Lakes, rivers, streams. Fresh water is second only to oxygen in what we need to survive. Where does fresh water come from? How much fresh water is on the planet? Where are large sources of fresh water located?
Why are the oceans salt water? Can we turn salt water into fresh water? How can we turn salt water into fresh water?
How do we use water in recreation? Why is recreation important?
I could actually just turn this blog entry into a list of driving questions. That might actually be a great authentic activity (note activity, not project). Create a list of questions about fresh/salt water.
With older students it will be easy to get into the discussions of drought, flooding… How ironic that we have drought in one area when we have flooding in another.
So many questions…
The driving questions will then become authentic projects. Create a map of sources of fresh water in your area. Contact local government to find out if there are any concerns about the fresh water supply. What is unique about your fresh water supply. Write a report, create a chart, build a model…
And if this turns into a project about why recreation is so important for mental health, that is authentic learning.
The Educational Journey 