project showcase.

Week 1

Topic: What is the importance of water and what are the essentials for making clean water?

Tasks:
Examine an introductory resource about the importance and implications of clean water
(ex: VICE News video Canadas Indigenous Water Crisis and accompanying website).
Predict-Observe-Explain activity about the resource: *see Lesson Hook*
Create and post a water diary which will accumulate into creating the final unit project.

Subjects POS Outcomes Assessment Indicators

English 1.1.2 Explore and explain how
interactions with others and with oral,
print and other media texts affect
personal understandings.
3.2.1 Evaluate sources for currency,
reliability and possible bias of
Students will demonstrate their
learning through examining the
resource given in class and expressing
their understanding through the activity
of Predict-Observe-Explain and
creating a water diary. Assessment
 information for a particular research
project
Science Describe effects of acids and bases on
living things (e.g., acid rain in lakes,
antacids for upset stomachs, pH in
shampoos and conditioners)
Identify questions that may need to be
addressed in deciding what
substances - in what amounts - can be
safely released into the environment
(e.g., identify questions and
considerations that may be important
in determining how much phosphate
can be released into river water
without significant harm to living
things)
Describe mechanisms for the transfer
of materials through air, water and soil;
and identify factors that may
accelerate or retard distribution (e.g.,
wind speed, soil porosity)
Social 9.S.1 Develop skills of critical thinking
Studies and creative thinking
9.1.3 Appreciate how emerging issues
impact quality of life, citizenship and
identity in Canada
at this point should be formative and
should be used strategically to create
a baseline knowledge of the overall
unit. The water diary should be
emphasised as an artifact for reflection
throughout the unit, as well as an
important piece for the discussion
forum and the final project. Their
reflection should include the
examination of the resource and what
they have learned in the
interdisciplinary subjects in this week.
The students will supplement their
examination of the resource with a
baseline knowledge of how the
cleanliness of water is measures, and
the difference between clean and
unclean water. Students should be
presented with the harmful effects of
contaminated water as opposed to the
clean water that many other
Canadians have access to. Students
should reflect upon the variety of
contaminants in use in the world
around them that are eventually
exposed into the water and record it
into their water diaries.
Students will also be introduced to
how pollutes travel. Highlighting the
difference between airborne pollutants
and soluble pollutants.
Students will be given opportunities to
exercise critical thinking with the
examination of the introductory
resource. Through their analysis of the
resource, they will determine the
validity of information present in it
through deconstructing its bias,
research, and contexts. With the
knowledge of the source material, they
can generate ideas about how this
issue is affecting the people, the
 values, and the country of Canada as
a whole.

Differentiation A handout that summarizes the resources main points can be given to all
students at the end of the week for their reference. This aids students who are
ELL or who have learner exceptionalities without taking away their opportunity
to learn while simultaneously ensuring all students are receiving a common
baseline of understanding.

Technologies The water diary can be constructed in any medium the student chooses: audio
file submission, physical document, or online. Time should be given throughout
the week to experiment and troubleshoot any complications.

Week 2

Topic: Who has clean water?

Tasks:
In class discussion, prompting student responses with what factors go into having clean
water.

Introduce how we set tolerate levels for not only humans but organisms that survive in
water.

Continue to add to student water diary.

Subjects POS Outcomes Assessment Indicators

English Students will listen, speak,, view
and represent to explore thoughts,
ideas, feelings and experiences.
Due to the oral nature of this task, students
will be assessed via informal observation.
The key will be looking at how they are
able to articulate their ideas, and the
complexity of those thought. For example,
students who limit their responses to
people who don't have running water won't
have clean water compared to a more
wholistic approach that considers various
factors such as travel time,
ecosystem/geographics, political influence
ect. These would have complex thought
behind them and would score more on the

Science Investigate and evaluate potential
risks resulting from consumer
practices and industrial
processes, and identify processes
used in providing information and
setting standards to manage
these risks (e.g., interpret and
explain the significance of
manufacturer's information on
how wood preservatives can be
safely applied; recognize that
some individuals may have
greater sensitivity to particular
chemical substances than do
others in the general population);
Describe effects of acids and
bases on living things (e.g., acid
rain in lakes, antacids for upset
stomachs, pH in shampoos and
conditioners);
apply and interpret measures of
chemical concentration in parts
per million, billion or trillion
Social 9.S.3 Develop skills of geographic
Studies thinking; define geographic
problems and issues and pose
geographic questions
9.S.4. Demonstrate skills of
decision making and problem
solving; propose and apply
strategies or options to solve
problems and deal with issues
master level.
Pollutants, consumer practices and the
effects of acids and bases will be
introduced. Students will need to
demonstrate their understanding of these
in week 4/5.
As students progress through their
discussion, the teacher will ask how can
we measure tolerate levels, and what
defines the levels. This question naturally
relates to how the science can be applied
for human context as well as
environmental.
At this point students will be shown ppm
calculations and given practice questions
relating to Canadian aquatic systems. For
example, students can find how much
water would be required to allow a Norther
Pike to survive. This would also bring back
our discussion around indicator species.
Students would be asked questions that
require them to apply their understanding
of ppm and wildlife indicators. For example,
students could be asked, how could they
determine oxygen levels based on 3
species the.05ppm and, .07ppm fish
survive in a lake but the .09ppm are
nowhere to be seen.
Students have to delve into their
understanding of the complex relationship
which arise when access to clean water is
limited though economic political
constraints. It also begs the questions for
alternatives, if the nearest source of water
is 5km and the next one is 15km, how often
can an individual walk there? How much
can they carry? How often do they have to
make that journey?
To assess this, we will take note of what
kind of responses students are providing.
This will be formative, thus prompts such
as have you considered how they will get
that water? will be used to steer students
towards considering different
 perspectives.

Differentiation For the purposes of this unit plan, we assume an ELL Level 3. Level 3
(Expanding) English Language Learners may be students that are progressing
typically and are high oral and low written literacy, and are often competent in
everyday social interactions (Alberta Education, 2010a, p. 1) Therefore this
sections allows for ELL students who may struggle with articulating their ideas
on paper in a verbal sense.

Technologies Students should be updating their multimodal water diary with what they have
learned this week.

Week 3

*See assessment page Discussion Forum and Debate*

Week 4 + 5

Tasks:
Researching for the purpose of creating the units final project: Mitigation Proposal
Interact with experts in the field, specifically those who have experience on indigenous
issues, to gain feedback and extra knowledge.
Mix between classes of pure work periods and showing real-world examples of relevant
projects.

Subjects POS Outcomes Assessment Indicators

English 4.3 Choose appropriate types of The students will be creating what they
evidence and strategies to clarify ideas deem to be the most effective
and information, and to convince communication method while
various readers and audiences; enhancing their presentation so that it
 Select, organize and present
information to appeal to the interests
and background knowledge of various
readers or audiences;
Integrate a variety of media and
display techniques, as appropriate, to
enhance the appeal, accuracy and
persuasiveness of presentations
Science Demonstrate sensitivity and
responsibility in pursuing a balance
between the needs of humans and a
sustainable environment (e.g.,
recognize that the materials people
develop may have environmental
consequences when people dispose of
them; participate in school projects
that address a chemical pollution
issue)
Describe and illustrate the use of
biological monitoring as one method
for determining environmental quality
(e.g., assess water quality, by
observing the relative abundance of
various vertebrate and invertebrate
species)
Identify questions that may need to be
addressed in deciding what
substances - in what amounts - can be
safely released into the environment
(e.g., identify questions and
considerations that may be important
in determining how much phosphate
can be released into river water
without significant harm to living
things)
Social 9.S.7 Reflect on changes of
Studies perspective or opinion based on
information gathered and research
conducted;
Integrate and synthesize concepts to
provide an informed point of view on a
appeals to a variety of audiences.
Using proper research skills, the
presentation should be able to
articulate their findings in an organized
way that is accurate and
persuasive.
Mitigation Proposal requires students
to develop and research solutions to
the water crisis. To create viable
solutions, students will have to
demonstrate their understanding of
balance between the needs of humans
and a sustainable environment. This
will be assessed by reviewing the final
group's solution(s). If they neglect to
acknowledge any life aside from
humans, they will score lower than if
they are showing thought and intent
behind preserving the wildlife (both
plant and animals) which will push
them towards a higher achievement. A
focus on environmental pollution and
waste will also be used to measure
understanding. Ultimately the rubric
assigned for this task will outline the
degree for which the students have
meet the curricular outcomes. It should
be noted that the rubric will not solely
focus on the aspects of science and
how they have met them but rather
how have they looked at the social and
science perspectives together.
The preparation for the students to
create a Mitigation Proposal should
include the students becoming more
informed by seeking information
outside of what was given to them
through class instruction. The
 research question or an issue;
Develop a position supported by
information gathered during research
9.1.2 Appreciate the various effects of
government policies on citizenship and
on Canadian society
accumulated perspectives that they
acquired through their water diary
and consequently from the Discussion
Forum should now be fully guiding the
direction of inquiry research. Students
should be reminded to exercise the
same critical thinking framework when
researching as they applied at the
beginning of the unit *see Week 1*.
The students should also be aware of
what implications their proposal will
have, drawing comparison to how
government actions has
consequences on people and
Canadian society, and whether the
effects can be justified with
sustainability in mind.

Differentiation The research process accounts for varying types of differentiation through
allotting an extended research period in which all students will be given ample
time to receive feedback. The final project is multimodal to present students
with the ability to work to their strengths while having group members who can
support areas of need. By having some classes free as work periods can allow
the teacher to distribute time to provide closer one-on-one help to students of
ELL, learner exceptionalities, or even gifted.

Technologies The most prominent and authentic source of technology in the unit is found in
the Mitigation Proposal. This proposal utilizes a multimodal platform in which
students can use letters, posters, videos and various other sources of
technology to enhance their proposed solutions. Students will be asked to
reflect on which technologies individuals from the field would utilities. For
example, a scientist may not make a poster to show the lack of water quality but
rather produce a video, that describes the effects on the wildlife, educating the
general public and creating awareness in the process. There are also
multimodal presentations that incorporate webpages (research), slideshows,
and videos. These are meaningful in not only producing varied sources of
information for the students but it allows students to learn through diverse
experiences and mediums.

Week 6

*See Assessment page, Mitigation Proposal*