Building water literacy through an interdisciplinary curriculum

There is increasing need to address the diverse risks facing our public water supply, including climate change, emerging contaminants, and aging infrastructure. In order for the public and elected representatives to adequately address these challenges, it is necessary that they possess scientific understanding of natural and engineered water systems and their interconnections, as well as understanding of the social, political, and economic context that the water systems are situated in. Current K-12 science standards mention water primarily in learning about the water cycle and do not consistently carry ideas about water through grade levels or to subject areas beyond Earth science. There is an opportunity to become more interdisciplinary in our approach to teaching concepts relevant to water resource management. To this end, we are developing a three-part curriculum for middle to high school students. Parts one and two introduce students to the natural and human-made water systems, how their interconnection impacts water quality and quantity, and the risks posed to each. Part three asks students to explore how they can use this information to affect change in their home watersheds. We will present lessons-learned from design and implementation so far, and considerations for future development of this curriculum.