Our Water, Our Ways: Bringing Home Human Impacts on the Local and Global Water Supply

This unit was created by Nathan Ramin, a middle school Civics and Social Studies educator in Chicago, IL as part of the 2023-2024 Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellowship program. It is designed for facilitation across four weeks.

For more units created by Pulitzer Center Teacher Fellows in this cohort, click here.

Unit Overview:

Although the Flint Water Crisis of 2014 was a wake-up call for some people living in the United States, it was not at all a surprise for others. The crisis, which exposed 100,000 residents to lead in the water supply, was the result of austerity measures taken by the State of Michigan during a financial crisis. In order to save money, the state switched Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River without creating the infrastructure necessary to provide clean drinking water. Almost ten years later, researchers report that the water is drinkable, but many residents don’t trust that it’s safe. A new generation of Flint residents continues to deal with the fallout of the previous generation’s policy decisions.

The crisis in Flint might be the highest-profile drinking water disaster in the United States, but it is far from the only one. Lead service lines are common in Evanston, Illinois. The water infrastructure of Jackson, Mississippi is unable to support the needs of residents. In Chicago, many families deal with water debt that cripples their ability to pay for other necessities. Suppose we zoom out from a local focus to an international one. In that case, we see that decisions made by governments and corporations negatively impact water systems that span entire continents, leading to freshwater scarcity, land loss, and the destruction of coastal urban centers.

In Our Water, Our Ways: Bringing Home Human Impacts on the Local and Global Water Supply, students examine the impact individuals, governments, and corporations have on what might be our most precious natural resource: drinking water.

The unit starts with an exploration of water resources in students’ local context - Chicago. Students will evaluate the impact of governmental decisions on our water supply and see how those decisions impact people both in and out of the city.

After exploring Chicago’s resources, students will engage with two case studies: one focused on water debt in Chicago and one focused on the failure of the water system in Jackson, MS.

Following the case study analysis, students will form groups to perform a similar analysis of a global issue related to water access. Students will create a final project to bring their chosen issue home and design a creative piece to share with their classmates and the greater community. The hope is that they will be able to use their project to teach others about the precarious nature of our water supply and what we can do to protect it.

Climate change affects all of our water sources, even if we don’t realize it. This unit will help students understand this concept and identify ways they can be part of a broader solution to the problem.

Essential Questions:

Students will engage with these essential questions during the course of the unit: 

Unit Driving Questions:

• How do we “bring home” a major story like the global water crisis? 
• How can we help other people in our community understand big issues that affect all of us? 
• How can we educate others and promote civic engagement related to the issue?

Unit Sub-Questions

• What do people in Chicago and the surrounding area need to know about their drinking water sources?
• Where does our water come from?
• How did the reversal of the Chicago River impact the quality of freshwater as far away as St. Louis?
• How much should drinking water cost?
• How can government actions impact the accessibility of water to individuals and communities?
• How can individuals and communities use the court system to ensure equitable access to drinking water?
• What decisions led to Jackson’s current dysfunctional water system?
• Do you agree with author Hadas Thier that Jackson’s water supply is “broken by design?”
• What evidence from the article supports this claim: “The state of Mississippi hates its capital city.”?
• Why is the US water system in the minority among developed countries? How does the way the US manages water impact cities like Jackson?
• Why does Rev. Barber believe Jackson might become a “launching pad” for water rights movements across the US?
• What are the intended and unintended consequences of federal water safety regulations?

Objectives:

Students will be able to…

• Research issues related to local and global water supply
• Identify human impacts on freshwater systems on a local and global level
• Identify global issues related to human impacts on freshwater systems and equitable water access
• Take part in academic discussions focused on issues related to  equitable water access
• Design an informative PSA to communicate their findings

Performance Task:

Formative Assessments:

Students will take part in the following formative assessments throughout the unit:

• Socratic Seminar. Students will participate in a Socratic Seminar responding to this unit sub-question: What do people in Chicago and the surrounding area need to know about their drinking water sources?
• Mock Election. Students participate in a mock election on whether or not they would vote for former Mayor Richard M. Daley based on his policies on taxation and water debt. Students could complete a Google form or write their vote on paper. 

**Educator note: After tallying the votes but before revealing the results, allow students to share how they voted and why.

• Socratic Seminar. Hold a Socratic Seminar in two rounds focused on this sub-question: Do you agree with author Hadas Thier that Jackson’s water supply is “broken by design?”

Summative Assessment:

After conducting research and taking part in seminar discussions focused on various issues related to the global water crisis, students will work in groups to craft a toolkit for understanding the impact of the global water crisis in a place outside their local context. Projects could take multiple forms, including:

• A PSA
• A research poster (following the History Day example)
• A poem, song, or spoken word piece
• A short play
• An original work of art

Assessment:

Formative Assessment:

Socratic Seminar rubric [.pptx][.pdf]

Socratic Seminar prep sheet [.docx][.pdf]

Socratic Seminar prep sheet with accommodations [.docx][.pdf]

Socratic Seminar structure slides [.pptx][.pdf]

Summative Assessment:

This rubric needs to be built (here’s an example project description for an old project - Rubric [.pdf][.docx]

Four-week unit plan for teachers, includes pacing, multimedia resources, teacher-created resources, performance task instructions, and grading rubrics. This unit was written to be taught over the course of four weeks or 16, 60-minute lessons.

Illinois State Social Studies Standards

SS.IS.8.6-8.LC: Analyze how a problem can manifest itself and the challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address it

SS.IS.4.6-8.LC.: Determine the value of sources by evaluating their relevance and intended use.

SS.IS.6.6-8.MC: Present arguments and explanations that would appeal to audiences and venues outside the classroom using a variety of media.

Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards

AC.6-8.20: I will work with friends, family and community members to make our world fairer for everyone, and we will plan and coordinate our actions in order to achieve our goals.

AC.6-8.19: I will speak up or take action when I see unfairness, even if those around me do not, and I will not let others convince me to go along with injustice.

Formative Task(s):

Our Waters, Our Ways launched by introducing students to a range of texts about water in their local municipality. Students used KWL, two-column notes and graphic organizers to engage with multimedia resources, resulting in a Socratic Seminar answering the question: What do people in Chicago and the surrounding area need to know about their drinking water sources?

Then students continued reading about Chicago water policies by analyzing a news story about water taxation, Drowning in Debt. Ultimately students unpacked the policies that promoted excessive taxes on marginalized communities, participating in a mock election focused on the former Chicago Mayor, Richard Daly. they took inspiration from Drowning in Debt to create a Toolkit for Beating City Hall.

Performance Task:

After conducting research and taking part in seminar discussions focused on various issues related to the global water crisis, students will work in groups to craft a toolkit for understanding the impact of the global water crisis in a place outside their local context.