8th grade
Sustainability Project Guidelines
Due Date:

Sustainability Project - Water Scarcity Solutions

Project Description

During this project you will be working in groups of 4-5 people. Each group will conduct research on a region or community somewhere in the world that is currently experiencing water scarcity. The project will include research, an informational poster, an oral group presentation, and a research report. As part of this project you will be tasked with coming up with a solution for the water scarcity issues experienced in your research area. Your solution could be a simple plan for setting up water delivery or a complex engineering project that add infrastructure to a region. It should be realistic and take into account that there will need to be a financial investment made by either a community, government, or non-government organization.

Work time/due date

This project will be done mostly during science class time. You will have access to the tech lab and/or laptops top conduct your research. Depending on how efficiently your group works, you may have to do some of your research at home. The research report will be done at home and during class time as time allows.This project will last approximately 2-3 weeks.

Timeline

Day 1: Find a region or community to do your project on (this will require some research). Project must be approved before continuing.

Day 2-6: Conduct research to determine what the water scarcity challenges are and find solutions to help this with these challenges. This includes designing a plan (this could involve engineering, economic, or social factors)

Day 7-8: Design and create the informational poster

Day 9: Gallery walk to view posters

Day 10: Plan and practice your presentation (you need the poster for this since it will be main visual aid)

Day 11-12: Group Presentations (Written reports due on Day 12)

Grading

This project is worth 100 points total:

  • Oral Presentation (group) = 30 pts
  • Informational poster (group) = 20 pts
  • Research report (Individual) = 40 pts
  • Presentation notes (Individual) = 10 points

Each of the four components of this project are formal assessments of what you have learned. They must be neat, complete, and reflect the attention, creativity, and time that you have put into them. You will graded on accuracy of information, innovation, effort, and thoroughness.

Informational Poster

Each group will create a poster that illustrates the information they have learned from their research as well as their solution plan and design. The poster should reflect work from all members of the group and be used during the oral presentation as a visual aid. When posters are completed we will do a gallery walk to view and provide feedback on each group’s poster. Your poster should include:

  • A map that shows where your research area is located
  • Pictures/drawings of the community or region you researched
  • Statistics about per capita water use and water availability (graphs, charts)
  • Not too much text. Text should support illustrations as a caption. There should not be blocks of text that will take several minutes to read.

Oral Group Presentation

Each group will present the information they have learned through their research and their solution for the water scarcity issues being experienced in your research area. Your presentation should also:

  1. Address all of your research questions
  2. A description of the research area
  3. Include a contribution from all group members
  4. Be engaging form your audience. Think of ways that you can hook your audience.

Presentation Notes

During group presentations each person will be required to take notes on the information that each group is presenting (of course, you will not need to take notes during your own group’s presentation). You will be given a note catcher to take your notes.

Research Report

Each person is responsible for writing their own research report. The report should answer all the research questions, as well as describe water scarcity solutions that your come came up with. This description should include a plan and design or schematic.

Research Questions:

  1. What is the geographic location of your research area? Does this area receive a lot of rainfall or is it a dry region?
  2. Description of what life is like for the people that live in the region? (urban, agricultural, poor area)
  3. Why is water scarce? (drought? Misallocation? Water pollution)
  4. Average use per capita? Average amount of water available per capita?
  5. Where does the water come from? (snowpack, groundwater, is it transported from somewhere else)
  6. Is the water supply clean or does it need to be purified?
  7. What do locals have to do to retrieve their water? (walk, drive, is it brought in)

Research Sources:

Remember that websites ending in ".org, .gov, .edu" are more reliable than websites that end in ".com"

Grading Rubrics (this is what I will specifically be looking for in each task)

Informational Poster (Group)

Points / comments
Title (should be prominently placed) / /1
Map of research area (area must be identified on the map) / /3
Pictures/drawings of the region (what does it look like? How do people live? / /5
Statistics about per capita water use and water availability (graphs, charts) / /4
Solution design (diagram or schematic) that describes and shows how problems can be addressed / /5
Captions to maps, graphs, pictures / /1
Neatness (it looks like you put thought and time into creating this product) / /1
Total / /20

Oral Presentation (Group)

Points / Comments
Participation from all group members (speaking, presenting props/visual aids) / /4
Addresses all research questions completely / /12
Use of visual aids (poster/props) / /4
Organization and preparedness (comes across as something that has been planned and practiced, not thrown together at the last minute) / /6
Describes solutions (plans, designs) / /6
Total / /30

Research Report (individual)

Points / comments
Clearly and completely addresses all of the research questions / /12
Describes a solution to the problem and includes a plan and design / /10
Neatness (presented on clean paper, if typed-correctly formatted, if handwritten-legible, no creases, folds, smudges on paper) / /6
Includes a map with the research area identified / /5
Includes one picture showing the research area or locals that live there / /5
Spelling and grammar (place names are spelled correctly / /2
Totals / /40

Totals:

Poster / Oral Presentation / Research Report / Presentation Notes / Project Total
/20 / /30 / /40 / /10 / /100