Article
Ni “Joyce” Zhu/Flint water study team/Virginia Tech

What If This Was Your Water?

Two texts explore the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The first is an informational text exploring how the crisis began and what is being done about it. The second is an interview with “Little Miss Flint,” who is raising her voice to help her city.

By Kristin Lewis
From the May 2018 Issue

Learning Objective: to synthesize two nonfiction texts about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan

Other Key Skills: text features, inference, vocabulary, synthesis, close reading, critical thinking, synthesis
Topics: Social Issues,
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Dig Deeper With These Texts
Letters: “Read the letter from ‘Little Miss Flint’”

As a class, read Mari Copeny’s letter to President Obama. Then read President Obama’s reply.

Article: “Michigan will end Flint’s free bottled water program”

As a class, read this CNN article about Michigan’s decision to end Flint’s free bottled water program on April 9th. Ask students what they think about this decision, how the people of Flint might feel about it, and what people can do to help.

Video: “The Water Treatment Process” (4:19)

As a class, watch this video to learn more about how water is treated and made safe before it gets to our faucets.

Twitter handle: @LittleMissFlint

Follow Mari on Twitter to see what she is doing as an activist and to get updates about the Flint water crisis. 

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. PREPARING TO READ

2. READING AND DISCUSSING  

3. SKILL BUILDING

Differentiate and Customize
For Struggling Readers

In a well-organized paragraph, explain how Mari Copeny has addressed the water problems in Flint.

 

For Advanced Readers

Use details from both texts to explain whether or not you agree with the following claim: The water crisis in Flint was preventable. 

 

For On Level Readers

How does Mari Copeny show that one person can make a difference, even when facing an enormous problem? Answer this question in a well-organized essay. Use text evidence.

CUSTOMIZED PERFORMANCE TASKS
For Artists

Create an infographic about the importance of clean water.

For Screenwriters

You are making a documentary about the ongoing water crisis in Flint. Write a scene in which Mari is interviewed about the situation. Your scene may be in the form of a written transcript or a 3- to 4-minute video.

Literature Connection: Texts that evoke the power of water

A Long Walk to Water 
by Linda Sue Park (novel)

Tuck Everlasting 
by Natalie Babbitt (novel)

UN Resolution 64/292
by The human right to water and sanitation (primary document)

Text-to-Speech