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Lesson plan Grade 2 Social Studies & Civics

The Dry Summer at Larkspur: Choosing How to Use Water

A grade 2 social studies lesson where a dry summer lowers the town tank and students weigh water choices, then write an opinion about the use that matters most.

Objectives

  1. Students will explain that when water is scarce, a community must decide which uses come first.
  2. Students will sort common water uses into needs and wants for a dry summer.
  3. Students will write an opinion with two reasons about the water use that matters most.

Vocabulary

Key words: scarce, need, want, share

Teacher overview

Larkspur is a fictional town whose water tank runs low during a hot, dry summer. That single picture, a tank with less water than usual, makes the idea of scarcity something second graders can see. When there is not enough of something, people have to make choices, and this lesson uses water to teach that economic idea in a way children already understand from sharing at home. Students sort water uses into needs and wants, then write an opinion about which use should come first. The lesson stays inside one make-believe town, so no real place or number is being described.

Procedure

Hook (5 min): Fill a clear jar most of the way and call it the Larkspur town tank. Tell the class it rained all spring, so the tank was full. Then pour some out and explain that a long dry summer came with little rain. Ask, "Now there is less water for everyone. What should the town do?"

Direct instruction (10 min): Introduce the word scarce: there is not enough for every use people want. Explain that when water is scarce, the town cannot do everything, so people must decide what comes first. Give the two sorting words: a need is a use we cannot go without, and a want is a use that is nice but can wait. Model one of each: drinking water is a need, while filling a backyard pool is a want during a dry summer.

Guided practice (10 min): Show the water-use picture cards one at a time. For each, ask the class to vote need or want with a thumb up or to the side, then have one student explain the choice. Sort the cards into two columns on the chart paper. Let the tricky cards, such as watering a food garden, spark short discussion, because reasonable people can disagree.

Independent writing (10 min): Pose the writing task: "In a dry summer, which water use matters most to a town?" Each student states an opinion and gives two reasons, using the linking word because. Offer the sorted chart as a bank of ideas. Model one sentence: "Drinking water matters most because people need it to stay healthy."

Closure and exit ticket (5 min): Poll the class with a thumbs check: "Did the dry summer make the town's choices easier or harder?" Expect harder, and ask one student to say why in a sentence. Collect the opinion writing as the exit ticket, checking for a clear opinion and at least one reason.

The Dry Summer at Larkspur: Choosing How to Use Water — Grade 2 Social Studies & Civics
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Handout

Water-use picture cards. Draw or print six simple cards for the sort:

  1. A child drinking a glass of water (need)
  2. A family cooking dinner with water (need)
  3. A big backyard pool being filled (want during a dry summer)
  4. A hose washing a car (want during a dry summer)
  5. Watering a food garden that feeds the family (worth discussion)
  6. Water for the firehouse in case of a fire (need)

There is no printed worksheet; the sorted chart and the opinion writing are the products.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: Scarce means there is not enough water for every use people want, so a dry summer with little rain leaves the town tank low and forces the community to choose.
  2. Answer: Needs are uses the town cannot go without, such as drinking, cooking, and water for firefighting. Wants are uses that can wait in a dry summer, such as filling a pool or washing a car. The food-garden card is a fair either-way answer when the reasoning is sound.
  3. Answer: Opinions will vary. A complete response names one water use, states it matters most, and gives two reasons joined with a linking word such as because.

Differentiation

Support

Let these students place the picture cards into two labeled hoops on the floor before writing, so the sorting is physical first. Offer the opinion frame: "The most important water use is ___ because ___."

Extension

Ask students to propose one fair rule the town could make for a dry summer, such as watering gardens only in the evening, and to give a reason the rule is fair to everyone.

ELL supports

Pair each vocabulary word with a picture and a motion: a cupped hand for need, a shrug for want, and hands passing an object for share. Accept sorting and voting as evidence of understanding even when the written sentence is short.

Extensions

Have students ask a family member at home to name one way their household saves water in dry weather, then share the answers at the next morning meeting to build a class list of real choices.