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I have narrowed down my lesson plans to the one that I will be conducting at the water fair at JJK. This is to understand infiltration and run-off.

Students will be provided with 3 cups. Cup A will contain clean water. The water will be poured into Cup B. Cup B will contain soil on top and one other object at the bottom (such as leaves, tin foil, wood chips, etc). Cup B and the object will both contain a hole. The water that is poured into Cup B from Cup A will run into Cup C. The students will observe the amount of water in Cup C and the color of the water in Cup C. 

First, we will demonstrate the experiment with Cup B, which contains only soil at the bottom and requires two scoops of soil. Then we will fill Cup A a third to halfway with water. Then, dump the water from Cup A into Cup B. Then, observe what comes out of the bottom into Cup C. The water that comes out is called run-off. This ultimately flows into Cup C. Discuss the amount and color of the water with the students. Observe the amount and color of the water. Now, you will redo the experiment, but place different objects at the bottom of your Cup B that will act as obstructions, such as tinfoil or a sponge. What do we predict will happen, and then observe the runoff?

Then we all come together and discuss our observations and results regarding which object had the most and least run-off, and which run-off was the darkest. This shows how water moves through a system and changes along the way. How different objects affect the amount of water and the quality of water in a system, and if water can’t be taken into the soil, it can go through various routes of the water cycle.

Water infrastructure is complex; if one factor changes slightly, the rest of the system can easily be thrown off. This is why we need to aid in introducing water infrastructure to youth, and this must be done in interactive ways. Interactive activities will keep students engaged and active in the topic of conversation. My group and our partners are absolutely thrilled to get us started with conducting our water fair for the kids at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have compiled several possible lesson plans as my options that I will choose from to conduct for the water fair at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center. I wanted to find credible lesson plans and resources that I can use to compare  normal ground with rain garden ground, focusing on infiltration rates, runoff, and environmental impacts. 

I began looking into lessons where the students can build rain gardens and where the lesson itself can demonstrate the benefits and inner workings of a rain garden. I researched another type of lesson where the kids can see how water gets filtered through different types of soil with obstructions within the soil. There’s also one complex lesson guide I have looked into that branches out into six adjustable lessons based on the needs of elementary level students. I am keeping my overall options open to accommodate different minds because some lessons may be less comprehensive and detailed than others are.

The plans I have found in my research can provide an effective and fun learning experience for children while also keeping the costs and requirements for activities low. For example, one of my lesson plans that I researched revolves around using watering cans to simulate rain gardens. Another one has students simply predicting how water moves on a local surface. You do not need a massive budget to teach kids skills that could help them better their communities one day.

Along with that, there are lesson guides available for all types of students. There are kids who learn best from listening to their teacher, kids who require hands-on experience, and even kids who need a visual example from an instructor. For the last type, there are plans that include videos of instructors demonstrating rainwater runoff. This is why I am being open to finding a lesson that is easy to understand, comprehensive, interactive, and engaging.

Regardless of the type of student in the classroom, there are methods available to teach them in the way that suits them best. Group work, hands-on work, and visual models are all accessible for teachers who want to give their students an experience that teaches them important life lessons while stimulating their creativity at the same time. Currently I am in the process of finalizing which lesson plan would be the most engaging and the most effective. I am weighing pros and cons and getting feedback from my group members.

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Sonia Sheryr

Reflection 1

What I will do in the water fair is compare the soil from normal ground and rain garden ground. I will focus on how the  rain garden catches water when it rains, at what rate, and how the water soaks into the ground. The lessons would also give me the opportunity to compare the different surfaces water can run off of and what environmental problems it can cause. I will research lessons that would be effective for my topic, and pick one to conduct at the fair. One that I have looked into so far is having two separate trays one with just soil and another with soil and some plants, and then pour water and proceed to make observations on how the water gets absorbed differently between the two trays. My data collection will be based on the lesson plans that I find on credible and reliable sites. 

Some obstacles that I may encounter while working to execute my implementation plan is finding out how exactly I will gather the materials and make the activity or lesson plan work. This is a crucial part of my implementation plan because I want to find a lesson that will keep the kids at Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center engaged and interested. Regarding water infrastructure, constructing awareness about the importance of conserving water is vital, especially for youth. Eventually, we will put the importance of water infrastructure in the hands of a new generation. Therefore, we must teach them the reasons behind water conservation and practical usage. Water infrastructure is complex; if one factor changes slightly, the rest of the system can easily be thrown off. This is why we need to aid in introducing water infrastructure to youth, and this must be done in interactive ways. Interactive activities will keep students engaged and active in the topic of conversation. 

My group and our partners are absolutely thrilled to get us started with conducting our water fair to the kids of Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center. We have met and interviewed Zach at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Food, Agriculture, Nutrition Innovation Center multiple times and that is what gave us a better idea of what to work toward in the coming semesters. We have definitely built trust both ways with our community partner; and we did that by meeting often, coming prepared, asking questions, and meeting deadlines. In addition, everytime we would reach out we would imply that we are here to help you guys, so tell us what weight we can take off your shoulders, and we can work on that. A combination of all these factors is how we gained trust both ways with our community partner.

In our most recent meeting we discussed how the water fair would actually be conducted, the total number of tables, a possible specific date, and timings. Things are going smoothly for the most part and we all are over excited to carry out each part to our implementation plan.

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