The Water unit is designed to gear students in learning the interdependence of living and nonliving systemsm. It is through the investigation of current events and case studies that students examine how humans and human technology exploited water as a resource. The Water Quality Assessment Project makes students accountable for their own learning by giving them the role of environmental educators for the whole community. It is through the role of teaching that the urgency of these critical ecology issues can be successfully imbedded into students as citizens.

A model completed project can be viewed here.

Students at the School of the Future focused their Water Assessment on three sources: Hudson River, school water and the Bronx River. With the support of Thirteen.org and the Educational Alliance, the publication of their works really made students take responsibility for their learning.

Technology/ Curriculum Adaptation:
Schools that are well equiped can use the webquest to its full potential. But of course, there are schools that may not be as equipped. Here are some recommendations to help adapt the research component of the Water Quality Project to different school settings.

• Inquire about using lab space in computer labs in your school. Public libraries have access to the Internet. The research portion of the project can be assigned as a homework if the curriculum does not allot time for research and experiment to occur during classroom hours.
• Prepare component ‘kits’ for each group (Staples sale plain pocket folders for $0.49/each). Print out the relevant websites for each group, and package it in the folder. Include the task sheet, as well as the experiment directions to complete the kit. Students complete the project directly from the kit.
• Rather than construct webpages, students can make newsletters or pamphlets to be distributed throughout the school community. An even more innovative idea would be to offer presentations to lower grades on their research.