Overview
Water has been an integral part of different societies and religions around the world throughout time. Humans need water to survive, but water also has other roles in societies. Students will have the opportunity to explore the ways in which societies around the world use and value water and how water is depicted in media and poetry. Students will also have the chance to write their own personal haiku about a time when they were in awe of water and nature.
Grade Level
8th-12th Grades
Essential questions the lesson will address:
● Why are rituals and traditions an important part of our societies and cultures?
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
● Understand how water plays a significant role in different cultures and religions.
● Write about a time they were in awe of water and nature.
Common Core State Standards (9th Grade)
Water Warriors Glossary and Concepts
● Ritual: done in accordance with social custom or normal protocol; a ceremonial act or action (Merriam-Webster)
● Symbolism: the art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations: such as an artistic imitation or invention that is a method of revealing or suggesting immaterial, ideal, or otherwise intangible truth or states; or the use of conventional or traditional signs in the representation of divine beings and spirits (Merriam-Webster)
● Culture: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time (Merriam-Webster)
International Document Reference
● Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Article 2, Article 18, and Article 27
● UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP): Article 1, Article 2, Article 11, and Article 12
Formative Assessment Strategies (What will you be looking for in their work, and how?)
The teacher can make note of:
● Individual student engagement in the journal writing about water fundamentalism and symbolism.
● Individual student participation in reflection and discussion about water rituals.
● Individual student engagement in the Haiku writing activity.
Materials for Instructor
● Whiteboard, Blackboard, SmartBoard, or Flip Chart
● Water Warriors Glossary Board (Physical or Virtual)
● Water Rituals Worksheet to project
Materials for Students
● Water is Fundamental and Symbolic Worksheet
● Water Journal
LESSON PLAN
I. Discussion and Introduction (20 min.)
Step One. (10 min.)
Have the students break into pairs or small groups. Pass out the Water is Fundamental and Symbolic worksheet. Give students 5 minutes to read the passage and discuss the questions in Part 1 of the worksheet.
After 5 minutes, bring the class back together. Go through the discussion questions from the worksheet one at a time and have a couple of students share their responses.
Step Two. (10 min.)
Have the students return to their pairs or small groups and go through Part 2 of the worksheet about symbolism. Give students another 5 minutes to reflect and discuss.
After 5 minutes, bring students back together and have them share some of their responses. Target answers include (but are not limited to) transformation, subconscious, fertility, purification, reflection, renewal, blessing, motion, and life.
II. Visuals Activity (15 min.)
Tell students they will view images of how water is used within different cultures and societies. Project the Water Rituals worksheet for all students to see and read the talking points to guide the discussion. While they consider the images ask students to record their thoughts on the uses and symbolism of water in each image in their Water Journals using the following prompts:
What do you notice?
What do you wonder?
What purpose do rituals and traditions serve?
Do you believe it is important that these rituals are kept alive? Why?
After students view all the images, ask students to share their reflections. Ask them to think about what symbolism they saw and what image they thought was most interesting. Encourage them to think of any rituals they have with water.
III. Haiku Writing (15 min.)
Read the Haiku by Nizamettin Esen Haymanali aloud:
Wonderful water
divine chameleon forming
itself and our life
Read the Haiku by Mark Meyer aloud:
just downstream
from the chemical plants
their drinking water
Tell students they will write their own haikus about water. Explain some general guidelines:
Haikus are divided into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. The haiku is divided into two parts with a certain imaginative distance between the two sections. Line one and two should evoke different images. Line three brings the two images together. A haiku often contains a kigo, a word that indicates in which season the haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate spring, and snow indicates winter. The season word is not always obvious.
Ask students to write a haiku about a time in which they were in awe of water and nature. Encourage them to think about their surroundings, what it looked like, how it sounded, as well as how they felt in that moment. Haikus should be honest, simple, clear and modest. They should need no explanation.
After students write for 10 minutes, bring them back together and ask if anyone would like to share their haiku to conclude the class.
IV. Homework
Ask students to finish their haiku if they did not complete it in class.