Benjamin Bergman

Curriculum Planning Charts

Concept

Standards

Enduring
Understanding:
People depend
on water for
survival.
Essential
Question:
Why is water
necessary for
life?

CC.1.2.1.E
Use various
text
features
and search
tools to
locate key
facts or
information
in a text.
CC.1.2.1.H
Identify the
reasons an
author gives
to support
points in a
text.

Assessment Facts

Analyze
student
writing.
Discuss
with
students.

Students
will know:
Plants and
animals
must
consume
water to
live.
Humans
are largely
composed
of water.

Skills

Problems
to pose

Students
will be able
to:
Why is
water
Explain
important?
multiple
reasons
Why do
water is
people live
important in dry
to their
regions?
own lives.

Activities

Learn and write about the uses of water in

daily life.
Compare the ingredients of water with other
drinks.
Look at population density maps to see if
people tend to live near water.

Concept
Standards
Enduring
Understanding: CC.1.2.1.B
Access to
water affects
how people
live.
Essential
Question:
How does
water affect
your life?
How does
access to
water affect
the lives of
Nigeriens.

Ask and
answer
questions
about key
details in a
text.

CC.1.4.1.O
Include
thoughts
and feelings
to describe
experiences
and events.

Assessment

Facts
Students will
know:

Are students
able to write or
talk about their Water affects
understandings? how people
live.
Can students
compare and
Not everyone
contrast their
has easy access
own
to clean water.
relationship
with water to
Certain
that of
geographic
Nigeriens
regions, like
and/or other
northern Niger,
Americans.
are dry because
they receive
little rainfall.

Skills
Students will
be able to:
Explain the
benefits of
having easy
access to clean
water.
Explain what a
desert is.

Problems to pose

Activities

Where does your

water come
from?

Observe YouTube videos

depicting how Nigeriens
interact with water.

How is your
water cleaned?

Write about the uses of

water in daily life.

What do you
have to do to get
water?

Read and learn about

deserts, especially with
regards to Niger and the
United States.

What do
Nigeriens have to
do to get water?
What is a
drought?

Learn about Phillys

water purification
process.
Invent (draw and write
about) a way to retrieve
water from the ground.

Concept

Standards

Enduring
Understandi
ng:

CC.2.4.1.A.1
Order lengths
and measure
Water is
them both
necessary for indirectly and
growing/mak by repeating
ing food.
length units.
Essential
Question:

LS2.A:
Interdependent
Relationships in
Why is water Ecosystems
so
Plants
important?
depend on
water and
How does
light to
water affect
grow.
our food?

Assessment

Are students
able to record
scientific
data?
Can students
write about
and/or
discuss what
they have
learned?
Can students
make
connections
and
inferences
between
ideas?

Facts

Skills

Students will
know:

Students will
be able to:

Plants need
water to
grow.

Take scientific
observation
notes
describing the
Plants
appearance of
absorb water plants.
through their
roots.
Measure and
compare the
heights of
Without
plants.
water, there
would be no Draw scientific
food.
conclusions
based on
experimental
results.

Problems to
pose

Activities

What would we
eat if there
were no water?
And what if
there were no
plants?

The main activity will be a

science experiment in which
the students give plants
different amounts of water
to see how water affects
growth.

How do plants
absorb water?

Read alouds /discussions

/activities about how:

What plants
provide us with
food?

Can students
measure
plants?

Plants need water to

grow.
Plants produce fruits
and vegetables and
are the base of food
chains.
Water is used to
make synthetic foods
too.
Water is important
for food sanitation.