SWAMPED!A look at London’s water cycle, and its importance to the natural world around us. Prepared by:Danielle Ward 519-661-2500 ext. 2844dward@london.cawww.london.ca/teacher

Before you Begin:

The City of London has various resources available to you throughout this lesson including informational videos and webpages. If you have any questions about the material before or after the lesson please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have an idea for another lesson, or have connected this lesson to curriculum we have not, please let us know. We are always looking for feedback, ideas for improvement and new lessons.

Resources:

The resources required for this lesson are provided in the lesson’s resource section.

Please alter this lesson plan, the PowerPoint, and the resources to fit your student’s needs. This lesson does involve flood prevention methods and a slide on floodplains. If you feel these concepts are too difficult to students to explain simply skip the slides and move onto the activities.

Field Trip Resources:

To help explain the process of how water gets from the lake to the tap, or where waste goes from the sink or toilet schedule a tour of the Huron and Elgin Area Water Supply Facilities, or a Tour of the Greenway Pollution Plant.

1. To schedule a tour of the Huron and Elgin Area Water Supply Facility call: 519-930-3505 or email watersupply@london.ca (please book field trip 30 days in advance).

2. To schedule a tour of the Greenway Pollution Plant please call: 519-661-2581 or email gburrows@london.ca

Feedback:

Finished this lesson?

We would love to hear how it went and any ideas for improvements, activities or additional lessons! Send us a quick email with your grade and unit that you used this lesson for with any comments, questions or suggestions.

Thank you for using The Teaching Toolkit and taking the time to help us continue to develop and improve the resources!

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Cirriculum Connections

Grade 2Science and Technology Understanding Earth and Space Systems: Air and Water in the Environment

Overall Expectations 1. Assess ways in which the actions of humans have an impact on the quality of air

and water and ways in which the quality of air and water has an impact on living things1.1 Assess the impact of human activities on water in the environment, taking

different points of view into consideration 1.2 Assess personal and family uses of water as responsible/efficient or wasteful

and create a plan to reduce where possible. 2. Investigate the characteristics of air and water and the visible/invisible effects of

an changes to air and or water in the environment. 2.1 Follow established safety procedures during science investigations 2.2 Investigate through experimentation, the characteristics of water, and its uses2.3 Investigate the stages of the water cycle, including evaporationg,

condensation, precipitation, and collection 2.4 Investigate water in the natural environment 2.5 Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary 2.6 Use a variety of forms to communicate with different audiences and for a

variety of purposes. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which air and water are used by

living things to help them meet their basic needs. 3.1 Identify air as a gaseous substance that surrounds us and whose movement

we feel as wind 3.2 Identify water as a clear, colourless, odourless, tasteless liquid that exists in

three states and that is necessary for the life of most animals and plants 3.3 Describe ways in which living things, including humans, depend on air and

water3.4 Identify sources of water in the natural and built environment 3.5 Identify the three states of water in the environment and show how they fit

into the water cycle when the temperature of the surrounding environment changes.

3.6 State reasons why clean water is an increasingly scarce resource in many parts of the world.

LiteracyReading

Overall Expectations: 1. Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and

informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning 1.1 Read some literary and informational texts

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1.2 Identify several different purposes for reading and choosing reading materials 1.4 Demonstrate understanding of a text by retelling the story or restating information from the text, with the inclusion of a few interesting details

2. Recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistics elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning 2.1 identify and escribe the characteristics of a few simple text forms, with a focus

on informational texts such as a “How to” book2.2 recognize simple organizational patterns in texts of different types. 2.3 Identify some text features and explain how they help readers understand

texts. 3. Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently

3.1 automatically read and understand many high frequency words, some words with common spelling patterns and words of personal interest or significance in a variety of reading contexts

3.2 predict the meaning of and quickly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues including semantic (meaning cues), syntactic (language structure cues), graphophonic (phonological and graphic cues)

4. Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after. 4.1 Identify, initially with support and direction a few strategies that they found

helpful before, during, and after reading.

Media Literacy

Overall Expectations1. Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts2. Identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques

associated with them are used to create meaning 3. Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using

appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques3.4 produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using a few simple

media forms and appropriate conventions and techniques3.4.1 a weather report with illustrations and captions

a sequence of pictures and or photographs telling the story of an event 4. Reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas

for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.

The ArtsVisual Arts

Overall Expectations: 1. Creating and Presenting: apply the creative process to produce a variety of two-

and-three dimensional art works, using elements, principles, and techniques of visual arts to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings.

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2. Reflecting, responding, and Analyzing: apply the critical analysis process to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of art works and art experiences.

3. Exploring forms and Cultural Contexts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of art forms, styles, and techniques from the past and present, and their social and/or community contexts

Math Measurement

Overall Expectations1. Estimate, measure, and record length, perimeter, area, mass, capacity, time, and

temperature using non-standard units and standard units 2. Compare, describe, and order objects, using attributes measured in non-

standard and standard units.

Data Management and Probability

Overall Expectations 1. Collect and organize categorical or discrete primary data and display the data

using tally charts, concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots, simple bar graphs, and other graphic organizers, with labels ordered appropriately along horizontal axes as needed.

2. Read and describe primary data presented in tally charts, concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots, simple bar graphs, and other graphic organizers

3. Describe probability in everyday situations and simple games.

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Resources

Resource 1: Where does water come from?

What you need: 10 glasses/cups of waterWater Salt

Instructions: - Grab 10 glasses of water and 10 volunteers- In 9 of the glasses fill the water up and add salt to them, mix it around (make sure there isenough so that the students can taste it)- In 1 of the glasses fill it with regular tap water - Ask the students to take a sip of the water in their glass (a sip not a drink-salty water will upset a stomach), ask them to than to explain the taste of their water. Ask those students that thought their water was salty to move to one side and those who thought their water tasted normal to stand on the other side. - Ask the other students to count how many students water was “salty” and how many students water was “normal” . The number should be 9:1.

Explanation of the activity: Explain to the students that most of the water on earth is actually salt water, and that salt water is mainly found in oceans. If you have a map of the world it may be handy to show it at this point. Point out all of the oceans and how large they are. Explain to the students that there is not very much freshwater on earth, point to areas where freshwater is located, explain to them that freshwater is the only water we can use to drink and cook with. Using the same map point out some areas where freshwater is located such as the great lakes and glaciers and ice caps. Explain there is also underground freshwater called groundwater that is created when rain water soaks through the soil.

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Resource 2: Experiements for the Water Cycle:

Evaporation:

What you need: - kettle- water- plug

Experiment: Fill the kettle with water and plug it in at the front of the classroom, and wait for it to boil.

Questions: 1. Ask the students what they think will happen if you heat up the water in the kettle. 2. Ask them to pay close attention to the top of the kettle and what comes out of it. 3. Ask the students if they know what is coming out of the top of the kettle. 4. Ask the students where they think the water vapor goes after it leaves the kettle.

How it is similar to evaporation: Explain to the students that evaporation occurs when the sun heats up the water on land. Similar to how the kettle heated the water. Once the water is heated it begins to rise, and becomes water vapor, which is the first step in the water cycle.

Condensation:

What you need: - Hardcover textbook - Boiling kettle - Freezer

Experiment:Place a hardcover textbook in a freezer for 3 hours. After three hours remove the textbook, and place it over a boiling kettle of water.

Questions: 1. Ask the students what they think will happen to the book if it is placed over the

kettle 2. Ask them to watch the bottom of the book and see if anything happens 3. Ask them if they think it looks similar to anything else they have seen before(pop

bottle) 4. Ask the students if they know what is happening 5. Ask the students if they can relate what is happening to the textbook to

something that happens in nature (ie; spider webs)

How it is similar to condensation:

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When the water vapor from the kettle rises and hits the cold textbook, it gets cold and changes back into a liquid, this liquid than hangs from the textbook.

Precipitation:

What you need: The experiment from condensation

Experiment: Continue to hold the cold book over the steaming kettle. The book will begin to drip once there is too much condensed water built up on the surface. The water will then fall, making it “rain”

Questions: 1. Ask students what they think will happen if you continue to hold the cold book

over the steaming kettle 2. Ask students to watch the bottom of the book, ask them if there is anything they

notice happening 3. Ask students if they can relate what is happening to the water on the bottom of

the book to something that occurs in the weather

How it is similar to precipitation: As the book builds condensation along its bottom half it becomes to heavy for the book to hold onto, similar to what happens in the atmosphere. Hot air rises with water vapor from evaporation, it rises to higher elevations in the atmosphere where the temperature significantly drops. The water than begins to condense, the higher rate of evaporation and water vapor in the air the more that builds up, and therefore the more likely it is to rain. Ask students if they have ever experienced a really hot muggy (humid) day, explain to them that because the temperature is so high, much of the water on the surface is being evaporated, saturating the air. When the air becomes saturated with water vapor it begins to condense in the upper atmosphere. Ask students if they have ever been outside on a hot muggy day and later on experienced a thunderstorm or heavy rain. Ask them if they think the two events are connected, and why they might be linked.

Explain to students that there are many different kinds of precipitation; ask the students if they can name all the different types of precipitation.

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Collection:

What you need: The experiment from precipitationPlastic container

Experiment: Hold the saturated textbook over a plastic container to show students that the water falls to the earth and is than collected.

Questions: 1. Ask the students what they think serves as a collection device for water on earth 2. Ask the students what they think happens when water collects on the earth and

than disappears (such as puddles) 3. Ask the students what happens during collection if there is too much precipitation

How it similar to collection: As the water drops from the book it needs to be collected, explain to students that there are a variety of different collection devices on earth. Ask them if they can name any. Collection is very important as it replenishes many of Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Without the natural water cycle Earth would not have the amount of water it has today.

Ask the students if they can think of ways in which they could monitor the amount of water collected in London each day. Ask them to develop their own experiment so that they can monitor the amount of water they receive each day. Help the students develop their own experiment by providing each of them with a rain gage. Put their name on the gage using a piece of paper.

- Ask the Students where they think would be a good place to collect the most accurate amount of water

- Mark of an area out in the playground where the students believe they should put their rain gages. You can even mark off more than one area if there are some students that wish to measure a different area.

- Ask the students how many times they should check the rain gage, once every day, once a week, once every two days.

- Ask the students how they will gather the information, maybe using a table? o If they choose a table ask the students what columns their tables should

include. - Ask the students how they would present the data to the school to let them know

how much rain they are receivingo If they choose a graph ask them if they are going to graph it by the day or

by the week, and what type of graph they think will work best. Give them the following resources below should they choose to design their experiment with tables and a graph.

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Resource 3: Rain Gage Measurements Day Measurement in “mm” Type of Weather

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Resource 4: Rain in London Graph

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Amount of Rain at ____________________________________

Day

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sure

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cm

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Resource 5: The Magic School Bus

• To watch the directly related episode “Wet all Over” follow the link: Wet all Over Episode: https://youtu.be/gyaBs-zi00E

• The episode is roughly 21 minutes long and reviews the water cycle.

Resource 6: The many adventures of Drippy the Rain Drop- If your students have independent reading time and have access to a computer

this resources is designed to improve literacy while also teaching students about the water cycle.

- The website has the ability to also read the text to students, so if they are struggling with reading a particular sentence the website can help them.

- Following this link: http://www.drippytheraindrop.com/DrippysWorldTrialStories/ToMountainsAndBack/Entry.htm to their website to check out the story before giving it to your students to read.

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Resource 7: Preventing Floods

After learning about how to prevent floods it is now time for the students to put their knowledge into action. The following resource takes time to complete. The students must design a town, which they think will not flood.

Materials needed: - 1 plastic tray for each student, can also use an aluminum tray- Dirt, sand, and clay materials for the children to choose from - Play dough for the children to build things out of- Various small pieces such as trees, sticks, rocks, popsicle sticks- Glue and tape. - Pitcher - Access to water

Project: “Protect your town!” you are the lead planner at the City of London. A planner is a person who determines what goes where in the city. You are given the task to build a new neighbourhood along the Thames River, however the Thames River often floods so the neighbourhood must be resistant to flooding. Using the knowledge you have learned, build a neighbourhood that will not flood during heavy periods of rain or increased amounts of snowmelt! Your neighbourhood will be tested to see if it floods. Remember that water always moves from a high point to a low point when you are building your model.

After each student has created their town, fill a pitcher of water (the amount depends on the size of the tray) and dump it gently onto the student’s town. Tell the student who built the town to watch how the water moves. Ask each student to write down three inquiry questions they have about why certain spots in their town flooded. Have them than hand in the questions, and address each question. Many of the questions will probably be do to low spots, or overflow. Address these questions with examples, such as how puddles are low spots, and how storm drains on the road move water from low spots in a neighbourhood to even lower spots such as the river.

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Resource 8:

Why did my Neighbourhood Flood?

Ask 3 inquiry questions about your neighbourhoods flood that you may have, and write them on this sheet.

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2.

3.

Based on the flood in your neighbourhood what would you fix to make sure that it didn’t flood in certain areas again?

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Resource 9: City of London Water Conservation House

Visit the City of London Water Conservation House at: http://www.london.ca/residents/Water/Water-Conservation/Pages/Water-Conservation-House.aspx

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Resource 10: List of Native Drought Tolerant Plants

Here is a list of Drought Tolerant Plants that you can bring home to your parents. Drought tolerant plants are able to survive during dry, hot periods of the summer without any water.

Fill in the name of the plants as we go through the slide show:

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Resource 11: My Drought Tolerant Garden

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Resource 12: Alternative Drought Tolerant SpeciesUsing this resource the students can use the computer to look up these plants and see which ones they would like to put in their drought tolerant school garden.

Resource 13: Conserving Water at Home

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What are 5 things in your house that use water:

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What are 5 things that you can do to conserve water in your house:

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Name one habit you can change immediately to help conserve water:

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Lesson Plan:

Slide 1: The lesson is called swamped because it looks at the water cycle in London Ontario. Explain to students that London is located around the Thames River, and therefore the water cycle directly affects the area we live in.

Slide 2: Ask students if they know what water is? Ask them if they know what water is made out of? Explain that water is made out of hydrogen which is represented with an H, and oxygen which is represented with an O. Water is also called H2O, which is what its chemical make up is.

Slide 3: Ask students if they know the states of water? How many are there? What are they? Also ask them if they can give examples of each. Explain that water exists in 3 states, it can be a solid such as ice, a liquid such as the water we drink, or gas which you can see coming off a cup of hot chocolate in the winter.

Slide 4: Where does water come from? Ask students if they know where water comes from? Use resource 1 as an activity to help them understand where water comes from and how much of it we have access to and can drink. Using the activity you can illustrate how much water is on earth. You can also illustrate that around 90% of water (9 out of 10 glasses in the experiment) is salt water on earth. Explain to students that salt water is not a source of water that we can drink unless it is desalinated.

The pie charts on the slide illustrate the amount of water there is available on earth. You may want to explain to students that they should imagine a warm chocolate cake that their parents made for their birthday. Tell them the cake looks so good but only 1 slice out of 10 can be eaten, and they have to share it with everyone at their birthday party. Ask them how they would feel if they had to share one piece of cake with everyone at their birthday party. Explain to them this is one of the issues in water, of all the water on earth less than 10% can be use as drinking water. This 10% has to be split among 7 billion people that live on the earth, this leads to many different social issues.

The pie chart on the right illustrates the available freshwater sources. Explain to the students that fresh water comes from many different sources. Ask the students if they know of any freshwater sources. Explain that the biggest contributors to freshwater are ice caps, and that because the ice caps are melting into the ocean, we are loosing a large amount of freshwater resources. Groundwater, which is water, stored underground in rock reservoirs, and surface freshwater such as lakes and rivers are the other two sources for freshwater around the world.

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Slide 5: Ask the students if they know how old their water is? Ask them to guess how old they think their water is, and tally the results on chart paper or on the board.

Slide 6: Explain to the students that their water is actually millions of years old, explain that could possibly be the same water that the dinosaurs drank, or that knights on the battle field drank, or the same water as their great great great grandmother drank. Some of the students may ask how water can be that old ? Ask the students if they know why water can be that old.

Slide 7: Explain to the students that water is an old earth resource because the amount of water on earth never changes and is called a “constant”. Constant means never changing. The reasons why the amount of water on earth is constant is because it is always being recycled. Explain to students similar to how their plastic and paper is recycled, water is also recycled however it is recycled through nature rather than through a man made process. Water is recycled through the “water cycle” the water cycle is the movement of water on earth through its 3 different phases. The water cycle is very important in maintaining the water resources that we have today.

Slide 8: Ask students if they have ever heard of the water cycle. Ask them if they know the steps in the water cycle. Explain to them that the water cycle is the constant movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the earth. Explain that the water cycle has 4 steps.

1. Evaporation (have them repeat after you) 2. Condensation 3. Precipitation 4. Accumulation

Slide 9: Step 1: EvaporationAsk students if they know what evaporation means? Explain that evaporation occurs when the sun heat up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. Ask students if they have ever wondered what happens to wet clothes that dry. Use the 1st experiment in resource 2 to show the students how evaporation works.

Slide 10:Step 2: Condensation Ask students if they know what condensation means?Explain that condensation occurs when the water vapor that was heated by the sun gets cold as it rises and changes back into liquid. Explain to students that the atmosphere gets significantly cooler the higher you go, so when hot air rises, its cools off and begins

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to change back into a liquid. Use experiment 2 in resource 2 to show the students how condensation works.

Slide 11:Step 3: Precipitation Ask students if they know what precipitation is, and if they have ever wondered how it forms. Explain to the students that precipitation occurs right after condensation and is basically when so much condensation builds up that it falls to the ground do to gravity, creating precipitation. Ask the students if they know of any types of precipitation. Ask them to name different forms.

Slide 12:Step4: Collection Ask students if they have ever tried to catch a snowflake or rain drop? Tell them if they have they participated in the last step of the water cycle, which is the collection phase. Collection occurs when the water falls back to the earth as precipitation it collects in low lying places such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and the ground. Explain to students that if they have ever seen a puddle they have seen what happens during collection. Use experiment 4 in resource 2 to show students collection. Explain that without collection we would have no water on the surface of the Earth.

Slide 13: Because there is a constant amount of water on earth at all times, after collection the water moves through the cycle all over again. Ask students if they know the four steps, have them say them out loud with you.

Slide 14: Use resource 5 or click on the image so that students can watch a video about the water cycle.

Magic School Bus “Wet all Over”-1995The class is excited about going to Waterland. Wanda and Arnold are working on a project together and somehow Wanda convinces him to go to the girls' bathroom with her to get water. He accidentally leaves Ms. Frizzle's keys and Liz in the bathroom, and forgets to turn the water off. When they leave to go to Waterland, Ms. Frizzle instead uses a spare key, which turns her, the class and the bus into water.

Slide 15: Use resource 6 if you would like your students to learn about the water cycle using their literacy skills. The book is online and also allows students the option of hearing sentences read to them.

Slide 16: What happens if it rains too much? Ask the students if they have ever seen it rain too much and what happens when it does rain too much.

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Ask them if they have ever wondered what would happen if the river overflowed or if suddenly their street was underwater. How would that affect them?

Slide 17: Ask the students if they have ever hear of the word flood or flooding. Ask them if they know what the word means. Explain to them that floods happen when areas that collect water overflow because there is too much water. Explain that floods happen in low lying areas as water usually flows downhill.

Slide 18: Explain that too much rain has happened many times in London. We often hear about breaking news alerts about storms, heavy rain, flood watches, and warnings but what do these mean to us? How does an increase in the amount of rain affect us in London?

Slide 19: Explain to students that these pictures were of London after heavy periods of rain. Ask the students if their basement at home has ever flooded or if they have ever seen pictures like those on the screen, have them explain what happened, was there a heavy period of rain, and was there a lot of snow that melted? Explain to students that floods are not just caused by rainfall. There are also floods that are caused by increased snowmelts such as that on the left. The picture on the left is a flood that happened when there was a lot of snow that fell, and then there was a very warm period that melted it all. Explain to students that when water is in its solid form it can be compacted and takes up less space and does not require immediate drainage. However when water melts and is in its liquid state it takes up more space and because it is a fluid it can move more freely and flood an area.

Ask students what they would do during a flood. Ask them if they think it would be a good idea to play on the play equipment in the playground or canoe down the street. Explain that it is not a good idea to play in floodwaters. Floodwaters are often contaminated with bacteria and pollution, and also can cover up hazards such as fences, holes, or wires, which if we were playing in could cause harm or illness. Tell students that during a flood it is best to stay inside away from the flooded area. If the home begins to flood it is best to evacuate and stay at a location that is a higher elevation.

Slide 20: Before explaining the slide to students introduce the concept of how water flows from an area of high elevation to areas of lower elevation. You can illustrate this with a paint tray or any slanted surface. Pour water on the higher or more elevated surface; ask the students where they think the water is going to go. Ask them why they think the water is going to go that way. Explain that because water moves from higher points to lower points, areas that are lower are those that flood easier. Ask students if they have ever heard of a flood plain. Explain that a flood plain is an area of low elevation often next to a river. Ask them if they can name any structures near a river that they have visited. Explain that these areas are most likely built on a

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floodplain. Floodplains are often subject to flooding so explain to the students that if a river were to overflow the areas in the picture in yellow are those areas, which would flood. Explain that the areas in red are those where there are homes. Explain that the city creates maps like this one to determine what homes are at risk during heavy periods of rain and snowmelt so that if a flood happens they know which homes to evacuate. Similar to how you make a fire escape plan, the City of London has created a flood evacuation plan.

Slide 21:How can we prevent floods from happening? Ask students if they can think of ways in which we can prevent flooding from happening? Ask them what they would do if their house or yard started flooding. Explain to the students that one way to prevent flooding is to build sea defense walls. These walls help protect cities and towns that are on or near the ocean or lakes. The walls prevent the waves from big storms toppling onto their properties. Creating what is called “storm surges” when the waves get to big and flood the beaches and homes and buildings nearby.

Slide 22: Retaining walls are another good way of preventing flooding and erosion from flooding. London has many retaining walls along the Thames River. Retaining walls prevent the loss of land to flooding and erosion from various types of bodies of water. Often retaining walls are built at a height that is higher than or equal to the height of a forecasted flood.

Slide 23: Vegetation can also be used to prevent flooding. Vegetation such as trees and grass help hold soil in place and also absorb a lot of water during heavy periods of rain. It is important to keep vegetation in flood prone areas to prevent erosion and other flood consequences such as mudslides from happening. Many people plant vegetation in their backyards that can tolerate flooding, others build rain gardens to help drain their backyards during heavy periods of rainfall.

Slide 24: As a last resort during flooding sandbags have also been used to prevent flooding. Sandbags are bags filled with sand that prevent water from moving through them. Sand prevents water flow because its particles of dirt are so tightly packed together, making it very difficult for the water to seep through. The house in the picture is using the sandbags to keep the floodwaters back from their house.

Slide 25: Another important aspect of preventing floods is education. Simply learning about how floods happen and where they happen in your community is important. Learning about the area in which you are buying a home or where high or low spots are within your community is very important in order to understand if a flood may occur.

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Slide 26: Use resource 7 to teach students how to plan a flood proof neighborhood. Ask them to use the skills they have learned about floods and the water cycle to build a flood proof neighbourhood along the Thames River. Ask them about how they should build their neighbourhoods, what materials they are using, and how many houses they are building. Ask them how they would prevent flooding from the river from happening; remind them that water flows from the highest point to the lowest point. If this activity seems to hard for your students ask them to build a town and then pour water on it from a watering can to show how water flows during a rainstorm. Slide 27: What happens if it does not rain at all? Ask students what they think would happen if London did not get any rain for a long time. Ask the students about the pictures on the slide, ask them if they have ever seen any of them. The picture on the left illustrates how no rain for long periods can affect plants, for example plants like corn may dry up and loose their ability to produce seed. The picture in the middle is an image of a forest fire, forest fires are often related to drought, the drier the plants the more likely they are to catch on fire. Forest fires are generally an issue during the summer when even a lightning strike during a rainstorm can cause a forest fire. The picture on the right is the drying up of a riverbed, when there is little to no rain and hot days it can lead to drought that can dry up rivers or small lakes. Ask students what they think would happen if there was a drought in London, ask them what resources would be affected (food, forests, the Thames River).

Slide 28: Explain to students that droughts occur when it does not rain at all or when it rains but not for long enough. A permanent example of a drought-affected area is desserts, rarely do desert areas receive rain, and these areas usually have little to no vegetation or wildlife living in them.

Slide 29: Ask students if they know how we can prevent droughts. Explain that droughts are difficult to prevent as they are generally due to a improper balance in the water cycle. Some ways we can help reduce the effects of drought however are ideas such as water conservation, and planting drought tolerant plants.

Slide 30: Use resource 9 to educate students on ways they can conserve water in their home. Explain that everyone can make a change that will help reduce water usage.

Slide 31: Using resource 10 (handout for students) ask students if they water their garden or their parents water their garden during periods where there is no rain. Ask the students if they think this is a good way to conserve water. Explain that watering plants during a drought is not a good way to conserve water, but there are plants that are native to Canada that do not need water during dry periods. These plants are drought tolerant. Together you and your students can fill out the sheet on drought tolerant plants that

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they can take home to their parents to suggest ways in which they can reduce their water usage. Be sure to help students spell the name of the plants on the worksheet.The top left is a coneflower, explain to students that it is a pink flower that attracts bees and butterflies but is also drought tolerant. The picture in the middle is called a blazing star, it has purple flowers that attracts butterflies and bees, and is also drought tolerant. The picture on the left is butterfly weed, which has orange flowers and attracts birds, butterflies, and bees. This plant is also drought tolerant. The bottom left picture is giant blue stem grass, which is grass that does not need water and is blue in color. The bottom middle is switch grass, which is another type of drought tolerant grass, this grass is green in color. The last image is a common ninebark, explain that this plant is a bush and it has purple leaves that are also drought tolerant. Ask students if they think planting these plants in their outdoor learning center, front school garden, or in the playground would be a good idea. Using resource 11 ask students how they would plant a garden using the plants on the handout. (You can also show them a variety of other plants that they can use, using resource 12) Ask them to draw their plan for their garden. Explain that his or her plan will be put on the bulletin board for everyone to see. Ask your schools principal or vice principal to take part in the planning of the garden and ask if they would consider using the students ideas on their handouts. If the principal agrees tell students that the principal will be considering their plans for the garden or outdoor learning classroom.

Slide 32: Ask students about what they have learned so far about the importance of water on earth. Too much water and we could flood, too little water and we could have forest fires and dead plants. Explain to students that a balanced water cycle is best for Earth, however because nature does not always follow a perfect cycle we need to be prepared for when the water cycle is unbalanced. One way that we can prepare ourselves is looking at the amount of water we use at home and school. Ask students if they recall the water conservation house, give them resource 13 to take home and work on with their parents. Explain to the students that they need to identify sources of water use in their home, then they need to identify 5 ways they can practice using water in a more conservative way. The final thing that the students must determine is an immediate action that they can take to reduce their water usage. For example shutting of the water when they are brushing their teeth. Explain that even when there is a flood water conservation is important, this is because if there is already too much water in the system, adding waste water to the system can only make the situation worse. So making sure we know how to manage our water in our own homes is important. You may want to complete resource 13 yourself and compare your answers with the class.

Slide 33: What did you think? Provide the students a minute to talk about what they thought about the lesson and its resources. Ask them what they would have done and how they would have done it, or if they found one part of the lesson to be more interesting than other parts. Through

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asking students what they think about the lesson the City of London can continue to make more appropriate and intriguing lessons for school groups.

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