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Goal:

Students will create a plan to conserve water and save the famous Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas.

Objectives:

SWBAT interpret data collected from a home water meter and from other community facilities.
SWBAT create data tables and graphs about home and water uses.
SWBAT calculate how much water is used in their home and in another buildings during a one-week period of time.
SWBAT describe a river system and how water flows into it.
SWBAT explain how a river changes surrounding land.
SWBAT create a three-dimensional model of specific watershed and river systems.
SWBAT identify variables that affect the flow rates of a main river.
SWBAT describe conditions that can result in a water shortage and list sources of fresh water for future use.
SWBAT explain how water can be conserved.
SWBAT describe historical data about freshwater resources and how water sources have changed over time.
SWBAT research answers to questions using a webquest.
SWBAT compare and contrast their plans with their classmates.
SWBAT write a proposal for saving the Bellagio Fountains.
SWBAT communicate results of the project in a presentations to the class.

Science Standards Addressed:

Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
Think critically and logically to make the relationship between evidence and explanations.

This particular project is applicable to most standards and disciplines, however, the standards that apply most are:

STANDARD 3.5 (VIEWING AND MEDIA LITERACY) ALL STUDENTS WILL ACCESS, VIEW, EVALUATE, AND RESPOND TO PRINT, NON-PRINT, AND ELECTRONIC TEXTS AND RESOURCES.

C. Living with Media

3. Create media presentations and written reports, using multi-media resources such as an overhead projector, computer, and/or a tape recorder to communicate information.

STANDARD 5.1 (SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES) ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING, DECISION-MAKING AND INQUIRY SKILLS, REFLECTED BY FORMULATING USABLE QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES, PLANNING EXPERIMENTS, CONDUCTING SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATIONS, INTERPRETING AND ANALYZING DATA, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, AND COMMUNICATING RESULTS.

STANDARD 5.8 (EARTH SCIENCE) ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS, AND GEOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS OF THE EARTH.

STANDARD 5.10 (ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES) ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM OF INTERDEPENDENT COMPONENTS AFFECTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY AND NATURAL PHENOMENA.

B. Human Interactions and Impact

1. Compare and contrast practices that affect the use and management of natural resources.

How will my students be learning from this webquest?

"The Fountain Runs Dry" is a webquest designed to tweak the middle school student's interest while creating an authentic learning opportunity. Students each have important, very different, tasks to complete. Once they have completed their individual research they must share their new found information with each other to solve the problem. The problem is a real-world problem that the students not only learn about in science classes, but in social studies as well. This webquest allows for many bridges between subjects. Students are creating a plan to help the Las Vegas region cope with their constant struggle for enough water and essentially save the Bellagio water fountain.

The historian is using other watershed regions to help them create an area specific solution.
The analyst is creating a database of information to use to support their plan.
The hydrologist becomes an expert on watershed systems, how they work, and what may go wrong.

Together these three partners make up a fantastic team to help save the fountain. They use the factual pieces of information to prove why a plan is necessary and why it can help. To make the project meaningful to each student, they will all be assessing how much water is used in their own home. This will make it possible for the students to compare their information with Las Vegas'. By creating this sense and meaning, students will better retain the information because they can relate to it and apply it to their own lives. The conclusion extensions encourage the students to look up water saving tips and use them in their homes too.

Each of these jobs allow for individual work and group work for inter and intra personal learners. The analyst role is perfect for a logical/mathematical learner. The historian and writing portion should appeal to the linguist. The students have choices for how they want to communicate their results. They have the opportunity to use graph, maps, and tables for the spatial learner and live presentations on how their plan will work for the kinesthetic learner. The entire projects deals with humans and the natural world appealing to the naturalist.

Multiple Intelligences Addressed:

Verbal-Linguistic: reading/charting information, developing and presenting a plan

Logical-Mathematical: charting data, graphing data, analyzing information

Spatial: using data to create a line graph, webquest design

Bodily-Kinesthetic: creating model, navigating to websites, presenting

Naturalist: environmental issues, biological effects, researching watersheds from around the world

Interpersonal: cooperative work to create water conservation solutions and presentations

Intrapersonal: independent tasks

Learning Styles Addressed:

Concrete Sequential: finding data to identify where the water shortage is caused, detailed directions, graphing

Abstract Sequential: collaboration, determining and presenting solution

Abstract Random: emotional connection to water concerns, motivation to find solution

Concrete Random: independent role, research, and personal proof directly contributing to solution, addressing Mr. Benedict with solution proposal and presentation

Levels of Blooms Taxonomy:

Define: What is a watershed? Where is fresh water found?

Comprehend: Summarize an area's water usage and watershed region.

Application: Chart and organize data.

Analysis: Distinguish what is the cause of shortages.

Synthesis: Create a plan (and model) to conserve water and save fountain.

Evaluate: View all plans created by classmates. Judge and determine which is the best plan and why.

Kristin Caputo & Jason Muller
(kcaputo@wyckoffschools.org) (jmuller@ramapo.edu)