This activity is about the uses of water. It looks at how some of us do things with water every day, while some people in some parts of the world are not able to do them.

Author
Claudia Richardson

The students will work as a whole class as well as in small groups. At the end of the lesson the students have a 'make and do' outcome to decorate the classroom.

Preparation

You will need

  • flashcards (below)
  • a blank piece of card
  • worksheet (below)
  • four 1-litre bottles of water or big container of water

Procedure

  • Brainstorm uses for water. Draw a bucket on the board with splashes of water coming out of the top and ask the pupils what they use water for. Write down their ideas on the splash lines, e.g. wash, cook food, grow food, wash clothes, brush our teeth, etc.
  • Play charades. Display the flashcards on the board. Put the class into small groups of four or five. Invite a student to mime one of the water uses for the rest of the group to guess. The student who guesses correctly takes a turn to do the mime.
  • Play the flashcards game I see, I see! Hold up one of the flashcards but cover it with a blank piece of card. Slowly move the card so the students start to see what the image behind it is. The first to call out the correct answer takes a turn to select a flashcard, cover it with the card and slowly reveal it.
  • Discussion. Explain that some children in parts of the world can't use water so easily and that they have to walk long distances to collect their water and carry it back home. Draw a tap on the board crossed out to get across meaning.
  • Carry the water! Ask a pupil to attempt to carry the containers of water which you have brought in. See if they can cross the classroom and explain that some children have to carry water so far that they don't even have time to go to school.
  • Worksheet. Students write sentences with can on the splash, e.g. I can wash myself with water, I can cook with water. They can use bright colours for this and even decorate the splash with blue paint or glitter.
  • Once the students have finished, ask them to cut the splash and bucket out and glue the splash onto the bucket. Make a classroom display with the buckets and splashes.
Downloads
Language Level

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight