Lesson plan Grade 7 Careers & CTE
Who Solves It? Matching Water Problems to Careers and Paths
A 45-minute grade 7 careers lesson where students match five real water problems to the water-sector roles that solve them and the education path into each role.
Objectives
- Students will match water-sector problems to the roles that solve them using evidence from role cards.
- Students will identify the education path into each role and explain that all paths are legitimate.
Vocabulary
- Apprenticeship
- A way to learn a skilled job by working alongside experienced workers while getting paid. Water utilities use apprenticeships to train new operators and technicians.
Also: licensure, associate degree
Teacher overview
Different water problems call for different workers. This lesson gives students five real water problems and a set of role cards, and asks them to match each problem to the worker who solves it and to the education path into that role. The lesson treats every path equally, from licensure earned after high school to graduate study, so students see the sector as a range of respected choices.
Procedure
Hook (5 min): Post one problem for the whole class: a water main breaks and floods a street at two in the morning. Ask who gets called and what training that person needed. Take a few answers, then explain that today students will match five problems like this to the right workers and paths.
Introduce the four paths (10 min): Present four education paths as equally valid, with a plain example of each. First, a path that begins right after high school with on-the-job training and a state license or certificate, such as a plant operator or a repair-crew member. Second, a two-year associate degree, such as an instrumentation and SCADA technician. Third, a four-year bachelor's degree, such as an engineer or a lab chemist. Fourth, graduate study, such as a hydrologist. Stress that none of these is a backup for the others; the sector needs all of them, especially as older workers retire.
Matching activity (15 min): In groups of three, students read the five problem cards and the six role cards on the handout. For each problem, they choose the role or roles that solve it and write one detail from the role card that supports the match. They then label the education path for each role they chose. Circulate and prompt groups to point to evidence, not just a guess.
Share-out and discussion (10 min): Groups report one match and the evidence behind it. As a formative check, call on two groups to name the education path for their role and to explain why that path fits the work; look for accurate, respectful descriptions of each path.
Exit ticket (5 min): On an index card, students name one role from the lesson that interests them and one reason, then name the education path it takes. Collect the cards to gauge which paths drew interest.
Student Handout
Problems
- A neighborhood still has an old lead service line connecting the main to a house.
- The plant's turbidity reading spikes the morning after a heavy storm.
- A water main breaks and floods a street overnight.
- A test finds PFAS in a town well above the federal limit.
- A town's aquifer level has been slowly dropping for years.
Role cards (evidence bank)
- Treatment plant operator: Runs the plant, checks turbidity and chlorine, adjusts treatment. Path: high school diploma, on-the-job training, state license.
- Distribution and repair crew member: Fixes broken mains and replaces service lines in the field. Path: high school diploma, apprenticeship or on-the-job training, often a commercial driver's license.
- Instrumentation and SCADA technician: Keeps the plant's sensors and data systems accurate. Path: two-year associate degree in instrumentation or electronics.
- Water quality lab chemist: Tests samples for contaminants such as PFAS and confirms results. Path: four-year degree in chemistry or environmental science.
- Environmental engineer: Designs new treatment to remove a contaminant. Path: four-year engineering degree, sometimes graduate study.
- Hydrologist: Studies how much groundwater a basin holds over time. Path: four-year degree plus graduate study.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
- Answer: Distribution and repair crew member (to replace the line), supported by engineers who plan the replacement. Paths: apprenticeship or on-the-job training for the crew; four-year degree for the engineer.
- Answer: Treatment plant operator, whose card says the operator checks turbidity and adjusts treatment. Path: high school diploma, on-the-job training, and a state license.
- Answer: Distribution and repair crew member, whose card says the crew fixes broken mains in the field. Path: apprenticeship or on-the-job training, often with a commercial driver's license.
- Answer: Water quality lab chemist (to confirm the PFAS result) and environmental engineer (to design treatment). Paths: four-year degree for the chemist; four-year engineering degree, sometimes graduate study, for the engineer.
- Answer: Hydrologist, whose card says the hydrologist studies how much groundwater a basin holds over time. Path: four-year degree plus graduate study.
Differentiation
Support
Reduce the set to three problems and four role cards, and pre-highlight the key phrase on each role card so students can find the matching evidence quickly.
Extension
Ask students to add a sixth problem of their own and write which role solves it, with the evidence and the education path. They should explain why more than one role might be involved.
ELL supports
Pair each role card with a small icon and a one-line plain-language summary. Provide a sentence frame for the share-out: "This problem needs a ___ because the card says ___, and that role takes ___ training."