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       Oh Where Oh Where Does Our Water Flow?
​                                      
By:  Ben Kapenga

Project at a Glance :

This project compliments middle school curriculum focusing on Drinking Water. This lesson helps students explore: point source pollution sites in their communities, types of contaminants in their drinking water, where their drinking water comes from, the water cycle, and identifying/brainstorming/prototyping solutions to reduce or prevent damage to our water resources.
       

Driving Question:

How can we reduce or prevent damage to our water resources within the community of Zeeland and beyond?             

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Standards:
  • Developing and Using Models
  • Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Identifying Natural Resources
  • Using Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
  • Connecting Cause and Effect
  • Understanding the Influence of Science, Engineering, Technology on  Society and the Natural World
  • Human Impacts on Earth Systems
Team / Culture Building:
  • Hopes, Fears, & Norms​
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  • Creative DNA
Entry Event:
  • Build a Waterpark (Flow Chart) & 
         Create a Storm Drain Map
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Stakeholders:
  • Zeeland City Residents with city water
  • Ottawa County Residents with well water
  • Zeeland City Council Member - Phung Lam
  • Ottawa/Allegan County Commissioner -  Dean Kapenga
  • Zeeland Board of Public Works Representative/s
  • ODC Macatawa Area Watershed Representative -  Keli Goward 
  •  Department of Environmental Quality Representative -  Nate Whitmyer
  • Parents
  • School Board
  • Ottawa County DSS System
  • State Workers who put in wells in Ottawa County
Empathy Building:
  • Storyboard 
  • HANDS ON ACTIVITIES - Watershed  Walk - using Chalk Talk protocol
  • Zeeland Wastewater Tour 
  • Holland Water Plant Guest Presentation​
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Inquiry / Need to Knows:
  • The 4 C’s
  • Speedboat
  • 2x2 Matrix
  • Brain Firing
  • Brainstorm 100 Ideas/Questions 
  • Interviews with Stakeholders
  • Love Letter / Concerned Letter / Breakup Letter  to their water source
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Incubation:
  • 3 - 12- 3
  • Tell it to a Toddler​​
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  • Modeling (Draw the Problems)
  • One Way Ticket (7 minute non-stop writing about thoughts related to the problem)​
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  • Challenge Cards
  • Image-gination
Checking in:
  •  Check-In with groups should be every 20 minutes. It will take place during an Investigation Workshop. Each group member reports on his or her role and the teacher(s)/student(s) offers a critique. 
  • Start-Stop-Continue - every how with each group.

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Solution Building:
  • Poster Session
  • Brown Bag Throwdown
  • 100$ Test
  • Dot Voting – allow authentic audience to dot vote at all times
  • Poster Session
  • Use a discussion board comments throughout as a way to hold accountable.
  • Use Flipgrid or one to one to show on Google suite students.  Also, students can share ideas via Jamboard or Google classroom or share sites.
Critique and Revision: 
  • NUF Test
  • Critical Friends
  • Practice Presentations
  • Grading Rubric
  • Trial Runs with other groups/companies working on same problem for feedback.
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Authentic Audience:
  • Zeeland City Council Member(s)
  • Zeeland Board of Public Works Representative(s)
  • Macatawa Area Watershed Representative(s) 
  • Zeeland City Resident
  • Ottawa County Commissioner(s)
  • Local DEQ Employee
  • Parents
Final Presentation:
  •  Students will present their final solutions at one of their local city council meetings, sticking to the  allotted time frame given them by the council. 
  • Show and Tell real world xxamples: Ted Talks
  • Moving On Up Showdown (Object is to get best idea closest to the bullseye)​.
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Reflection and Feedback:
  • $100 Test
  • Project Gallery Walk via ZCS BLOGS  
  • Yes and . . . protocol for feedback from the authentic audience.
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Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

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Meet the Educator:
Ben Kapenga teaches Science, Social Studies, Bible, and S.E.L. at Zeeland Christian School.

     
"PBL acts as a catalyst in my science curriculum - it stimulates students to go deeper and allows for them to apply 100% of what they are learning to real world challenges and problems.
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  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • PBL Experiences
    • ELE PBL Experiences
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    • HS PBL Experiences
  • Resources
  • Protocol Examples
  • Community / Industry Partners
    • WM Design Prize Company Template