Exploration:

In a whole group have the students complete a brainstorm activity on all the information they can recall about river habitats and water pollution.

 

Information:

Human activities can have a detrimental effect on animal habitats.  People need to be more aware of their actions and the consequences of those actions.

 

Practice:

After attaching the fishing line and weight to a sponge fish, put "Freddy the Fish" inside one gallon jar.

Fill the soda bottle 3/4 full of water.

Read or have students tell the story of Freddy the Fish from the note cards.   The Children should add the "pollution" that coorelates to the appropriate note card from the story.

Application/Extension:

Use a filtration system to clean up Freddy's habitat.  Provide the students with materials (sand; gravel; coffee filters; cotton; cheesecloth; funnels, made from cutting off the tops of platstic soda bottles; and a clear container, such as a beaker) and have them experiment making two filtration systems.  Students may compete to see which filitration system cleans the water the best.

Science concepts:

*The student(s) knows that certain past events affect present and future events.   The student(s) is expected to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a) identify and observe effects of events that require time for changes to be noticable including growth, erosion, dissolving, weathering and flow; and

(b) draw conclusions about what happened before using fossils, charts, or tables.  

 

 

Materials:

 

one-gallon glass jar

 

sponge cut in shape of a fish

 

fishing line tied to a pencil at one end and Freddy at the other

(Freddy should hang in the middle of the jar)

small amounts of the following:  soil, pancake syrup, salt, paper dots, brown sugar, soapy water, red and green food coloring

Copy of Freddy the Fish Story on note cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students can write or draw about Freddy the Fish and tell how they think Freddy the Fish feels.  Does this really happen?  What other animals or plants would be affected by pollution?  What can we do to improve the situation?

Rewrite Freddy's story to make a happy ending instead of a bad one.