Education

EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Great Water Debate

Grade Range: 6-12

Duration: 2 hours and 45 minutes

In this interactive civics program, students will be invited to take on the role of a specific community in the 1800s debating whether or not Boston should build a public waterworks system. What seems like an easy decision to us today took decades of debate to settle. Students will examine a wide array of primary sources and consider the different forms of civic action one could take in support of their opinions both then and now. Students will then turn their attention to modern water debates happening all over the world, considering some current and impending water problems and evaluating existing solutions

$5 per student.

Enduring Understanding

The decision to create a public waterworks system in Boston was achieved due to the civic actions and participation of the people. There are many similar water issues in existence today that require our civic participation to solve.

Essential Question

How did civic participation help Boston solve its water problem in the early 19th century and how can it help us solve imminent water crises today?

Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Identify key issues in the 19th century Boston water debate
  • Identify different types of civic engagement in local politics
  • Express and defend an argument as part of a debate
  • Recognize the important role of the Chestnut Hill High Service Pumping Station in the Boston Waterworks system
  • Describe one of the factors that led to the need for public waterworks system and/or its expansion
  • Identify modern cities with impending water crises and existing real-world solutions that could help to mitigate them

Curriculum Connections

Next Generation Science Standards

MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.

 

MA History and Social Science Framework:

Topic 4. Rights and responsibilities of citizens [8.T4]

  1. Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens as compared to non-citizens.
  2. Define and provide examples of fundamental principles and values of American political and civic life.
  3. Describe how a democracy provides opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process through elections, political parties, and interest groups.
  4. Explain the importance of individuals working cooperatively with their elected leaders.
  5. Analyze issues involving liberty in conflict with equality or authority, individual rights in conflict with the common good, or majority rule in conflict with minority rights.

Topic 6. The structure of Massachusetts state and local government [8.T6]

  1. Give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by the Massachusetts state government and by local governments.
Grades 6–8 Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History and Social Science

Key Ideas and Details

1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, quoting or paraphrasing as appropriate.

2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

Craft and Structure

4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

6. Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts.

8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Independently and proficiently read and comprehend history/social studies texts exhibiting complexity appropriate for the grade/course.

Grades 6–8 Speaking and Listening Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas

Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on discipline-specific topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
  1. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate vocabulary, eye contact, volume, and pronunciation.
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