How Much Water Do You Eat?
https://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/how-much-water-do-you-eat
https://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/how-much-water-do-you-eat
California Academy of Sciences
This activity takes one 60 minute class period.
Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»
See how this Activity supports the Next Generation Science Standards»
Grade Level
Regional Focus
Online Readiness
Topics
Climate Literacy
This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.
Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.
Energy Literacy
This Activity builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.
Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- Give plenty of time for materials prep. Considering making this part of a larger set of lessons on water.
- Consider equity when suggesting steps students can take to save water.
- An extension to this lesson could focus on water access/quality in the United States and beyond.
About the Content
- The activity covers how much water it takes to produce commonly eaten foods in the USA. There is a particular emphasis on meat, especially beef, being a high water-use food and how students can try to eat less meat. The data and background materials presented are credible and well cited.
- There isn't a a lot of direct science here, but teachers could introduce the water cycle or physical properties of water as an extension to these activities.
- Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
About the Pedagogy
- This is a fairly interactive worksheet-based curriculum to help students learn how much water it takes to produce food and give them ideas on how they can reduce their water consumption. Students work in groups to make meal plans and add up the water consumption. There are optional pre-reading activities that discuss the impact of drought in the U.S. on food production.
- The lesson is well designed and should help students understand water use. The actions suggested at the end focus on individual steps that students could take to change their habits and the food they eat. This could lead to some equity concerns. Consider focusing on steps that could be taken in the classroom or the school to avoid placing burden on students who may not have decision making power or resources.
- Teachers need prerequisite knowledge that is provided in the curriculum in an easy-to-understand teacher section.
- The multilingual water use cards are particularly well designed for mixed language classrooms. The cards and student worksheets are translated into Spanish and Chinese.
