In this life science-focused activity, students will pretend to have internships as environmental scientists as they research why exactly water is essential for life. They will collect and analyze data to help them calculate about how much water they use on a daily basis and consider where cuts can be made. Following the virtual experience, students will calculate approximately how much water each person would need per day to survive on Mars. They will consider how much of this water could be reused, and they will determine how much water the people on Mars need to survive until the shuttle returns from Earth. Student groups will ultimately develop a plan that maps out water use until the shuttle returns, and they will review each other’s ideas as they search for the most efficient and realistic plan.

This lesson will introduce students to the concepts of water pollution and access to clean water through class discussion and a water filtration experiment. Note: The filtration methods used in this activity are a simple demonstration and the water should not be considered safe for drinking.

This guide to OpenSciEd unit 7.5: Ecosystem Dynamics and Biodiversity includes: Lesson pacing; and Assessment guidance. School districts that use The Teacher Clarity Playbook by Fisher and Frey Playbook will benefit from using this guide. Each lesson is labeled by a number and letter (ie: 3a) and contains the original resource three-dimensional standards as Lesson Level Performance Expectations. We have broken those PEs into student-friendly Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, which can be posted on boards or digital slides and used for assessment criteria.  

This curriculum guide contains pacing, instruction, prior knowledge, and assessment guidance to accompany the OpenSciEd unit 7.5 Ecosystem Dynamics and Biodiversity. For schools who use Fisher and Frey's The Teacher Clarity Playbook, you'll find student-friendly learning intentions and success criteria for every lesson (indicated by a number and letter, ie: 4b), drawn from the OSE three dimensional performance expectations. These can be posted on slides or boards in classrooms to make learning visible for students and help design assessment criteria.