Human Impact on Water: Reading and Debate Activity in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Dive into an engaging learning experience with our 'Human Impact on Water: Reading and Debate Activity.' This dynamic educational resource equips students to analyze how human behaviors influence water resources, featuring thoughtfully curated readings and interactive debate prompts. Ideal for middle and high school classrooms, the resource promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and environmental awareness.

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River became known to the world as it caught fire when a passing train sent sparks on the heaps of pollution found in the river. This sent its own spark to environmentalists around the world as the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), the Clean Water Act and eventually Cuyahoga Valley National Park were developed. In this activity, students will learn about the fire and about human impact on water sources and then they will debate a specific topic by analyzing a controversial issue that relates to water quality, human activity and water resources.

First, students will be given a packet (provided) that has a two-page reading about what happened on the Cuyahoga River and how Cuyahoga Valley National Park was established. They will analyze the text and answer ten questions about the passage.

Then, students will divide into groups of 3-4 and they will be given a topic and a side ("For" or "Against"). They will do their own research and develop an opening statement, questions for the other side and a closing statement. Then, in class they will walk through the debate in class.

The debate instructions, roles and grading rubric are provided in this resource.

There are 4 topic questions that they will answer such as: "Should there be environmental mandates?" and "How should we dispose of waste?"

Their packets will have an intro to the topic question, the debate instructions (including how long they need to speak and the general idea of what should be included), and a rubric that you can use for grading purposes.

As students listen to the other debates, they can fill out information that they learn on the provided sheets. It asks them general questions like "What are three main points made by the "For" Team?" and "After the debate, how would you answer this question?"

Students are encouraged to research their topics, find facts and data and examples to use in their statements.

This product includes:

1. Teacher Directions-including prep info and materials needed  

2. List of helpful websites

3. Teacher Procedure

4. Debate Structure

5. Groups and Roles Sheet

6. Student Packet-Reading, analysis questions

7. Four debate topic instructions and rubric for students

8. Debate instructions template (for other topics)

9. Student Packet Answers

10. Debate Notes

11. Teacher Tips

To do this activity, students will need:

• Pencil

• Copy of student packets (INCLUDED)

• Laptops (for research)

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Thank you!