Collecting water

Year level: Middle primary Learning outcome Students will examine the technology used to assist in making the collection of water easier and safer. Locate Niger on a map. Draw a map of the continent of Africa. Mark Niger and its neighbouring countries, as well as the equator, on your map. Why do you think Niger is a hot, dry country? Read Collecting water, wells and pumps in Niger, http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/2850  Examine the photos How are people getting their water? How can you tell that the country is very dry? Who are the people getting the water? (men, women, boys, girls) How are the wells protected from animals? Write your own comments and questions about what is happening in one of the photos. Share your ideas with the class, then add any further ideas to your comments. Create a PMI table for each of the containers shown for carrying water: waskis, plastic buckets, metal bowls, clay pots Try making a flexible kind of bucket like the one shown in photos 2 and 5. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using a container like this instead of a plastic bucket? Add your answer to the PMI table. Investigate the temperature of water in an open metal dish and in a closed clay pot. Why are the temperatures different? Add your findings to your PMI table. List the ways people protect well water and make the job of drawing the water from a well easier. Investigate how a pulley would make lifting a bucket of water easier. What technology is used to help get the water? Assessment task Imagine you live in a village that has a new water pump. Write a story or draw a diagram contrasting the old way of getting water with the new way.