|
|
Sinking City of Venice
|
|
|
|
Ideas from Teachers
|
|
|
(Gr. 5-8)
Objective
The purpose of this unit is to provide a thought-provoking topic so
students can use critical thinking and problem solving strategies.
Students will develop an understanding of the complexity of
floodwater problems in Venice, Italy, and the controversy
surrounding the solutions that have been proposed.
Students will learn about the work of the Venice Water Authority,
and the engineers working on the Moses Project.
Students will use critical thinking and problem solving strategies
while learning about the intervention by man in natural environments
and how this intervention has continuously created more problems and
solutions.
Materials
-
NOVA's "Sinking City of Venice"
program
-
Kids Discover Magazine, Venice edition (published in Boulder,
Colorado)
- Internet
Procedure
This is an eight-week unit I developed using the NOVA materials and
others. Venice, Italy, has often been called the most beautiful city
in the world. It may also be the most unusual. It is built on 117
small islands and is crisscrossed by some two hundred canals and
over four hundred bridges. To get around, you may walk or take a
boat, but you won't find any cars or other motor vehicles. Venice
currently faces threats to its art, architecture, and history from
an increasing frequency of floods. The city is sinking into the sea
and the sea is rising. Can it be saved?
In this unit students learn how the Venice Water Authority and
engineers from around the world are working to find a solution that
will ensure the future of this ancient, "Bride of the Adriatic."
Acting as concerned citizens of Venice, students debate the role of
science and government, offering their solutions to the problem.
This unit will appeal to those who enjoy environmental, science,
social studies, and controversy (debate).
The following is an abbreviated overview of the project. You can
download an
extended overview
(23 pages) of each lesson:
-
Week 1: Introduction to the Bride of the Adriatic
—Kids Discover, Venice issue
By reading Kids
Discover Venice, students will recognize the uniqueness of the
city, and how its history, geography and art are all
contributing to its cultural identity and to the problems it is
facing today.
-
Week 2: The Lagoon, The City and the Solution
—Beginning of NOVA program
Students will
examine the geography of Venice and how the geography, the
processes of natural hazards, global warming, and science and
technology have brought Venice to the controversy it faces
today. Students will watch a video to gain further
understanding. Students will observe how ice caps melt.
-
Week 3: Acqua Alta Solutions
—Creative Problem
Solving (CPS)
Students will use CPS to generate possible
solutions and problems of city planning and the environment
related to flooding, pollution and ecosystems.
-
Week 4: The Moses Project
—Middle of the NOVA
program
After watching a video to learn about the Moses
Project students will recognize the complexity of finding a
solution to Venice's floodwater problems. Students will learn
about the Venice Water Authority and analyze the effectiveness
of this governmental organization. Students will discover why a
city was originally built on a marsh in a lagoon.
-
Week 5: Solutions for the Third Millennium
Students
will analyze arguments for and against mobile floodgates.
-
Week 6: The Great Debate
—Pros and Cons
Game
After weeks of learning about the controversy
surrounding the over-flooding of Venice, and researching the
viewpoints of different interest groups regarding Venice,
students will evaluate the solutions to the problem and role
play a debate to determine the pros and cons using the Pros and
Cons Game.
-
Week 7: Other Sinking Cities
Students will gather
information about and compare cities (in the United States or
other parts of the world) that are also sinking and built in
lagoon environments.
-
Week 8: Post-assessment and Evaluation
Students will
assess their knowledge gained during this unit.
The
worksheets
(15 pages) are used with the unit in the following order:
-
The pre-assessment is given at the beginning of the unit.
-
The information students should learn from the video is used
throughout the lesson plans with the video broken down into
segments. The lesson plans state when to use each segment.
The Note Taking document is used in Week 2. The Great Debate Viewpoints is used in Week 5. -
The Criteria sheet and the Debate Assessment are used in Week 6.
The Evaluation is used at the end in Week 8. The post-assessment is at the end of the unit.
Assessment
After learning about the controversy surrounding the over-flooding
of Venice students will apply problem-solving strategies to come up
with their own potential solutions. Students will learn about the
current solutions and evaluate their pros and cons. They will debate
the role of science and government and the advantages and
disadvantages of the solutions to the problem.
Editor's Note: To read an extended description of this idea,
see
Featured Teachers.
Sent in by
Diane Trantham
Rockwood School District Gifted
Program
Ellisville, MO
|
|
