Learning-for-Use Sequence

Example of the Motivate Phase:

In this example, students perform a water inventory of their household to determine how much water they use through the water calculator spreadsheet. This activity motivates the question 'where does our water come from?'

Constructing Knowledge Phase:

Building on the motivation activity, students learn about the different places water comes from.

In this example, students are learning about aquifers as a water resource by constructing aquifer models.

Example of the Constructing Knowledge Phase:

In this example, students identify the parts of an aquifer on their model using the illustration below.

Constructing Knowledge Phase:

This is an example of support material used to help students pull together the previous activities and experiences with aquifers. Students read about the structure of aquifers.

Constructing Knowledge Phase:

In this example, students return to the context of the case and learn about watersheds and aquifers in the case region-central California. Students are constructing this knowledge through the analysis of authentic datasets.

Example of the Applying Knowledge Phase:

In this example, students look at multiple proposals on how to allocate a town in Central California's limited water resources. In making this decision, students apply the knowledge they constructed (ex. watersheds, aquifers, soil, agriculture etc...) in previous chapters to make and justify their decision.