Water is the cradle of life and humanity's closest companion. However, our relationship with this “old friend” doesn't seem as close as we might think — data shows that nearly 70% of primary and middle school students in China fail to meet the daily water intake standard. Water health shouldn't be just a line in a textbook.
On 12th June, Shanghai Roots & Shoots and volunteers from JAS corporate had a visit in Shang Hai Min Hang Qu Min Ban Tang Wan Xiao Xue, delivering a lively water health lesson to fourth-grade students. Before the lesson started, the volunteers were well-trained about water health curriculum. From the water composition within human body to the current state of water resources in the globe, from water-drinking habits to tips of saving water – students learnt and took notes, aiming at making “water” sound more interesting and engaging.
During the lesson, students discovered through a matching game that water makes up around 70% of human body. Volunteers then added, “Therefore, do not wait until you feel thirsty to drink water, by then your body has already sent warning signal. Drinking water regularly in proper amount is a good habit.” “There is so much water on Earth, how much of them can be actually drunk?” The answer is less than 0.5%. Guided by volunteers, the students shared their tips of saving water from daily life eagerly.
Then came the most exciting part of the activity. Each student imagined themselves as “a droplet of water”, travelling among six “water stations” through rolling dice. They collected a colored bead at each station, eventually stringing them into a unique bracelet. After the game, students realized that each bracelet was different, and that illustrates the magic of water. Water does not have a fixed home, it is travelling all the time. Water sometimes turns into cloud, sometimes falls as rain, sometimes freezes into ice. As the volunteer explained, “Water does not disappear, instead it is changing its form. Yet, it stays shortly in our cup, so we should treasure every single droplet of water.”
A lesson does not last long, but the knowledge about water health and awareness of water conservation secretly lie in students’ mind among the laughter.