by Allyson Junker
Allyson Junker is the SWE-RMS Freshman Scholarship Coordinator and a Civil Water Engineer at Merrick & Company
For two years, Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association in cooperation with Water for People has provided water professionals to teach science lessons at the Denver International School at Fairmont. Throughout the spring, professionals volunteer to lead a 20-30 minute presentation related to water. Each presentation focuses around a “Country of the Week” that the kindergarten students are already learning about, but the volunteers are free to choice the water issues they’d like to discuss. The program’s mission is to: “integrate professionals with local schools, strengthen community relationships, and ensure water is an integral part of early education.”
Personally, my interest was peaked when I saw that Morocco was one of the focus countries; I had studied abroad in Morocco during college and was excited to share this experience with the next generation. I immediately responded to the call for volunteers and snagged the Morocco presentation. I shot an email to a friend in Denver, Kate, who I’d met while studying aboard to if she’d care to help out.
The program organizers held a phone conference to on-board volunteers and get us thinking about what and how we would present to 25-30 excited five to six-year-olds. Originally, I thought this would be simple; I could pepper a powerpoint with some photos from my time abroad. But then it occurred to me – kindergarteners can barely read, not to mention their limited attention span. The phone conference was a great way to hear about past lessons and get some advice from teachers and previous volunteers involved in the program.
Kate and I hit the drawing board and worked and reworked our presentation several times until we thought it was at a level that kindergarteners could appreciate. We decided to focus on how Moroccan people get water in the desert – mainly through oases and qanat systems. Qanats are underground channel systems with a series of vertical access shafts that bring water from a relatively high point in the aquifer to where the community needs water; these systems have been constructed in North Africa and the Middle East for thousands of years.
So what did this look like in a kindergarten classroom?
First, we asked the students what they already knew about Morocco and the desert. Then, we had the students brainstorm how they would get water if they lived in the desert, which transitioned to a discussion about oases, aquifers, and qanats. To allow the information to sink in, we decided to play a game. The students got up and pretended to dig a qanat down and eastward to the first Moroccan village. Students dug/frolicked under a blue tarp as they made their way to a table laid with glossy photos where they could taste almonds, apricots, and dates – all traditionally grown in Moroccan oases. The students continued the qanat channel (under the tarp) to the final village, where they could touch a Moroccan rug and pouf and color in images from Morocco.
All in all, the lesson went well! The students were eager to share what they already knew and were excited to move around the classroom and participate in sensory activities. There were also some take-aways – namely, kindergarteners have very short attention span at the end of the day and can be hard to regroup once given the freedom to move around the room. Luckily, we had the support of their teachers to help refocus their attention and keep them motivated to learn.
I found this program to be a fun, rewarding experience and a great opportunity to get involved with the community. It felt great to share my expertise on a totally different level – with kindergarteners! And this different audience forced me to be creative in presenting potentially difficult concepts to young minds. Nonetheless, the students’ enthusiasm and creativity were inspiring and reminded me of how lucky I am to be in a profession that I am passionate about.
Allyson Junker is the SWE-RMS Freshman Scholarship Coordinator and a Civil Water Engineer at Merrick & Company
For two years, Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association in cooperation with Water for People has provided water professionals to teach science lessons at the Denver International School at Fairmont. Throughout the spring, professionals volunteer to lead a 20-30 minute presentation related to water. Each presentation focuses around a “Country of the Week” that the kindergarten students are already learning about, but the volunteers are free to choice the water issues they’d like to discuss. The program’s mission is to: “integrate professionals with local schools, strengthen community relationships, and ensure water is an integral part of early education.”
Personally, my interest was peaked when I saw that Morocco was one of the focus countries; I had studied abroad in Morocco during college and was excited to share this experience with the next generation. I immediately responded to the call for volunteers and snagged the Morocco presentation. I shot an email to a friend in Denver, Kate, who I’d met while studying aboard to if she’d care to help out.
The program organizers held a phone conference to on-board volunteers and get us thinking about what and how we would present to 25-30 excited five to six-year-olds. Originally, I thought this would be simple; I could pepper a powerpoint with some photos from my time abroad. But then it occurred to me – kindergarteners can barely read, not to mention their limited attention span. The phone conference was a great way to hear about past lessons and get some advice from teachers and previous volunteers involved in the program.
Kate and I hit the drawing board and worked and reworked our presentation several times until we thought it was at a level that kindergarteners could appreciate. We decided to focus on how Moroccan people get water in the desert – mainly through oases and qanat systems. Qanats are underground channel systems with a series of vertical access shafts that bring water from a relatively high point in the aquifer to where the community needs water; these systems have been constructed in North Africa and the Middle East for thousands of years.
So what did this look like in a kindergarten classroom?
First, we asked the students what they already knew about Morocco and the desert. Then, we had the students brainstorm how they would get water if they lived in the desert, which transitioned to a discussion about oases, aquifers, and qanats. To allow the information to sink in, we decided to play a game. The students got up and pretended to dig a qanat down and eastward to the first Moroccan village. Students dug/frolicked under a blue tarp as they made their way to a table laid with glossy photos where they could taste almonds, apricots, and dates – all traditionally grown in Moroccan oases. The students continued the qanat channel (under the tarp) to the final village, where they could touch a Moroccan rug and pouf and color in images from Morocco.
All in all, the lesson went well! The students were eager to share what they already knew and were excited to move around the classroom and participate in sensory activities. There were also some take-aways – namely, kindergarteners have very short attention span at the end of the day and can be hard to regroup once given the freedom to move around the room. Luckily, we had the support of their teachers to help refocus their attention and keep them motivated to learn.
I found this program to be a fun, rewarding experience and a great opportunity to get involved with the community. It felt great to share my expertise on a totally different level – with kindergarteners! And this different audience forced me to be creative in presenting potentially difficult concepts to young minds. Nonetheless, the students’ enthusiasm and creativity were inspiring and reminded me of how lucky I am to be in a profession that I am passionate about.
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