In our Natural Resources unit, we zoomed in and focused on our resource of water this past week.  We read, “The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks” and this took us through the water cycle process as well as the journey water takes through community watersheds and into filtration systems.  The book provided us with great visual aids and kid friendly explanations of what happens to the water as it travels through the different filtration units.

After concluding the book, first grade students were given the opportunity to explore different items that can pollute water: dirt, trash, oil, paper, etc.  In groups of 4, students “polluted” their bucket of water with the materials listed above.  After polluting their water, first graders were given the task to filter out their water.  We used different kitchen items to filter out our water.  Items such as strainers, slotted spoons, and tongs were able to separate the water from the bigger pieces of trash but students were quick to realize that the oil and dirt they added were much harder to filter out.  We reflected back on the Magic School Bus story and talked about how the gravel and sand filter as well as the alum added to the water is able to separate the other pollutants from the water.