Teacher Resource
Structured Inquiry Quest
Water in Our World
Water in Our World is a Structured Inquiry Quest that develops students’ understanding of how people use water and the consequences of that use through three connected areas: Food Production, Manufacturing, and Water in the Past.
Students begin with shared foundational knowledge before working through an intentionally sequenced set of articles. The structure provides a context for explicitly teaching and practising note-taking, identifying important information, and making connections across texts before gradually releasing more responsibility to students.
Quest Overview
This Quest begins with a shared foundational article that establishes common background knowledge about water and its importance in people’s lives. This opening text can be used as a common classroom experience and as an opportunity to model the research and note-taking skills students will use throughout the Quest.
Students then move into one of three connected streams: Food Production, Manufacturing, and Water in the Past. Within each stream, the articles are intentionally sequenced so that students build their understanding as they move through the texts.
The Quest is designed to support beginning researchers. Teachers can initially provide substantial modelling and guidance, then gradually release responsibility as students become more confident identifying important ideas, recording information in their own words, and making connections between sources.
Lines of Inquiry
- How people use water in everyday life and production
- How human water use can affect people and the environment
- How people and societies respond to water-related challenges
Guiding Questions
- How do people depend on water in their everyday lives?
- How is water used to produce the food we eat and the things we use?
- What problems can be caused by the ways people use water?
- How have people responded to water challenges in different times and places?
- How can people reduce the impact of their water use?
Guidance for Teachers
This Quest is developed around a structured inquiry approach. Students should work through the articles in the order they appear on the Quest page. The sequence is intentional and is designed to help students build background knowledge step by step while practicing how to identify important information, record key ideas, and make connections across sources.
When using this Quest to teach note-taking, begin with the introductory foundational background article at the top of the Quest. This article is intended to serve as the shared modeling and practice text. Teachers can explicitly model how to decide what information is important, how to put ideas into notes rather than copy full sentences, and how to organize information in a useful way.
From there, gradually release responsibility to students as they move into the three inquiry streams.
This is also an excellent time to have support staff actively working in the classroom. Specialists, support teachers, librarians, teaching assistants, or other available adults can work alongside students as they read and take notes, helping them talk through what is important, check their understanding, and develop stronger note-taking habits.
As students become more confident, reduce the amount of direct support and encourage them to make more of these decisions independently. The goal is for students to move from heavily supported shared practice toward increasingly independent reading and note-taking while still working within the clearly structured pathway of the Quest.
Articles in this Quest
The Quest begins with a shared foundational article that introduces the broader role of water in people’s lives and establishes common background knowledge for the class.
Students then move through three connected article streams: Food Production, Manufacturing, and Water in the Past. The Food Production articles explore how water is used to grow and produce the food people eat. The Manufacturing articles examine how water is used to make everyday products and the effects that this use can have. The Water in the Past articles look at how people have managed, used and solved pollution problems with water in different times and places.
Together, the articles help students build a broader understanding of how people depend on water, how human water use can create challenges, and how different societies have responded to those challenges over time.
Water Footprints in Your Food
Introduces the concept of a food water footprint and shows how water is used across growing, processing, packaging, and transportation. Familiar foods such as bread, chocolate, cheese, and bananas help students see that much of the water connected to food is hidden within production.
Key Understandings/Main Ideas:
- A food’s water footprint includes water used throughout production, not just water contained in the food.
- Farming, processing, packaging, and transportation can all add to a food’s water use.
- Different foods can have very different water footprints because their production processes differ.
How Much Water is In Your Food?
Develops the idea of virtual water by comparing the hidden water used to produce bread, chicken, and milk. Liter and bathtub comparisons help students visualize the scale of water use and connect food choices and food waste to water demand.
Key Understandings/Main Ideas:
- Virtual water is the hidden water used during food production.
- Foods of similar size can have very different water footprints.
- Animal foods may involve additional water use for drinking, cleaning, and growing feed.
- Wasting food also wastes the water used to produce it.
From Farm to Fork
Follows food through preparation, preservation, packaging, and transportation to show how water continues to be used after farming. Students encounter several preservation methods and compare the water involved in producing different packaging materials.
Key Understandings/Main Ideas:
- Food processing includes many stages between raw ingredients and finished products.
- Water supports washing, preparation, preservation, packaging, and transportation.
- Different preservation methods help food last longer in different ways.
- Packaging and transport add additional hidden water use to the food system.
Water Conservation and Solutions for the Future
Explores water conservation through household habits, farming technologies, water recycling, and food-related choices. The article emphasizes that conservation can involve both reducing direct use and lowering less visible demands on water supplies.
Key Understandings/Main Ideas:
- Water conservation means reducing unnecessary waste while protecting available supplies.
- Technologies such as drip irrigation and water recycling can reduce water demand.
- Food choices and reducing food waste can influence indirect water use.
- Effective conservation happens at multiple scales.
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