Lesson Six: Human Impact on the Environment

Ms. Delaney

Grade Level: 6
th
Time Required: 55 minutes

Materials: Learning Logs, Behavioral Plan, Computer, Word Wall, Poster (sphere words), graphic
organizers (sphere words), 3 cup measuring cup of water, 20 cups labeled agricultural needs (14), human
needs (2), and industrial needs(4), jug of water, backpack filled with books, 2 bowls, pitcher, 1 bottle,
worksheets for each station/student, http://thewaterproject.org/resources/lesson-plans/water-water-
anywhere.php
SS GLCEs and Common Core Standards:
6 G5.1.1 Describe the environmental effects of human action on the atmosphere (air), biosphere
(people, animals, and plants), lithosphere (soil), and hydrosphere (water) (e.g., changes in the tropical
forest environments in Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular
details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and
revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences
Lesson Objectives:
1) Students will create a graphic organizer that summarizes the following vocabulary words:
biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere.
2) Students will compose two short paragraphs that reflect on the availability of water and how
allocation of that resource can affect a population.
Anticipatory Set:
The students will begin by reviewing what we did last week. The teacher will ask the students to recall
what the atmosphere is (the layer of gases surrounding the earth). The teacher will tell the students that
we will be playing stop and scribble today. The teacher will call out an activity (jumping jacks, lunges,
hopping in place, marching) and the students will do that activity until the teacher calls out stop and asks
a question. When the teacher says, Scribble! after the question is asked, the students have twenty
seconds to write down an answer. The teacher will ask the following questions: Name one gas found in
our atmosphere. What is a greenhouse gas? What two countries are the largest producers of greenhouse
gases? How does population of the world relate to the amount of CO2 emissions on earth? The teacher
will then go over the correct answers and the students will self-evaluate.
Procedures:
1) Ask the students to recall the activity we started last week about finding out the distance from
their house to Bothwell Middle School. The teacher will tell the students that he or she calculated
his or her own CO2 emissions and will model how they should calculate theirs. The teacher will
present them with their necessary information and have them calculate their CO2 emissions to
share with the group.
2) After the students have completed that work, the teacher will ask the students to review the words
that we have studied thus far (biosphere, atmosphere). The teacher should refer to the poster with
the sphere words. The teacher will then add the word hydrosphere to the poster and ask the
students what they believe a hydrosphere might be. The students will generate some ideas (refer
back to the word sphere as a ball if necessary, but try to get the students to mention that). The
students should arrive at the conclusion that a hydrosphere is total amount of water found on earth
(oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.). Tell the students that they should take a look at the graphic organizers
I have provided in their learning logs. Add the word hydrosphere to that and draw a picture that
might help with remembering what it is. Do the same for biosphere and atmosphere.
3) Ask the students to make a prediction for the following question: Why is water important? Have
them record it in their learning logs. After the students have finished, ask them to share one
answer each. Tell the students that water covers more than 70% of the Earth: our planet is
dominated by water. Ask the students the following question: if this is the case, then why is
getting water to drink such a big deal if we have so much water? Have them discuss in partners
and make predictions.
Independent Activity: Tell the students that today we will be looking at water and how the availability of
water can affect aspects of society. Divide the students into 2 groups (one with 2 and one with 3). The
first group will be working on the Physical Scarcity problem and the second will be working on the
economic scarcity problem. The physical scarcity directions are as follows: You are in an area that has
physical water scarcity. You may be located near a desert, or simply have had a population boom that has
caused your old resources not to be enough. Use what is left of your five minutes to provide water for this
population. Fill the "Need" cups from your "Resources" and pour it into your "Population." Because of
your scarcity, water use is carefully allotted and conserved. Some cups will be half full while others are
totally full. The students will follow the directions and the teacher will clarify as necessary. The
economic scarcity directions are as follows: You are in an area that has economic water scarcity. You
have a good source of water but for some reason cannot access it. This might be due to political unrest,
conflict, or simply lack of money. Instead, you use an unimproved water source that is dirty and far away
to provide for your population. To fill the "Need" cups from your "Resources" (the pitcher across the
room), you must walk across the room carrying the weight and a single cup, then walk back and pour the
"Need" into your "Population." You may NOT use the "Potential" water at all. You may not have enough
time to fill all of your population's needs so choose which cups are most important to fill first. The
students will have worksheets with reflection questions to answer. They will be given five minutes for
each activity before they switch stations, and then will be given two minutes at the end of each to discuss
and reflect. The teacher will ask the students to write a short paragraph answering the following reflection
questions for each: How did you feel about having to do so much work in the economic scarcity station,
(carrying extra weight, walking back and forth, getting dirty water, etc.) when you had a gallon of clean
water in front of you? Reflect on the experience. How did you decide to fill your paper cups? What would
it mean if you were only able to provide half the agriculture resources needed? (hunger, etc.) industrial
resources? (poverty, etc.), domestic resources? (health, etc.) Reflect on the experience. The students will
turn in their reflections when they have finished.
Closure: To close the lesson, the teacher will ask the students what they thought about the activity. Was it
hard or easy to get water? Do you think that in Michigan it is difficult to get fresh water? Have the
students discuss. After a few minutes, tell the students that water is a very important resource. There
seems to be so much water around the world, but most of it is unusable in the form that it comes in (salt
water, etc.). This makes it very difficult for everyone to get the fresh water that we need to survive. Have
the students think about the following question before they leave: If humans make a negative impact on
the hydrosphere, how would that hurt not only the Earth, but that humans that inhabit it? Tell them that
next time we will be discussing how humans may be harming the hydrosphere.
Assessment: The instructor will look at the students reflections from the activity to see if they were able
to understand that water is an important resource that may be difficult to distribute, as well as come by.
The teacher will evaluate the students reflections and look for clear, concise arguments that incorporate
important provisions from the activity.
Accommodations for Diverse Learners:
The students that have more difficulty seeing, hearing, or behaving properly will be sat near me in order
to accommodate their learning. The students who struggle with writing will be given the opportunity to
dictate their answers to the instructor. Students who have difficulty with physical aspects of the activity
will be given the opportunity to communicate their opinions on allocations of resources and directions for
completing the activity to their group members.