1. Topic-
Waterborne Illnesses
 
2. Content-
There are many different reasons why it is important that we clean our water before we drink it, and protecting ourselves from waterborne illnesses is one of them. Beyond the range of our eyesight are tiny microorganisms that live in water that can causes many different diseases. The content of this lesson will delve into different types of waterborne illnesses and will allow us to answer the questions "How do I contract these illnesses?" "How do I prevent these illnesses?" and "What exactly do these microorganisms look like?"
 
3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
1. Students understand that microorganisms are too small for our natural eye to see.
2. Students discover that microorganisms can inhibit water without our knowledge due to their size.
3. Students evaluate the importance of cleaning water to protect ourselves from the harm of waterborne illnesses.
 
4. Objectives-
1. Students research given microorganisms to discover their characteristics.
2. Students collaborate to create a drawn diagram of an organism with factual information listed.
3. Students present their discoveries of a microorganism to classmates.
 
5. Materials and Aids-
Internet Access
Poster Board
Presentation (SMART Board)
 
6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

1. Review with students the source of our drinking water.
2. Show students a screen with various objects including plants, fish, pollution, and microorganisms. Ask students what pictures on the board we can find in our water.
3. Delve into a discussion about microorganisms and their presence in untreated water.
 

B. Development-

1. To further demonstrate the size of microorganisms I will pass around a cup of river water and ask the students to observe if they can see anything living in the sample.
2. I will follow up the previous activity with showing the students a video of a microscopes viewing of a river water sample. This will allow the students to see the life that is beyond their eyesight.
 

C. Practice-

1. Students will form pairs. Together as a group the students will have to choose the name of a waterborne microorganism.
2. They will continue to do research on the Internet about their microorganism. They will be asked to research for the following answers: The illness the microorganism causes, where the illness can be found, how the illness can be contracted, how to prevent the illness, and any other interesting facts they find.
3. Students will have to keep track of this information in a log.
4. Their logged information will help them to create a large scale drawing of the microorganism in which they will color and cut out. They will then have to write the factual information about their organism on the back of the drawing.
 

D. Independent Practice-

1. To measure what the students know as a formative assessment I will be using what I have described in my introduction. This will be an informal assessment. By asking the students what pictures represent what is in water, I will see if they have background knowledge of microorganisms and where they may live. This can then help me lead into further discussion on microorganisms, like how small they really are and what we use to see them based on what I have gauged they already know or don't know.
 

E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-

1. I will provide specific kid friendly websites for students to research with. This will allow for students with reading troubles to have a website that they will be able to decipher with more ease.
2. For a pair of students that are learning disabled, I can meet with them twice to check their notebooks to monitor their progress. This will allow the students to ask me more questions and for me to help steer the students in the right direction and make sure they stay on the right research track.
3. For students who need more of a challenge, I will give them the opportunity to do more of a little research project. Rather than creating a bullet list of facts, I would like them to arrange those facts into sequential paragraphs.
 

F. Checking for understanding-

1. The pairs of students will have to meet with me or show me their research log at some point during the research process. I will evaluate their log to see if they are researching to find the right information and on the right track. I can also use the log to check their Internet sources.
2. I will provide the student pairs with feedback about their logs and give them direction for future research or changes that they should make.
3. If the students are way off track, this midway check point will allow me to give them more direction or assistance to make sure they have a better understanding of the assignment.
 

G. Closure-

1. The student pairs will present their microorganisms drawings to the class and read their facts. The microorganisms will be taped on a large sheet of blue craft paper to represent them living in water. It can be displayed in our class or in the hallway.
2. Referring to the mural, I will ask students if they would like to drink a glass of water containing these organisms. With the reply of "No!" that should be responded, I will be lead into saying that this is why it is important that we clean our water before drinking it. This will be a segue into the next lesson of the water treatment process.
 
7. Evaluation-
1. The summative lesson for this specific lesson would be an exit slip at the end of the lesson asking the students, why is it important that we clean our water? What could happen if we didn't? This will give me an understanding that the students understand that these organisms can be found in water that isn't cleaned. It will also show me that they understanding these organisms can be harmful.
2. As a unit closure test, the assessment will go more in depth on this topic. It will be a combination of open ended and multiple choice. It will ask the students about the size of microorganisms, how they can be seen and studied, and how harmful they can be. It will also address some of the causes of these waterborne illness, such as poor sanitation and pollution issues. The assessment will also cover the water treatment process which focuses on removing these waterborne microorganisms.
 

This Lesson Plan is available at (www.teacherjet.com)