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8th Grade  Project 4 weeks

Molecule Murk: Cracking Water Pollution

Sarah F
Updated
MS-ESS3-3
MS-ESS3-3
MS-PS1-3
PS.1.B
MS-PS1-3
+ 3 more
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The Challenge

When stormwater runoff carries oil, trash, and synthetic chemicals into rivers, you see how human-made materials and their chemical structures can intensify water pollution and disrupt ecosystems, public health, and local economies. In cities like Chicago, aging infrastructure, paved surfaces, and limited filtration make it harder to keep contaminants out of waterways, turning everyday land use into a persistent environmental challenge.

Challenge Question

How might we reduce stormwater pollution flowing into the Chicago River so that families living near the river can have cleaner water and a healthier neighborhood ecosystem?

Standards

  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-ESS3-3 - Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-ESS3-3 - Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-PS1-3 - Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] PS.1.B - Chemical Reactions
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-PS1-3 - Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

Competencies

  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.

Learning Partners and Clients

Chicago Department of Water Management staff can serve as project clients by sharing local stormwater case data, describing infrastructure limits, and giving feedback on student proposals to reduce runoff pollution near the Chicago River. Chicago Riverwater and local school science teams can act as learning partners by reviewing student runoff models and helping students connect chemical structure to how oil, trash, and other pollutants move through stormwater systems. These partners give students an authentic audience for their analysis and support realistic, place-based solutions for Chicago neighborhoods.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can investigate a simulated Chicago stormwater runoff event near the Chicago River, observe how oil, trash, and chemicals move through water, and identify likely root causes of pollution that affect families in nearby neighborhoods.
Examine
I can analyze Chicago Department of Water Management stormwater case data to identify major pollution sources and explain patterns I notice. I can investigate how the chemical structure of common materials affects whether they dissolve, float, stick, or travel in runoff. I can compare natural and synthetic materials to describe how they come from resources and impact the river and our community. I can work with classmates and local science partners to ask questions, interpret evidence, and decide which pollution problem is most important to address.
Engineer
I can develop a realistic proposal and runoff model for a Chicago neighborhood near the river that explains how material structure affects pollution and recommends one feasible solution to help monitor and reduce stormwater impacts.
Do
I can collect and analyze runoff data from our model or field tests to measure how well our proposed solution reduces pollution and use the evidence to judge its effectiveness in a real neighborhood context.
Share
I can share my proposal, evidence, and growth at a community presentation with Chicago Department of Water Management staff, local science teams, families, and peers by explaining what I learned about water pollution, chemical structure, collaboration, and how I grew as a problem-solver and communicator.