Safe Water Access Assessment You will now complete this ‘safe water access’ assessment and submit it for grading. You will explore an issue related to safe water access in Canada. This project will be...

Safe Water Access Assessment

You will now complete this ‘safe water access’ assessment and submit it for grading.

You will explore an issue related to safe water access in Canada. This project will be worth 14% of your final grade, and you will be guided in your completion of the following checkpoints; the first was completed in a previous learning activity, and the others will be part of this learning activity:

• Research issues related to clean water access in indigenous communities in Canada (causes, related problems, and proposed solutions) - you completed some research in the consolidation part of Unit 4 Learning Activity 01.


• Select an issue of your choice to research in greater depth


• Communicate your findings related to your chosen clean water issue

Step 1: Reviewing Assessment Criteria

Review the rubric found at the end of this assessment. The teacher will use this to assess your final product.

Step 2: Choosing a Focus

Now that you have had some time to review your research, it is time to decide which Indigenous community’s water crisis you will research. Here are some reflection questions you can use to help you decide:

• Which of the communities’ stories did you find most compelling?


• For which community do you think you have the most comprehensive information?


• Which story would you like to learn more about?

Once you have made your choice, revisit your research. Are there any areas you need to learn more about before you proceed? If so, take some time to do a little bit more research before you continue.

Step 3: Chemistry Connections

You have chosen one Indigenous community’s water crisis to focus on for this project. It is time to learn more about the health effects related to the chemical contamination of water sources in the community you have chosen.

Using print and electronic sources, perform some more research to learn about:

• The specific chemical contaminants present in the water for the community you have chosen, including chemical names and, if possible concentrations in the water supply


• The short- and long-term health effects of the chemical contaminants for humans; if specific effects on humans are not known, known effects on animals may be reported

Include all information you gather in this table, including proper APA references for your sources.

Step 4: Canada’s Responsibility

In order to understand water quality issues in Canada, it can be useful to step back and consider how these issues are viewed in a global context. One of the United Nations’ Global Sustainability Goals is ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’.Click here to learn more about this goal.

Although this Global Goal might seem like something only developing countries need to worry about, you have already learned that Canada has its fair share of work to do to ensure that everyone living in this rich, developed nation has access to safe, clean water.

Your Task:
In the context of the UN Global Sustainability Goals, summarize in point form the positive and negative aspects of government actions (or inactions) related to the community you have chosen to focus on. Create and complete a table like this table to help organize your notes.

Step 5: Communicate Your Findings and Submit Final Product

Now that you have taken some time to analyze your research. It is time to share what you have learned. You will be sharing the following information in your final product:

• Description of the community (location, population, etc.)


• Communicate details about the chemical nature of the contamination (source of contamination, type of contamination, health effects)


• Summarize the water access problems in the community (length of time this has been a problem, current measures being taken to ensure access to clean water, future plans to fix the problem)


• Share a voice (or voices) from the community (quotes from articles or videos that come from actual community members)


• Connect the story you have chosen to the UN Global Sustainability Goals (how Canada is succeeding - or not succeeding - in fulfilling their responsibilities)


• Properly reference all sources

You can choose to share this information using the method of your choice. Choose a method you are comfortable with; your audience will be your teacher as well as at least one other person in the community. Consider the following ideas:

• Design an infographic (include pictures, statistics, quotations, etc.)


• Create a video (5 minutes in length)


• Record an audio file (5-10 minutes in length; similar to a podcast or radio show)


• Write a 2-page report