Watch Over Our Water by Lisa Bullard

The amount of water that we have in the world right now will always be the same.  We will never have any more of it... and we will never have any less of it.  The water is in the rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans.  It's in the air.  It's in the ground.  It's locked in ice.   And... only 1.5% of it is accessible and drinkable.  This poses a serious problem.  If only 1.5% of the world's water is accessible and drinkable, how do we take care of what we have?  How can we make sure it's not wasted?  What can children do to help?

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

Author's Summary

Earth has a water problem. People need water to live. But only a little of Earth's water is usable. How can you help? Join Trina to find out how to care for Earth’s water. Do your part to be a planet protector!

🍎 Title: Watch Over Our Water

🍎 Author: Lisa Bullard

🍎 Illustrator: Xiao Xin

🍎 Publisher: Millbrook Press

🍎 Date: August 1, 2013

🍎 Pages: 24

Reading Watch Over Our Water + Minilesson

Watch Over Our Water is a nonfiction book written for early readers and includes all of the features a non-fiction book for older children has... a table of contents, glossary, index, etc. Before reading it to your students, take the time to point out these features and what they are used for. Explain the difference between reading for information and reading for enjoyment. Set the stage for reading Watch Over Our Water and have at it. This is a bright and cheerful book... take your time, admire the illustrations, giggle at the silly bits, and talk about the facts on each page.

Even though Watch Over Our Water reads like a fictional story, it's not.  It's nonfiction... something you made need to remind your students about a few times.  As you read and discuss Watch Over Our Water with them, keep bringing the conversation back to what the children are supposed to be learning.  Consider reading the story to them twice... first for enjoyment... then for facts.  Making an anchor chart can help with this.

This simple anchor chart isn't anything fancy to look at, but it helped my students think about the facts they learned from the story.  It also helped them reflect on the things they can do to conserve our drinkable water and keep it clean.

Free Ways to Save Water Printable

Several years ago, I made this Six Ways to Save Water poster for one of my blogging friends.  The area she lives in was experiencing terrible droughts at the time and the community's water supply was severely rationed.  At one point, her community was told that its water may be shut off completely in order to direct it to emergency services such as hospitals.  Scary times!

This is the poster I made for her.  She hung it up in her classroom and in her home to remind everyone... children and adults... to be careful when using their water.  There are six simple strategies on the poster to remember:

• Don't play in the water.
• Close the tap (faucet).
• If it's yellow, let it mellow.
• If it's brown, flush it down.
• Share a bath with someone.
• Use only as much water as you need.

If you feel like this poster is something you'd like to use as well, feel free to download a copy of it.  This poster was made to fit legal-sized paper (8.5 x 14 inches, 216 x 356 millimeters).

To download a FREE copy of this Ways to Save Water Poster (one page in all), please click on the image above. Clicking this image will take you to the Teachers-Pay-Teachers third-party website. This is a FREE download-- no purchase necessary.

Did you enjoy learning about Watch Over Our Water? If so, check out these blog posts about other environmental themes:

• Craft: How to Make Earth Day Seed Bombs
• STEM: How to Grow Celery from Scraps + STEM Activity
• Craft: How to Make a Christmas Gingerbread House from Recycled Milk Cartons
• Podcast: The Adventures of Scout by the3engineers
• Book: Saving Planet Earthly by ClimateScience
• Craft: How to Upcycle and Reuse Old Books to Make Beautiful Bookmarks