Grade by Grade
E. Earth and Space Systems · Air and Water in the Environment

Using Water Wisely at Home

E1.2 A1.2 A1.5 A3.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can list ways my family uses water.
  • I can collect information about water use with a tally chart.
  • I can measure how much water an activity uses.
  • I can make a plan to help my family use water responsibly.

Words to know

responsible
Doing the right thing and taking good care of something.
conserve
To use something carefully so it doesn't get wasted.
waste
To use more than you need, or to let something go to no use.
tally chart
A chart where you make a little line (a tally mark) each time something happens.
litre (L)
A unit for measuring how much liquid there is. A large milk carton holds 2 litres.
plan
A list of steps you decide to take to reach a goal.

Drip, drip, drip...

Listen! Is a tap dripping somewhere in your home? One drip doesn't seem like much. But a tap that drips all day and all night can fill bucket after bucket with wasted water!

In the last lessons you learned that only a little of Earth's water is fresh, and that cleaning water and pumping it to our homes takes a lot of work. Today you will become a water detective and a water saver.

A drop of water falling from a kitchen tap into a metal sink.
One drip seems small, but a tap that drips all day wastes a lot of water. Fixing leaks saves water. AI-generated image

How do we use water at home?

We use water for:

  • drinking and cooking
  • washing: hands, bodies, hair, dishes, clothes and floors
  • brushing teeth
  • flushing the toilet
  • watering gardens and lawns
  • pets: filling water bowls
  • fun: wading pools, sprinklers, washing the car

Some of these use a little water. Others use a lot. Baths, showers, the washing machine and watering the lawn use a lot.

Why use water responsibly?

  • Fresh water is precious. There is not very much of it on Earth.
  • Cleaning water takes energy and work. Water treatment plants clean water, and pumps push it through pipes. The used water then goes to another plant to be cleaned again.
  • In hot, dry summers, some towns ask families to water lawns less so there is enough for everyone.
  • Using less hot water saves energy too, because it takes energy to heat water.

Using water responsibly does not mean not using it! We need water. It means not wasting it.

Worked example

Let's make a tally chart

Leo kept a tally chart of his family's water use for one day. How many times did they use water in all? Which use happened most?

  1. Count each row of tally marks. Remember, ||||/ is a bundle of 5: four lines with one line across them.
  2. Washing hands: ||||/ ||||/ = 10. Flushing toilet: ||||/ ||||/ || = 12. Getting a drink: ||||/ ||| = 8. Brushing teeth: |||| = 4. Dishwasher: | = 1.
  3. Add them up: 10 + 12 = 22. 22 + 8 = 30. 30 + 4 = 34. 34 + 1 = 35.
  4. The biggest number is 12, for flushing the toilet.

Leo's family used water 35 times. Flushing the toilet happened most often.

Water useTallyTotal
washing hands||||/ ||||/10
flushing toilet||||/ ||||/ ||12
getting a drink||||/ |||8
brushing teeth||||4
running the dishwasher|1
Leo's family water-use tally for one day
024681012washing hands10flushing toilet12getting a drink8brushing teeth4dishwasher1number of times in one day
Leo's tally as a bar graph. The longest bar is flushing the toilet (12). All the bars together make 35.
Worked example

Let's measure: Tap on or tap off?

Leo wants to know how much water he wastes if the tap runs while he brushes his teeth for 2 minutes.

  1. Question: How much water goes down the drain when the tap runs while I brush?
  2. Test 1 (tap on): A grown-up puts a big pot in the sink to catch the water. Leo brushes for 2 minutes with the tap running. Then they pour the water into a 1-litre measuring jug, again and again, and count. Leo's result: 8 litres.
  3. Test 2 (tap off): Leo wets his brush, turns the tap off, brushes for 2 minutes, then turns it on to rinse. Leo's result: 1 litre.
  4. Compare: 8 − 1 = 7 litres saved each time.
  5. Leo brushes twice a day: 7 + 7 = 14 litres saved every day.

Turning off the tap saved Leo 7 litres each time he brushed, and 14 litres a day. (Your tap may give a different amount. That's why we measure!)

tap ON8 litrestap OFF1 litre7 litressaved!Each box is 1 litre. Brushing for 2 minutes.
Leo's test: 8 litres with the tap on and 1 litre with the tap off. That's 7 litres saved every time he brushes.

Water-saving ideas

  • Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth or soap your hands.
  • Take shorter showers.
  • Tell a grown-up about dripping taps or a toilet that keeps running, so they can fix it.
  • Run the dishwasher and washing machine only when they are full.
  • Keep a jug of water in the fridge instead of running the tap until it gets cold.
  • Use a rain barrel to water the garden.
  • Water gardens in the morning or evening, when it's cooler, so less water evaporates.
  • Reuse water: give leftover clean drinking water to houseplants.
Worked example

Let's make a water plan

Help Leo's family make a plan to use water responsibly for one week.

  1. Goal: Waste less water at home.
  2. Choose 3 actions: 1) Everyone turns off the tap while brushing. 2) Showers are shorter: play one song and finish before it ends. 3) Run the dishwasher only when full.
  3. Jobs: Leo makes a reminder sign for the bathroom mirror. Dad sets up the song. Everyone checks the dishwasher before pressing start.
  4. Check: At the end of the week, the family talks: Which actions did we do? Which were hard? What can we add next week?

A good plan has a goal, a few actions, jobs for each person and a way to check how it went.

Just for fun

Knock, knock. Who's there? Water. Water who? Water you doing with the tap running while you brush? Turn it off!

Hands-on activity

Be a family water detective

You need: paper, a pencil, a big pot or bucket, and a 1-litre measuring jug (or a 1-litre bottle).

  1. Tally: For one day, make a tally mark each time someone in your family uses water. Use rows like Leo's.
  2. Measure: With a grown-up, do the tap-on, tap-off tooth brushing test. Catch the water and measure it with the jug. Use the water you caught to water plants afterward, so it isn't wasted!
  3. Plan: Make a family water plan with a goal, 3 actions, jobs and a check-in day.
  4. Sign: Make a reminder sign for the bathroom or kitchen.
  5. After one week, look at your plan together. How did it go?

Your turn

1

Name four ways your family uses water at home.

2

What does it mean to use water responsibly?

3

Name two ways to save water when brushing your teeth or washing your hands.

4

In Leo's tally chart, how many times did his family wash their hands?

5

Why should we tell a grown-up about a dripping tap?

6

What four parts should a good water plan have?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is it wise to run the dishwasher when it is only half full?

2

What can catch rain from the roof to water the garden?

3

Which uses more water: a sip from a glass or a bath?

4

What unit do we use to measure how much water is in a jug?

5

How many tally marks are in one bundle (||||/)?

More practice: on your own

1

Why is it better to water the garden in the evening than at noon on a hot day?

2

Leo's family flushed the toilet 12 times and got a drink 8 times. How many more flushes than drinks?

3

Why does using less hot water save energy too?

4

Mia caught 6 litres with the tap running and 1 litre with the tap off. How much did she save?

5

Give one reason fresh water is precious.

Challenge

1

Ava's family takes 4 showers a day. Each shorter shower saves 10 litres. How much water do they save each day?

2

Leo's tally showed flushing the toilet was the most common use. Think of one idea that could help his family use less water for flushing.

3

Your plan said "turn off the tap", but after one week your family forgot a lot. How could you improve the plan?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a way to save water?

2.

Leo caught 8 L with the tap on and 1 L with the tap off. How much did he save?

3.

When is the best time to water a garden?

4.

What does ||||/ ||||/ ||| show on a tally chart?

5.

Using water responsibly means...

6.

Which part of a water plan helps you see how it went?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (E1.2): Students assess their personal and household water use and create a plan to use water responsibly. The aim is wise use, not guilt.

How to help: Do the one-day tally and the tooth-brushing measurement together, and reuse the caught water on plants. Let your child lead the family plan and the check-in at the end of the week (A1.2 collecting data, A1.5 communicating results, A3.1 real-world application).

About the numbers: Leo's measurements are an example; tap flow varies a lot between homes, which is exactly why measuring your own is valuable. Older toilets typically use much more water per flush than newer low-flow models.

Common difficulties:

  • Reading tally bundles. Count bundles by 5s, then count on the single marks.
  • Feeling that saving water means not washing. Stress that hygiene matters: wash hands well, just turn the tap off while soaping.
  • Measuring larger amounts. Pour from the pot into a 1-litre jug and count each full jug.