Tribe 1
Across the room, but able to use the sink in the classroom / Your village has a modern, working water well. You may use the faucet in the room, however, you must turn on the faucet, fill the Dixie cup, and turn the faucet completely off before you walk back to your tribe, empty the cup into the beaker, and pass the Dixie cup to the next person. Although your water resources appear plentiful, your tribe has experienced three consecutive years of drought. If you do not turn the faucet off, your water source will run out.
Tribe 2
Must use the sink in the Lab prep room / Unfortunately, the first well in the center of your village ran dry, but the village had a properly financed contingency plan, so it was able to drill a second well just outside the village and is developing conservation plans to increase your future water supplies. You have to walk just a little ways to get your water…but remember, your first well ran dry, so you still want to conserve because who knows how long the second well will last!
Tribe 3
Water fountain in the hallway / Your tribe cannot afford to have a well drilled in the village and your local water resources have been diverted to serve wealthier communities, so you must walk to the river to get your water. The quality of your water depends on the weather and the number of other users at the river. Families also water their livestock at the river. You will use the water fountain to obtain your water.
Tribe 4
Must use sink in Mr. Schulman’s room B15 / You share a well with the neighboring tribe, and it is located so that both tribes have access to the well. The well is located in another teacher’s room. You will use the sink near the door with the sign taped to it that reads “Well.” Please be respectful of your neighbor’s well and community. If you damage their infrastructure or have conflict with their elders, you will no longer have access to their well.
Tribe 5
Must use the restrooms at the end of the 8th grade hallway
(2 beakers, 2 dixie cups) / Tensions have always existed between different classes of your society. Current water shortages have made those tensions worse. Your tribe is a lower-caste and has been banned from using the upper-caste’s wells. Males and females of your tribe must use separate water sources, usually believes it is unhealthy for males and females to drink from the same well. So, you must each collect your own water from different ponds. Boys must use the sink in the boy’s restroom; girls must use the sink in the girl’s restroom. Each gender will have their own water source and have to use what they collect. It’s quite a walk, so don’t spill a drop!
Tribe 6
Must use the bucket outside of Ms. Staffieri’s villa - Villa 6 / For several years, your tribe has faced severe drought. There have been violent clashes between ranchers and farmers over the use of available water for agricultural and livestock needs. Now your tribe’s water source is completely gone. Until you can relocate your entire tribe to an area with water, you have to use a public well 5 miles away. If other tribes that live in the area are using the well, you must wait. This is an extremely long walk; make sure you don’t spill any water!
Relay reflection and observations about the impact water availability had on your tribe and the impact human activity had on water availability: Refer specifically to what you saw, heard, felt and thought in the relay!
Initial Thoughts and Observations:
Read all the tribal scenarios. Circle everything that affects a tribe’s water availability. Which terms do you feel were most descriptive of your experience? Why? / Upon Reflection:
What factors that were not directly mentioned in any of these scenarios might also affect a tribe’s ability to get water?
In the Real World:
After you have read your real-world water issue, complete the annotation guide below. Keep in mind how your tribe’s situation is related to the real-world situation. What surprised you in the real world situation, any challenges to your thinking about water and your use?
EvidenceI read, I heard, I saw / Interpretation
I thought, I connected, I concluded…..