Education
Start of main content
Age Range: 11-14 | 14-16
Duration: 0-29 mins
  • Biology
  • D&T

Killer water

Identify the ways in which water can be hazardous to human health

Water is crucial to human life, but it can also be a killer.

Drinking or cooking water contaminated with micro-organisms or chemicals is a leading cause of disease and death across the world. Poor facilities for the disposal of sewage and other waste water can quickly lead to the spread of dangerous diseases.

Lack of efficient drainage systems and flood defences can lead to catastrophic flooding, as has been seen in several different areas of the world in the past few years.

Activity info,  teachers’ notes and curriculum links

An engaging starter activity focusing on the link between water and health. It encourages students to think about the role of engineers in providing us with healthy water supplies and waste-water disposal systems by thinking about the different ways in which water can be hazardous to human health.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Download the free activity sheet below!

All activity sheets and supporting resources (including film clips!) are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students' and your schools' needs.

And please do share your classroom learning highlights with us @IETeducation

You can stream and download the related films for free by clicking on the appropriate link in the related resources section below.

Videos

Safe drinking water

Related resources