Grade 1 Activities & Crafts for World Water Day

Learning about water leads to a healthy appreciation of its importance.

World Water Day, established in 1992, is observed around the globe. The day is dedicated to increasing knowledge about water, its sources, and how to use it more effectively. Celebrating World Water Day in the classroom allows first-grade students to learn about why water is so important, how all living beings rely on water to survive, and how water can be contaminated or filtered. First-grade students shouldn't be expected to understand every minute detail, but a general understanding of water and its importance can be gained through different activities and crafts.

Pollution Activity

Set up four jars with wide mouths. Remove the lids. Place a cone-shaped coffee filter in the mouth of each jar, so that the tip of the cone hangs down into the jar. Pour tap water into the first jar, bottled water into the second jar, water from a nearby stream or pond in the third jar, and water mixed with several drops of motor oil in the fourth jar. Compare the coffee filters that each type of water was poured through. Talk about how some forms are pollution are visible, while others are not.

Water Filtration Activity

Fill a bowl with hot, but not boiling, water. Mix a few tablespoons of salt into the water. Place a glass or ceramic cup in the center of the bowl of water, making sure that none of the water drips into the cup. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap so that it is as air tight as possible. Position a small stone over the empty cup, on top of the plastic wrap. Ask students to watch what happens as the water becomes steam, the steam beads on the underside of the plastic wrap ,and drips down into the cup. After fifteen minutes or so, have students taste the water in the bowl, and the water in the cup, using clean and sterile q-tips. Explain how the water is filtered through evaporation. Try using sugar water instead of salt water for a second experiment. Adults should control this activity, especially the hot water, and allow students to observe and interact when appropriate.

Water Bottle Animal Craft

Remove the labels from used, but clean, water bottles. Challenge children to use the water bottles to create animals that live in the water. For an octopus, the bottom of the bottle can be cut to form tentacles, and the top of the bottle can be painted and decorated to form a head. For a whale, children can paint the bottle blue or gray, attach construction paper or craft foam fins and tails, and paint a face on the whale. Consider creating fish, dolphins, water birds, or any other animal that lives in or around water. Adults should perform any necessary cutting.

Water Mural Craft

Discuss with children how people use water in different regions of the world. Decorate the four corners of the classroom, or four different locations, in colors to represent climates. Yellow for desert, green for jungle, white for tundra, and blue for temperate or coastal regions. Divide students into four groups and have each group decorate the paper with pictures of people using water, or sources of water. The desert mural might include cacti or canteens; the arctic mural might include igloos and fire for melting snow. Stick figures are fine for first graders. You can provide cutouts of construction paper, or use cutouts from worksheets, to help inspire ideas. Children can decorate the pieces, but adults should perform the cutting.

Plant Aquarium Activity and Craft

Remove the labels from used, but clean, water bottles. Remove the caps and discard them. Poke several holes around the opening of the bottle, and several holes in the base of the bottle. Have students fill the bottles with different sediment layers. Start with small rocks, clay, sand and, finally, potting soil. Mix a few easily grown seeds, such as pansies or string beans, into the potting soil before it's poured into the bottle. Set the bottles in a sunny location and have students add a certain amount of water to the bottle each day. Compare the water added with the water that drains out of the bottle. Discuss what is happening with the missing water. Allow students to marvel at the effect that water has on the growing plants in their plant aquariums.

References

• World Water Day: Home
• Education.com: Water Pollution: Can You See It?
• Education.com: Turn Salt Water into Drinking Water
• Crafts by Amanda: Water Bottle Octopus (or Squid)