# data[].attributes.body
In this lesson plan students will be able to understand the importance of water, the problem of water scarcity and how they can conserve water. There are many activities that students are introduced to, regarding water scarcity. This lesson helps students become aware of other situations around the world that are different from their own, while internalizing different perspectives.

# data[].attributes.body
The Water Princess written by Susan Verde illustrates the experience of Georgie Badiel who grew up in Burkina Faso. The story follows Princess Gie Gie as she travels throughout the day with her mother to collect water from a well far away.
The main aspect of global education in this book is perspective taking. Readers are able to see the daily struggles of people who do not have immediate access to clean water. After reading this book, the biggest takeaway would be the attitude of empathy for people like Princess Gie Gie, hopefully leading them towards the want to take action. Georgie Badiel’s personal experiences have led her to create The Georgie Badiel Foundation. This organization aims to provide clean water, sanitization, technical training, and creating hygiene practice. The framework that this book best fits into is Mansilla and Gardner.

# data[].attributes.body
This book follows the fairly basic premise of a family’s daily struggle to gain access to clean water.  Although it has more details than that, this is a story that many people can connect to due to its simplicity, lending to its accuracy.  This story is also as authentic as it gets, describing the childhood of a real woman, Georgie Badiel, and her family’s experiences.  This book, although only going into detail on one perspective, is also an example of a small-scale story with good representation.  This is an experience that is profoundly different from our view of water scarcity and availability, thus forcing us into the shoes of a unique lifestyle with global applicability.  Within the framework of the story, as well, Gie Gie mentions other families who have traveled even farther than her to attain water, giving insight to similar yet separate perspectives.

# data[].attributes.body
The anti-essentialist mindset is the belief that you shouldn't only put your time and effort into problems that directly affect you. Water Princess doesn’t take a direct approach to an anti-essentialist mindset or plead with readers to take action. Instead it presents a story that tugs at the reader's heart strings, insights curiosity, and creates a desire in the reader to learn more about the world’s water crisis.

# data[].attributes.body
The main perspective in The Water Princess is Georgie Badiel from Burkina Faso. She is accompanied by her mother when retrieving water for her family. They walk all day to and from the water well in the hot weather to have drinking water at their home. There is no other clean, drinkable water closer to them. The missing perspective would be those of the other women traveling to the same well for water, nearby villages, and those others who experience the same problem in similar communities or countries. They are greatly affected by the low water quality and quantity compared to other places in our world, but many people in urban countries are raising awareness for clean water access for underdeveloped countries.

# data[].attributes.body
In a Netflix series by Vox Media, the worlds water crisis is explained in full detail. It discusses the struggles certain cities will face by 2040 when they reach “Day Zero”, or the first day they do not have any fresh water supply. Less than one percent of the world’s fresh water supply is available for human use, the rest is frozen, trapped underground or salty. As the documentary investigates, the world is inefficient in their water use. It becomes lost through leaky pipes, gets waste dumped into it, and the most water-intensive crops are grown in deserts. Water is a valuable source, yet the world does not treat it like one.
This last informational resource that we looked at also was most like the Mansilla and Gardner Framework. It shares the perspectives of many people who struggle with gaining access to water and in turn how the globe's use of water is affecting that. The focus of this documentary was to educate the world about the conservation of water and what happens if we don't. They want to help people be more globally conscious and understand that the world affects their local community, but that their actions also affect the world.

# data[].attributes.body
We Are Water Protectors, written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Groade, emphasizes the importance of protecting the water and Earth. It discusses how water affects and connects us all was human being. When a black snake (North Dakota Oil Pipeline) threatens to destroy the Earth and poison their drinking water, a young indigenous girl fights to take a stand to protect the water and Earth. Together, the communities confront the snake, fighting it on behalf of all the lives that depend on the water.
The global education framework that this book best fits into is Mansilla and Gardner. It takes the perspective of someone from a different culture who is in a situation that not many people have experienced. The main character displays global sensitivity by talking about how her local community is being affected in a negative way by the large energy company from another part of the country. She also has global self as a huge part of her character. She knows that she can make a change by taking part and standing up for her village. She discusses how she is fighting for the creatures and plants that don't have a voice to protect the entire Earth. These are two of the main parts of global consciousness that is discussed in Mansilla and Gardner's framework.

# data[].attributes.body
This story is accurate because it is similar to the real protests that have happened, like the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, where they are fighting against the placement of the pipeline because it would damage their sacred burial grounds and pose a great threat to their access to clean water. The author connects that protest to the story of the book, and further discusses the fight and how it inspired this book. This book is authentic because at the back of the book it names the tribe that in the book, the Ojibwe people, and discusses their culture and beliefs. The author also discusses the symbolism of the "black snake" being the oil pipelines that are causing major problems. Lastly, this book is representative because it tells the story from the point of view of a girl in the tribe. The book isn't showing people's opinions of the group from the outside, it gives insight to their thoughts, feelings, and mindset while fighting for their rights.

# data[].attributes.body
The main perspective found in this book is of the Ojibwe peoples. It follows a young girl who is part of the tribe as she stands up to protect the water. They see the North Dakota Pipeline as a black snake that has come to poison their water and destroy the habitats of defenseless animals. The perspective missing is other tribes, villages, and communities in the surrounding area. Also, the perspective of the workforce and oil companies as the pipeline will create thousands of jobs and reduce oil spills from train or truck transportation. Other citizens not in close proximity to the North Dakota pipeline may not experience the same threats or issues but many are supportive through protests against the construction and use of the pipeline.

# data[].attributes.body
Analyzing a piece of literature contrapuntually means taking in account intertwining histories and perspectives, or more specifically, considering the perspectives of both the colonizers and the colonized. We are the Water Protectors is a contrapuntal reading because it portrays two perspectives. One is of an indigenous tribe who does everything they can to protect the water. The other is the “black snake” which represents oil pipelines and how humans have depleted our natural resources.

# data[].attributes.body
3 Things Literacy Activity

One connection they have with something in the story or one difference they have with something in the story

One thing you learned

One thing that surprised you in the story

This helps to get students thinking about water scarcity and the need for sanding up for what they believe in.

Water/Earth Pledge Activity

As a class brainstorm ways/new habits to protect and save water that can be done each day. Each student writes an idea on a sticky note, and fold them up. They get placed in a jar or hat and everyday one gets picked. Then as a class, then practice that new habit.

# data[].attributes.body
Unlike the other two texts for this project, World's Water Crisis takes the format of a documentary rather than following a fictional story narrative.  This means that, instead of seeing authenticity, accuracy, and representation in the characters and plot, we looked for it in whose voices the documentary chose to spotlight, what locations were selected to discuss, and what narratives might be spun about groups of people it covers.

Overall, World's Water Crisis treats each topic with an appropriate level of respect and authenticity.  The documentary is bolstered by the voices of a variety of experts and specialists, all coming from different backgrounds.  This, paired with the inherently global perspective of the worldwide water problem, lends a strong sense of authenticity to the text.  It's easy to trust that the people speaking on this topic are well-informed, knowledgeable, and trustworthy, in the same way that authenticity in fictional stories creates a sense of trustworthiness and reliability on the topics they cover.

Bolstered by near-constant reports, statistics, and studies, this documentary brings together a strong, accurate narrative of the current clean water crisis.  It is easy to identify exactly where the information is coming from and is often pulled straight from reports published by the country and/or city of origin.

This documentary focuses on the specific water crises of several geographic locations, including Mexico City, India, and London. It identifies the similarities and differences between the specific situations, highlighting both the globality of the water crisis and emphasizing the necessity of an intersectional mindset on the issue. Here the representation in this text is most clear. Multiple issues are brought up in an appropriate manner, focusing on a rich variety of geographical, socioeconomic, and political factors that make up the grand scheme.

# data[].attributes.body
The perspectives found in the Netflix Documentary, Explained: World's Water Crisis are scientists, educated professionals, and local people from all around the world. The educated scientists and professionals are extremely knowledgable on the water crisis as they have completed research and studied the numbers. The documentary traveled to many corners of the world to talk to real, unscripted people who struggle with clean or access to clean water. Their transparent perspectives are true and serious. Some missing perspectives would be from people who do have clean, running water and places in the world where they are very close to reaching day zero like South Africa.

# data[].attributes.body
A piece of literature that utilizes ethical solidarity promotes the idea that it is our responsibility to team together and fulfill a common goal, whatever that may be. One of the last lines of World's Water Crisis is the epitome of ethical solidarity. The narrator states, “our fates are tied to our taps” implicitly pleading with viewers to take collective action to conserve water and put an end to the world’s water crisis.

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching Applications: Lesson Plan Activity

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching Applications: Lesson Plan Activity

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/earths-water-a-drop-in-your-cup

This lesson activity gives students a visual for how much useable water there is in the world. It educates them that there is limited amount of freshwater and helps them visualize it in a smaller, more understandable way. At the end of the lesson, it also discusses what people can do to help conserve water like turning off the faucet when you're not using it, only running the dishwasher and washing machine with a full load, using low-flow shower heads, and a few other tips. This activity clearly helps students understand the minimal amount of water that the world has, and teaches them how to help save the water, but it also gives teachers tips on how to help conserve water and reminding them to mindful of their water use.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It seems JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser. To view this site, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options and try again.

Jump to main content

Our planet's surface may be mostly covered in water, but how much of that can we use? In this activity, students will see how water is distributed across different sources, how much can be used by humans, and will brainstorm ways to decrease their usage of fresh water.

Water is wasted daily by inefficient farming practices, but we can find solutions.

How do we provide the world's growing population with enough water to drink?

Did you know there are thousands of gallons of water right under your feet?

Ever wonder what 38,000 animals are up to after dark?

Stay curious-every Thursday at NightLife. Sign up for event updates and exciting announcements.

An adventure in your inbox. (And a discount, too.)

Sign up for the Academy's monthly newsletter and get a promo code for 10% off at our online retail store.

Now's a great time to start window-shopping at the Academy Store.

Please try submitting your email again.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Where IS all of our planet's water stored?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.watercalculator.org

This water calculator gives the users their water footprint, which determines how many gallons of water their household uses per day. This could be incorporated within a lesson plan or just as a resource for students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What's Your Water Footprint: Water Footprint Calculator Home Page

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What's your water footprint? It's the tap water and the "virtual water" used to produce your food, electricity, gas and home goods.

# data[].attributes.body
https://worldwater.io
This website shares the number of people in the world living in a water scarce area. This resource can be used for students to understand how severe the problem is around the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Water Scarcity Clock is an interactive webtool that visualizes how many people live in water scarcity around the world. This was created by World Data Lab in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysi…

# data[].attributes.body
https://wellsbringhope.org/the-need/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA64GRBhCZARIsAHOLriL9hyjCn22ZMqfnDPdbDryL3AeKFRiTZ1HIOzzAcB-XtUFd4xiKdrAaAiE-EALw_wcB

This resource explains how the world's water crisis effects Africa specifically. It outlines the effects water scarcity has on every aspect of life in Africa. Finally, this source provides information on how you can help make a difference.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wells Bring Hope is a 501(c)(3). Read our Privacy Policy . © Copyright 2022 Wells Bring Hope. all rights reserved.