Minds On
How is water used?
People use water for much more than drinking.
This is an image of four people using water in different ways. One person is watering can plant, another person is drinking water from a reusable water bottle, another person is washing their hands, and the last person is pouring water in a bowl for their dog.
Think of the ways someone might use water during the day.
Record your ideas digitally, orally, or in print.
Action
Connecting to the world
The United Nations (UN) is a group of many countries from around the world that have come together to create a better future for people and the environment. They have created 17 goals called the Sustainable Development Goals.
This learning activity is connected to Goal #14 which is called Life Below Water. This means everyone should help protect our oceans and seas.
Water
Humans and animals share the water that exists on earth. Humans use water for many reasons each day.
Explore the following carousel to find out some of the ways that people use water every day!
Water is necessary. It is important that people think about the amount of water they are using every day because there is only so much of it!
Water is not only necessary for people. It is necessary for plants and animals too.
Animals who live in the water need humans to work towards keeping oceans, lakes, and rivers clean.
Humans need to make sure that the water they put back into the rivers, lakes, and oceans after washing is clean enough for ocean animals to live in.
Fresh water
Even though our “blue planet” is covered with mostly water, almost all the water on earth is ocean water which has salt in it.
This water cannot be used for drinking or used for things like watering plants and giving water to animals. For this, we need fresh water. There is only a limited amount of fresh water in countries of the world.
There are many countries that do not have many lakes and rivers, and also have warm or dry weather. In some cases, many countries have trouble getting fresh water to people and animals who need it.
In Canada, many communities have fresh water sources nearby. In some parts of Canada, even though there is fresh water, the water that comes to the homes is not clean enough to drink.
Student Tips
The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes in Ontario are the largest sources of fresh water in the world.
The Great Lakes
What do you think fresh water means?
Press ‘Let’s Check!’ to access a possible answer.
Fresh water does not have a large amount of salt, and is found in streams, lakes, rivers and ponds. This water can be cleaned to drink.
Ways to use water
In the Minds On, you made a list of the ways that fresh water is used every day. Use the following checklist to record each way that people use water.
How do people use water?
Press ‘Answer’ to find out how water is used.
If you clicked all these boxes, you are correct!
There is only a small amount of fresh water on the earth, so people need to conserve it. This means that they are careful not to use more than they need.
What are some ways that people can conserve water?
Conserving water
There are ways that people can conserve water in their everyday lives. Even small things that people can do will make a difference! The following ways are some examples:
- only running water when it is needed
- check for leaks where water runs
- use ice cubes to water plants
- turn off the water when brushing teeth
- adding food scraps to gardens keeps the soil healthy and can save water
- sharing learning with others in the community
Go back to your list of ways people use water from the Minds On section.
What are some ways that water could be saved from that list?
Record your ideas in a method of your choice.
Did You Know?
Helping the community
Stella Bowes next to her community river
Stella Bowes is a young person from Nova Scotia, Canada. When she was 11 years old, she found out that a river close to her home was so polluted that people could no longer swim in it. That means that there were things in the river that would make her and her community sick if they drank that water or used that water for cooking or washing.
Stella and her classmates tested the water and shared what they found about the pollution on the internet. People that read the story promised to clean the pollution from the river for Stella’s community.
How did Stella help her community? What actions did she take?
Record your ideas using a method of your choice.
Consolidation
Putting it all together
The world’s freshwater
Use your learning to answer the following questions.
- Why can’t people drink or use most of the world’s water?
- Why is it important to conserve freshwater?
- What are four ways that people can conserve water?
Record your ideas digitally, orally, or on paper.
Community poster
A community wanted to create a poster that they would put up in their community spaces.
They wanted to share the following information:
- The world does not have a lot of fresh water.
- Ontario has fresh water in our Great Lakes.
- Why people should conserve water.
- Four ways to conserve water.
- More information about Stella Bowes and how she helped her community.
Examine the poster the community created and respond to the questions that follow.
Community water poster
A poster titled ‘Conserving Water’ with 4 sections. The poster shares: ‘People in our community can conserve water every day. Here is one way to conserve water: Only use running water when necessary! The Great Lakes have the most fresh water in their lakes in the whole world! It is very important for people living in Ontario to conserve water whenever possible. Stella Bowes helped her community by sharing with people about the pollution in her river. Because she shared, the river was cleaned for her community and they could use the river water again. Water is important! The world has a lot of water but most of it is from the oceans.’
Respond to the following questions:
- Do you think that this poster shares all the information the community wanted to share?
- Is there anything missing from this poster?
- If you were to help the community, what would you tell them to add or take away? Why?
Record your ideas digitally, orally, or on paper.
Reflection
How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel…
Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.