Category: Aqua
1st-3rd Grade
Before you create work for the contest, please learn about the water cycle, the world water crisis, and rain barrels using the materials below!
The Water Cycle
Think about all the water you touch in your daily life. Maybe that water is from your kitchen, or your bathroom, or even from the sky! All of this water comes from a process called the water cycle. You can think of the water cycle as a series of movements, or a dance!
​
Learn more about the water cycle by watching this short video.
The World Water Crisis
Did you know that less than 1% of all the water on Earth can be used by people? The rest is salt water, like the ocean, or is permanently frozen and we can't drink it, wash with it, or use it to water plants. This is why it is so important to save water!
​
Around the world, a lot of people don’t have clean drinking water. This problem affects about 1.6 million people in our own country, the United States!
As our planet continues to grow warmer because of climate change, the number of people who don’t have access to drinking water will go up.
How You Can Help
Humans are connected to the water cycle and the world water crisis. Sometimes, our actions can make the world water crisis worse, but there are ways that we can help!
Many of our daily actions play a big role in the amount of water we use. Ask yourself: do I leave the water running when I brush my teeth? How long are my showers? How often do I eat meat?
You can reduce water by turning off the water when you brush your teeth, timing and taking shorter showers, and eating less meat. All these small actions can make a big difference!
You can also help by installing rain barrels at your house! Rain barrels collect the water that falls from our sky. Then, the rainwater can be used for gardening. Rain barrels also stop trash from flowing into our oceans, lakes, and rivers.
Optional Classroom Activity
Print and play this game with your class and guess how much water is needed for each of the foods.