Programme Methodology

Following is a brief description of the development of the Education Programme. There are three days at each school, and the activities depend on the age and number of the children taking part and also on the specific subject matter being treated.

The programme will be developed in the following way.
Previous day: workbooks are given to teachers and children taking part so that they can present the activities to be carried out. The audiovisual wil be projected.
Day 1: outside visit with the support of written material.
Day 2: inside workshop or other activity to reinforce content and changes in attitude. Evaluation.

Aimed at
Schools in La Coruña and the surrounding area.
Ages: preferably the third stage of Secondary Education.

Activities

The water route Specific aims: to get to know the water route from intake to its return to the natural cycle; to analyse the different elements which make up the supply to homes; value the general consequences of the use and abuse of water. Content: reservoir, purification processes, contamination, pumping, topography, the water cycle, units of measurement. Duration: 4-5 hours. Development: Students will go by bus and visit the most significant points of the city's water supply, starting at the reservoir of Cecebre. The visit then goes to the pipes, purification andpumping, ending at a place where water can be seen (a public fountain large enough to be able to carry out activities; homes). An evaluation exercise in the form of a game will be done at this point. There will be two monitors on the route and brochures will be distributed so that participants can discover the features and characteristics of each point and see where they are going on a map. Recommended age: All Primary and Secondary schools, 7 to16 years old. Material to use: notebooks for schoolchildren and teachers, route map, pencils and colour felt-tips.

Drop by drop Specific aims: explain and understand the different ways water can be used; appreciate the value it has for life; change attitudes to encourage water saving. Content: water quality, consumption and saving, personal habits, supply, water bill. Duration: 45-60 minutes. Development: this is a game with various situations from daily lfe in which water is used. Each person analyses how and when water is used daily (getting washed, cooking, washing up, watering plants etc). The necessary action must be taken for each use and points are given for the bill. At the end of the game each person fills in his/her "bill" and compares it to a real one. Thoughts are then shared about the consumption, abuse and contamination of water and possible solutions at home. Recommended age: 7 to12 years old. Material to use: photocopies of bills, cards for the game, pencils and felt-tips.

A miniature purifier Specific aims: investigate and understand how a water purifier works; analyse different ways of purifying, evaluate the complexity of the supply system. Content: the physical, chemical and biological aspects of purification; water contamination; units of measurement. Duration: 60-90 minutes. Development: very practical. Participants build a miniature purifier with simple materials, representing the main systems - physical, chemical and biological. Water intake is noted down on a work sheet and later complemented with water output. The form includes data such as volume, dissolved materials, oxygen content etc. The model is compared to a real purifier with an image. Recommended age: 10 to16 years old. Material to use: small plastic containers, hose pipes and joints, net, cotton, chemical products etc; work sheets.

Role game - "Where's the water?" Specific aims: to value the importance of water in our daily lives; analyse water contamination; recognise domestic use and abuse of water; set up a debate to look for solutions. Content: units of measurement, contamination of drinking water, ways to save, the water cycle. Duration: 60-90 minutes. Development: this is a role game in which each person faces a problem, in this case doemstic use of water. According to the choices made, each person will have more or less water in better or worse condition. Players should adapt their situation to each new circumstance. Variables are introduced, such as abundance and distribution. At the end a balance is made for the the various different problems and domestic use of water is evaluated. Recommended age: 10 to16 years old. Material to use: work sheets, photocopies of game variables, help panels.

Audiovisual "The Water Route" Specific aims: to understand the water route, how it comes to the city and the needs for the system to work; appreciate the importance of the city's water supply; look into the different factors that intervene in supply and distribution. Content: city supply, reservoirs, purifying, contamination, pumping, topography, the water cycle, units of measurement. Duration: 50 minutes. Development: audiovisual (slides with comments), with an actor who travels from the reservoir at Cecebre to a fountain and taps in the city, going through all the supply stages and describing each process he is involved in. The last minutes are for a debate. Recommended age: recommended as a complementary activity to the other ones carried out in the water cycle. Adaptable to any age in Primary and Secondary Education. Material to use: notebooks for children and teachers.