There is a reason why parents tell kids to drink more water. Water is essential to human beings in order to survive. Believe it or not, water makes up 75% of the total weight of the human body. It aslo performs many important roles to keep the body functioning. It dissolves and replenishes nutrients and essential organic matter, and transports them to different parts of the body. In addition, it keeps the body clean by flushing out waste materials. In fact, water is more important to human survival than food. A person who is lost in the wilderness can survive for 8 weeks without food if he or she drinks enough water. Nevertheless, he or she can only live for 3 to 5 days without drinking any water.
Water is as old as the Earth, and it has been around for millions of years. The water that is used by human beings and animals today existed during the times when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. How is that possible? Well, natural water goes through a process called water cycle. In this process, the water that is present on the surface of the Earth will evaporate when it is heated by the sun, and it will rise to the sky to form clouds. Since the temperature in the sky is cold, the clouds will condense and fall as rain. The rain will either fill up rivers, lakes, wetlands, and oceans, or seep into the earth to become ground water. Human beings also build reservoirs and other structures to collect water. Fresh water in some places contains nasty bacteria that can cause disease, and it has to be purified before it is consumed. Bottled water and other types of water that are consumed today have been purified, and they are all safe for drinking.
For more information on all facets of water look to the following resources:
Basic Water Education
- Why Water is Important?: Find out the importance of water in this document.
- Water and Living Things: Article that reveals why water is vital for the survival of living things.
- Fun Water Facts: Learn interesting facts about water.
- Water Sources: Comprehensive information about the main sources of water.
- What is Ground Water?: An overview of ground water.
- Water Cycle: A diagram that explains the various processes of water cycle.
- What is an Aquifer?: Article that provides basic information about aquifers.
- How is Water Purified?: Detailed description of the process of water purification.
- Why Conserve Water?: A discussion on the importance of conserving water.
- Water Saving Tips: Effective tips for conserving water.
Drinking Water and Safety
- Drinking Water: Articles that discuss various aspects of drinking water.
- Drinking Water Crisis: Alarming facts about global drinking water crisis.
- Safe Drinking Water: Website that promotes consumption of clean drinking water.
- Why Drink Water?: Find out how drinking water can benefit human health.
- Drinking Water Guide: Read this guide to find out about the safety of different types of drinking water.
- Drinking Water Standards: National drinking water standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Is Tap Water Safe?: News article that explains why tap water may be safer to drink than bottled water.
- Bottled Water: Discussion on quality standards for bottled water.
- Drinking Water Quality: An online tool that reveals qualities of drinking water in major cities throughout the United States.
Water Classroom Activities and Experiments
- Water Sourcebooks: More than 300 water-related activities for K-12 students.
- Project Wet: A website that provides water education through articles, lesson plans, activities, and games.
- Water Lesson Plans: A wide collection of water lesson plans for elementary, middle school, and high school students.
- Water, Water, Everywhere: This lesson plan helps students understand the relationship between population growth and availability of water.
- Ground Water Lessons: Materials for lessons on ground water.
- Can We Keep the Lake Clean?: A lesson plan from National Geographic that requires students to create pictures of the ecosystem of a lake.
- Water in the Desert: An activity that shows students how to create water in the desert.
- Water Treatment Activity: Classroom activity that helps students learn about water treatment.
- Water Conservation: A lesson idea for teaching students about water conservation.
- Learning about Water: Water lesson plans for K-12 teachers.
Games and Online Activities
- Online Water Games: Learn more about water by playing games in this website.
- Water and the Environment: A number of games that can help children gain a better understanding of the relationship between water and the environment.
- Water Conservation Games: Links to several water conservation games.
- Water Web Quest: An interesting water web quest from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.