The River Journey (Years 3, 4 & 5)

Explores the impacts that human activity has on our waterways

This is an activity which visually illustrates how small individual impacts can have an enormous cumulative effect. This lesson is very interactive, involving all students in turn pouring pollution into a jar or bowl of clean water representing the river.

BEFORE THE VISIT:
Revise the concept of the water cycle
Explore some of the ways that humans use watercourses (water supply, recreation)
Explore some of the pollutants we might release into waterways

MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THE VISIT:
Table and chair
Access to a tap and sink before and after the lesson
Accurate student numbers to be advised to the coordinator the day before for lesson preparation purposes
NO MORE THAN ONE CLASS AT A TIME
Area for children to sit on the floor

AVERAGE DURATION:
Half an hour plus fifteen minutes for questions

SUGGESTED FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES:
Create a poster for the classroom showing all the impacts on our waterways
Ask the students to find out the name of the watercourse nearest their house
Ask the students to find ways to reduce litter around the school
Have a ‘Litter-free lunch’ day, to reduce litter coming into the school