Track your family's water usage

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Students will examine the amount of water their family uses on a typical Saturday, record the information in an Office Excel 2007 template, analyze, and compare their water usage to that of others in the class and suggest ways to conserve water.

Objectives

Recognize the components, structure, and organization of systems, and the interconnections in and among them.
Understand and apply concepts and procedures from probability and statistics.
Use technology resources to solve problems and make informed decisions.
Use technology tools to process data and report results.

Learning outcomes

Students will use an Office Excel 2007 spreadsheet to determine the amount of water their family uses.
Students will use Internet resources to compare the amount of water used by their families to that used by other families.
Students will identify ways to decrease family water usage.

Lesson procedure

Introduction

Some of us take water, a basic necessity for sustaining human life, for granted. We use it without thinking about it. What do you and your family do that uses water?

How much water does each of these activities typically require? For example, how much water does a five-minute shower use? How much water does it take to hand-wash dishes? Or to run a dishwasher?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an average five-minute shower takes 15–25 gallons of water. Hand washing dishes uses 12–20 gallons of water. An automatic dishwasher load uses 9–12 gallons. [Show your students a gallon of water to help them visualize the volume in one gallon.]

The average U.S. home uses more than 100,000 gallons of water (inside and outside) per year (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). The average person uses 100 gallons of water per day. Estimate and write down how much water you think your family uses on a hot, sunny Saturday when everyone is at home.

In this activity, you will follow a series of steps to determine how much water your family uses, record your findings in an Office Excel 2007 spreadsheet, and then write a report analyzing your findings.

Student activity

Follow the steps below to guide your students through this lesson plan. See student handout link at right.

Step 1: "Determine your family's water usage"
Step 2: "Present your recommendations"

Lesson extension activities

Ask students to use Office Excel 2007 to create a bar chart that accurately represents their data.
If you have a highly technical group of students, ask them to start with a blank Office Excel 2007 worksheet where they can create their own formulas and charts.
Ask students to make a water conservation brochure using Office Publisher 2007.

Conclusion

Reflect on the reasons for variation in water usage per family (for example, number of family members, specific occupation, religious practices, and recreational activities).
Determine as a class how to prioritize the recommendations for conserving water based on all the gathered data.
Brainstorm additional ways to save water.

Assess students on the following:

The accuracy and thoroughness of the Office Excel 2007 spreadsheet and Office Word 2007 documents they submit
Their presentation that demonstrates three ways they can use less water at home