TEACHER: Marcia Lile

TEACHER INFORMATION: Middle School Geography Teacher
Jefferson County Public Schools
Louisville, Kentucky
e-mail: mlile12@jefferson.k12.ky.us
Phone: 502-485-6298

OVERVIEW: Students in Louisville, Kentucky, live in a river town, in a water rich state. They have a hard time understanding places where water is a scarce and valued resource. During the time of the year when we are studying Africa, students will compare the need for water in California to the need for water in many parts of Africa, specifically, Namibia and Botswana. Finally, students will assume roles for a democratic discussion in the style of Botswana to decide whether to build a pipeline from the Okavango Delta for use in the more populous region of SE Botswana.

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School

GREATEST PLACE THEME: Water

TIME NEEDED: 6 - 10 days

GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS ALIGNMENT:

Standard 8 - Characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface
Standard 13 - How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface
Standard 14 - How human actions modify the physical environment
Standard 18 - How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

OBJECTIVES:

1. .Students describe the main sources of fresh water and explain the methods used to attempt to maintain a reliable supply.
   
2. .Students identify some of the ways the landscape of their local area has been changed by human activities.
   
3. .Students find information in a variety of resources.
   
4. .Students explain how conflicts can arise over the use of land in particular places.
   
5. .Students describe use and misuse of natural resources and how people's perceptions of use and misuse may vary.
   
6. .Students describe some major environmental consequences of human actions within a region.
   
7. .Students assume a role to participate in a democratic discussion of water use in Botswana.
   
8. .GEOLINKS Lesson 109. Water and The California Landscape: A Geographical Perspective

1. Maps of southwestern United States, California, Africa, southwestern Africa, Namibia, Botswana
   
2. Outline maps of Botswana and California
   
3. Videos on the Colorado River/California water projects
   
4. Current information from the Internet about proposed water projects on the Okavango River
   
5. Role assignments for students: residents of Okavango Delta, residents of the urban area, residents of small villages, cattle ranchers, diamond mine owner, other mineral miners, diamond mine worker, tour guide, !Kung tribesman of the Kalahari, school teacher, environmentalist

1. The class can view a video about water projects in California and the use of the Imperial Valley and the Central Valley for agriculture.
   Have maps of California that show the location of dams, reservoirs, aqueducts available for students to study. Prepare a worksheet that guides students through a mapping activity of the changes that have been made in California in order to bring water to the formerly arid regions for agriculture.
   
2. The class should discuss the short term and long term changes the changes have caused. Have students write an entry in their learning logs about the advantages and disadvantages of the California water projects.
   
3. Show animatic or slides of the Okavango Delta from The Greatest Places to review with the students what the ecosystem of the Delta is like. Refer to articles from internet and other print resources about Botswana to explain to students how the citizens of Botswana make decisions through democratic outdoor meetings. Explain that the class is going to have a democratic discussion in which we will reach consensus (not a vote, but consensus) about whether or not to build a pipeline which will bring water from the Boro Channel of the Delta to southeastern Botswana for the use by urban residents, cattle farmers, and miners. Students will need to study the route of the Okavango River, the need of the cattle ranchers for water, the need of the diamond mines for sluice in order to extract Botswana's most important economic resource, the demands of a growing urban population. Assign students individually or in pairs their role in the discussion. In addition to the roles listed in the MATERIALS section, the teacher may want to assign a discussion leader and a town scribe. Students should research their role groups' needs for water or preservation of the Delta as it is and prepare for the community discussion. As a class, determine the day for the discussion. After the discussion has been held, students should be asked to evaluate the discussion both in writing and class discussion.

Students should receive a scoring guide, rubric or assessment list at the time the discussion is announced. Among the criteria a teacher may want to assess: Quality of Research, Accuracy of Information for Role Group, Understanding of the Issues, Appropriate Behavior during the Discussion, Quality of Reflective Thinking in Written Evaluation of Experience.