Starting from the bottom up:

-A cup to hold the filtered water

-A cut in half pop bottle to act as the base of the filter

-A coffee filter

-Cotton balls inside the coffee filter

-A mesh cloth / some type of gauze

-The very top will have a paper towel placed on it

This is how I plan to build my filter system as well. I will slowly pour in the dirty water shown at the top of the photo.

This sketch only includes two materials that could be used to filter the dirty water.

After some research I found that many 4th grade students would be interested in water filtration. I wanted to create an activity that could be done outside and so I chose this lesson.

Objective:

Problem solve the design challenge

The problem:

How can we create a water filter out of everyday supplies?

Ask:

Can the water filter clear dirty water?

What materials could we use different than their intended purpose?

How do the different filters change the color of the water?

Inspiration taken from:

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/water_filtration

Discussion questions: Why is it really important for students (K-12) to have the opportunity to experience/practice/implement the Engineering Design Process? I believe it is really important for students to have this type of practice to improve their problem solving skills. They will begin to look at problems differently. They will see a problem and think "How can I fix this?" Using the Engineering Design Process they will know exactly where to start to solve their problem. This will lead to them being more independent adults and not having to rely as much on others.