Water Study and Pubic Service Announcements
Fourth Grade, Christine Madrid Kuhl 

This project started off with us learning California geography as a part of our social studies curriculum.  I also wanted to touch upon environmental issues and especially water since it is such a big and multi-faceted problem. 

Students began by researching basic water issues in small groups – they watched news clips, read articles, and a representative from San Diego Water Authority came into to talk about how water is transported throughout California. We learned about lack of rainfall, where our water comes from, how much we use, and water pollution.  Our universal theme this year was INFLUENCE. So, we decided to use our knowledge to influence others to conserve water. The research groups went to different classrooms and made presentations to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students on what they had learned about water. In class we focused on making our presentations strong by incorporating qualities of a strong speech, such as a catchy opening, using appropriate facts and closing the speech in way that leaves the listener thinking.  

We also decided to participate in a project with a local arts organization called Outside the Lens.  OTL was working with many schools on a project called “Water in Focus’ which integrated photography and writing about the water crisis.  Students took photos of water – how it is used at home, pollution, water in the community.  They wrote poetry, particularly focusing on metaphors and similes to accompany their photography.  Through Outside the Lens, our students were able to read their poetry and exhibit their photography at a gallery. 

We took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the "Water in Focus" project since it tied perfectly into what we had studied. . Students took photos around their communities to document the use, waste, conservation, and pollution of water through words and images. We also were reading "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit as a read aloud. This story is rich in figurative language so we explored similes, metaphor and personification with the images  related to water that they collected.  We wrote individual poems and a whole class poem that went along with the images.  

We decided we wanted to keep learning about water and wanted to make  more people aware of the problems we were learning about. I contacted Tiveeda Stovall at Excel Youth Zone (XYZ), a local service learning organization, who suggested that we create public service announcements based upon our research. 

To make the public service announcements, first we looked at what makes a strong PSA. We watched several examples of PSAs and noticed the blend of music, imagery, and writing that combines to send a powerful message. We charted our observations.  

The students worked in groups of three and selected an issue about water, for example pollution, scarcity, or no access to safe drinking water. 

The groups filled out a persuasion map that detailed the goal of their PSA. Afterwards they wrote a script for their PSA. Each group made a story board, showing the text, images, and music and the timing of each that would make up their PSA.  An intern from XYZ came to teach the students how to put it all together using iMovie software. We looked at drafts, did peer critiques, went back and revised. Students revised their transitions, photos, language, music and timing based on the feedback from their peers and teacher. Finally, they created their final PSAs.  We showed the PSAs to the whole school in a gathering where students also spoke about the research process.

Powerpoint: Poetry and Photography