Essential Question Planning Sheet

Start with the Essential Question:

EQ = Is fighting necessary? If so, when and how is it effective?

This is the overarching EQ we will all be working with for this unit.

The EQ is broad enough that

● students can refer back to as they go through life.
● is informed by many content areas (and thus, supported by many SOL content areas).
● students will have to grapple with as they grow and learn more.
● there often is not a single right answer.
● different perspectives are encouraged as a means for learning.
● may change a student’s own answer as they encounter new information and grow.

A good EQ develops enduring understandings because it affords ongoing reflection and assimilation of new
knowledge and perspectives from a variety of disciplines.

Content Area:
Grade Level: 6th grade Science

SOL:
6.8 The student will investigate and understand that land and water have roles in watershed systems.
d) natural processes, human activities, and biotic and abiotic factors influence the health of a watershed
system.

6.9 The student will investigate and understand that humans impact the environment and individuals can
influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.
a) natural resources are important to protect and maintain;
b) renewable and nonrenewable resources can be managed;
c) major health and safety issues are associated with air and water quality;
e) preventive measures can protect land-use and reduce environmental hazards

Enduring Understandings:
What are the big take-away themes students will learn as a result of this unit? These elements are the same
across ALL groups, no matter which line of inquiry they select.

These are the WHOLE GROUP type conversations. You will think about these ideas as the types of things the
teacher talks through in the whole group. Students may work on different inquiry lines related to your EQ
individually or in small groups, but each group should be able to speak to these larger themes when the
groups come back together, supporting their responses with evidence from their line of inquiry.

List here your Enduring Understandings for the SOL you selected.

● What is considered a “good enough reason” to fight?

○ People are motivated by different things
■ What may be important to one person, may be irrelevant to another
■ Experience and background knowledge may play a role
■ Individuals who are determined to fight may share common characteristics
○ Discrepancies in present needs vs. future needs
■ People may value what is immediately necessary over long-term consequences, and
vice-versa
○ “With great power comes great responsibility”
■ What power do we have to make change through fighting?
■ What responsibility do we have to fight in the first place?/Why?
● What are effective types of fighting?
○ Individuals may have varying levels of what is reasonable behavior
■ Comfort levels may differ for level of engagement in a problem/solution
■ Action can take many forms for different people, problems, and solutions
○ There may be different consequences or results for different types of fighting
■ Fighting may be seen on a spectrum; example, anything from violence to miniscule acts
of passivity
■ An individual may need to consider possible effects of their actions and choices
■ Planning and coordination may play a role in effective fighting
● What could the pros/cons (results) of fighting (or not fighting!) be?
○ Change could have positive or negative impacts
■ Change may be immediate, or change may take time
■ The effects of a change may take extended lengths of time to appear
○ History is an informer
■ History can inform our decisions about the future
■ Often, only looking back are we able to see what went well/wrong
■ The actions we take in the present will one day become history
○ Our choices do have lasting effects and consequences, whether we immediately see them or
not
○ Fighting could impact a wide range of individuals, depending on the fight: the individual, a family
unit, a community, a state, region, country, the world, etc.
○ There may be costs to fighting
■ Individual or group sacrifices may be made
■ Discomfort may arise
■ Individuals may experience loss in different ways
Outcome Measures: (the green veggie/beach house)
How will you know that students have achieved the learning objective?

● The student will identify at least three ways in which they are dependent upon a healthy watershed for
our area.
● The student will identify at least three ways in which they may take action to conserve resources and
protect the environment, in relation to our specific watershed.

Write what you want the student to KNOW as a result of the learning. Tie this directly to the learning obj in the
SOL.

● People, as well as other living organisms, are dependent upon the availability of clean water and air and
a healthy environment.
● Conservation of resources and environmental protection include individual acts of stewardship.

End of Unit Summative Assessment:

What is the end of unit evaluation?

The student may choose from one of these options to produce their findings (or propose one of their own to the
teacher):
● Oral presentation with a visual aid (poster, powerpoint, prezi, etc.)
● Oral presentation with a brochure handout
● Video presentation in the form of a play/skit, commercial, or mini-documentary

The student will meet the requirements as decided by the rubric:

(Smaller picture: Local)

● Watersheds
○ Describe watersheds and their importance (3 reasons why).
○ Locate and identify the local watershed and the rivers and streams associated with it.
○ Explain what natural processes & human activities influence the health of a watershed (2
examples of each).
○ Propose at least 3 ways to maintain water quality within our watershed.
○ Forecast at least 2 potential water-related issues that may become important in the future.
(Bigger picture: Widespread)
● Human impact on the environment
○ Explain, using at least 2 pieces of evidence, how increases in human population and per-capita
consumption of natural resources affect Earth’s systems.
○ Analyze resource-use options in at least 3 everyday activities and determine how personal
 choices have costs and benefits related to the generation of waste for each of these.
○ Analyze how nonrenewable resources are used and managed within the home, school, or
community. Evaluate the effects of this, and propose a solution with at least two pieces of
evidence to support your solution.

Range of Classroom Reading Abilities:

Resources: ● Articles & videos about the March for Science led by
Types of print sources: Bill Nye on April 22, 2017
● traditional print ● Greta Thunberg Twitter and Facebook posts
● non-traditional print ● Alexandria Villaseñor Twitter and Instagram posts
● “consider the source” (original ● Videos about watersheds
sources, varied perspectives, news, ● Statistics about human impact on water health over
personal testimony, etc.) time
● digital media ● Images of runoff and pollution affecting water
● infographics ● Images of the impact of water/environment
● pictures, videos, etc. destruction on wildlife
● Interview relevant persons ● Articles & videos from the perspective of
● artifacts “environmentalists going to far”
● Articles & videos from the perspective of “we aren’t
doing enough”
Whole Group Unit Talking Points throughout ● What big questions can we discuss as a group, using what
the Unit we’ve each learned on different topics in our own inquiry
(could be used to form anchor charts for lines of research?
classroom viewing; graphic organizers that ● What information and varying perspectives can the whole
connect across inquiry lines, etc.) group benefit from hearing?
● How do these little questions tie the group back to the
overarching EQ?

● Is protecting our watershed something worth fighting for?

Why/Why not?
● What would happen if no one fought to limit the human
impact on our environment?
● What would happen if everyone fought to limit the human
impact on our environment?
● What power does the individual even have to make
change through fighting?

Small Group Unit Talking Points throughout
the Unit
(these types of daily questions can act as exit
tickets, google doc collaborations, etc.)
● What are the ways in which we rely on our watershed?
● What are some ways in which we may negatively impact
our watershed?
● How does human impact on water/our watershed affect
you?
 ● How does human impact on water/our watershed affect
the environment/ecosystem as a whole?
● How do we use water/other natural resources within our
home/school/community?
● How can we protect water/other natural resources within
our home/school/community?
● What is your outlook on the future of our watershed?
● Is enough being done to fight for the environment?
● Are people taking climate change too far?
● Is change necessary to protect the future of our
watersheds?
● Do things change without fighting?

Line of inquiry: Environmental Science: Exploring the impact of humans on the protection and
destruction of environmental resources. What can we do to protect our watershed and other natural
resources? To dig deeper, you will have to look in to how we rely on watersheds, negative impacts
humans may have on our watershed & other important environmental resources, the costs/benefits of
using water and other resources, etc.

Is change necessary to protect the future of our watersheds?

Should humans fight to protect the future of our watersheds?