Christine Campisi-talbot

The Water Symposium: a Unit Study of Water Grades 4-8 Christine Campisi-talbot

The fact that water, in all forms, is an integral part of our existence, led to the development of my unit titled ?The Water Symposium?. The students learned about several basic properties of water such as absorption, cohesion, and surface tension through a variety of hands on experiences developed according to the theories of problem-based learning. These lessons used a variety of multimedia instructional tools that helped engage student interest and enthusiasm. After several lessons on the characteristics and composition of water, students worked in groups to explore ways in which water acts and reacts on the planet. The sixth graders began their design challenges. Each group researched their topic and gathered information from primary and secondary resources. Then, they acted as engineers to design and create instruments or tools (whichever is required by their specific design challenge) to illustrate the process or topic they researched. Finally, the groups put together a tri-fold board explaining their engineering process and created a brochure. Their designs were showcased at the Sixth Grade Water Symposium.