During these last few weeks before summer vacation, many of our students are chugging back on water in plastic bottles to stay hydrated…but do they understand the impact bottled water has on our environment?  Many schools and school boards are taking steps towards banning plastic water bottles and advocating the use of reusable water bottles that can be washed and refilled on a regular basis.  An excellent video to watch with your students is “The Story of Bottled Water.”  This lesson is a great way to incorporate media literacy into your science lessons (and vice versa!) and promote a healthy discussion with your students regarding the environmental implications of their daily actions.

Before watching the video, talk to your students about drinking water.  Some of the following guiding questions can be used:

• Where do you get your drinking water from?
• Do you drink tap water or bottled water?
• Is tap water safe?
• Is bottled water better for you than tap water?
• Do you think that there is an environmental impact to bottled water use?

Here’s the worksheet that can be used while watching the movie! Just click the image below!