Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Fit to drink! from Thames Water
Water is vital to life. In our area the water found in rivers and streams is clean
enough to support a variety of wildlife. However, it is not safe to drink straight
from the river and needs to be treated before it can be supplied to our homes,
schools and workplaces.
Thames Water produces and supplies approximately 2.6 billion litres of tap water every day to
9 million people. The company has 100 water treatment works and a network of 31,500 km of mains
pipe. These transport clean, treated drinking water from the treatment works to people’s homes.
The Fit to drink! resource has been created to support the teaching and learning of water at KS2.
It aims to help pupils recognise the importance of drinking water and help them understand the
process of water treatment – from rivers and underground stores (called aquifers), to the reservoir
and then to their tap.
The Resource
This resource is broken into three topics:
Body of Water – covering how water is vital to the body and health – linked to science and PSHE
Work it Out – looking at how the body needs more water when it is active – linked to science and PE
Make it Clear – covering how water is treated to become Fit to drink! and why this is necessary –
linked to science.
Each topic is supported by stimulus and resources in the form of:
• An exclusive online film made with Olympic gold medallist rower Andy Triggs-Hodge, talking about
the importance of drinking water for his fitness
• An engaging animated interactive game to show how the body uses water
• A Fit to drink! PowerPoint presentation full of facts and information about water and the body,
water and exercise and the water treatment process
• Engaging downloadable pupil activity sheets and word glossary.
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
How to use this resource
All the activities in this resource are supported by online stimuli in the form of a film, an interactive
game, PowerPoint slides and pupil activity sheets. The teacher’s notes included in this guide help to
support you in delivering these activities which can be used together or separately, as stand-alone
activities, or alongside current lesson planning.
Why Water?
Water is a vital necessity for our bodies. Around 50-70% of an adult’s body is made up of water and
without it our body’s survival time is limited to a matter of days. Water is involved in processes and
chemical reactions throughout the body and it helps us to get rid of waste while also regulating our
body temperature.
Water is lost from the body all the time through evaporation when we breathe, sweat and in our urine.
It is vital that this water is replaced through our diet and fluid intake. Research shows that we need to
drink about 1.2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This is about 6-8 glasses or cups
a day. All non-alcoholic drinks count but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest*.
Thames Water produces approximately 2.8 billion litres of tap water every day and carries out over
400,000 tests each year on samples of water to ensure drinking water is of the highest quality.
*All facts and advice on water consumption are taken from the latest NHS guidance available to view
at www.nhs.uk
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Curriculum links:
These Fit to drink! resources can be used to support effective teaching and the delivery of National
Curriculum Programmes of Study for Science and PE.
These curriculum links are taken from the National Curriculum Framework document, published
September 2013 for England.
Science
Lower KS2
Working scientifically
During years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods,
processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:
• asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them
• setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
• making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate
measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers
and data loggers
• gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering
questions
• recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar
charts, and tables
• reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or
presentations of results and conclusions
• using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions
• identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes
• using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Curriculum links:
Science
Upper KS2
Working scientifically
During years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods,
processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:
• planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising
and controlling variables where necessary
• taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and
precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate
• recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels,
classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs
• using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests
• reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships
and explanations of and degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays
and other presentations
• identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.
Year 6
Animals, including humans
Pupils should be taught to:
• identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the
functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood
• recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function
• describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including
humans.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Curriculum links:
PE
A high-quality physical education curriculum inspires all pupils to succeed and excel in
competitive sport and other physically-demanding activities. It should provide opportunities
for pupils to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness.
Opportunities to compete in sport and other activities build character and help to embed
values such as fairness and respect.
The national curriculum for physical education aims to ensure that all pupils:
•
•
•
•
develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities
are physically active for sustained periods of time
engage in competitive sports and activities
lead healthy, active lives.
Whilst these Fit to drink! resources have been developed for Key Stage 2, they can also be
adapted and incorporated into Key Stage 1 teaching, particularly with reference to the
importance of drinking water.
KS1
Working scientifically
During years 1 and 2, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods,
processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:
• asking simple questions and recognising
that they can be answered in different
ways
• identifying and classifying
• observing closely, using simple equipment
• gathering and recording data to help in
answering questions.
• performing simple tests
• using their observations and ideas to
suggest answers to questions
Year 2
Animals, including humans
Pupils should be taught to:
• find out about and describe the basic needs
of animals, including humans, for survival
(water, food and air)
• describe the importance for humans of
exercise, eating the right amounts of
different types of food, and hygiene.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
1. Body of Water
Activity 1
Resources
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
Activity sheet A – Answers
Activity sheet A – Water fact cards
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
• Challenge the class to estimate how much of the human body is made up of water.
• Explain to them that two thirds of the weight of the human body is made up of water and
demonstrate this by filling two thirds of a transparent container (marked in thirds) with water.
Using slides 2-7 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint, discuss with the class:
• Why is water important for the body?
• How does water get into the body?
• How does the body lose water?
• Can you think of any times when you may need to drink more water?
• What will someone feel like if they haven’t had enough water and how can this affect the body?
Pupil task
• Share the Water Fact Cards (activity sheet A) with the class and encourage them to work in small
groups to read the cards and decide which statements are true and which are false.
• Once the groups have made their decisions, share the answers with them using activity sheet A –
Answers.
• How did the groups do? If there are any facts which the groups struggled with discuss them in
more detail.
Recap with the class the main messages:
• Human beings need water to live and cannot survive without it for more than a few days
• On a regular day, the body loses two to three litres of water through sweating, urinating and
carrying out normal bodily functions
• The body loses even more water when exercising and sweating
• It is very important to replace the water our body loses during the day
• Use the quiz slides 8 and 9 to recap and test their factual knowledge.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Body of Water
Activity 2
Resources
Fit to drink! film
Fit to drink! What’s up with Andy? interactive game
Activity sheet B – Body organs
Activity sheet B – Answers
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
• Encourage the pupils to play the ‘What’s up with Andy?’ game online to discover what happens to
the body if it becomes dehydrated, how much water they need and what can happen if they don’t
get enough water.
Pupil task
• After playing the ‘What’s up with Andy?’ game, use activity sheet B to allow the group to put
their body knowledge to good use by matching the statements about water in the body to the different organs.
• Once the class have had a chance to match the statements, check their answers and discuss with
them how important it is that each organ in the body is able to function correctly.
• Discuss with the class what could happen if one of the organs of the body stopped working
properly, how would it make someone feel?
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Body of Water
Activity 3
Resources
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
Water can be great for keeping our bodies healthy and our minds alert. Try an experiment in your
classroom using water.
• Try getting everyone to have a sip of water every half an hour to keep everyone hydrated.
• If anyone feels tired or pupils start to yawn in class encourage them to have a drink of water.
• If pupils start to feel peckish before lunch suggest they have a glass of water, they may actually
be thirsty rather than hungry. Even if they are hungry, a glass of water can curb that hunger until
they get to their lunch boxes!
Pupil task
• Ask the pupils to devise a way of recording how much water everyone is drinking during the day.
• Encourage the pupils to survey class members to see how much water they are drinking. Is it
enough?
• Ask the pupils what they think could encourage people to drink more water.
• Use the Body of Water quiz questions on slides 8-9 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint to see how much
your class know about water and the body.
• This activity can also be used as a recap activity after completing activities 1 or 2 to see what the
class have learnt and remembered.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
2. Work it Out
Activity 1
Resources
Fit to drink! film
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
Activity sheet C – Design an advert
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
• Watch the Fit to drink! film to see Olympic rower Andy Triggs-Hodge training and talking about how
water helps keep his body healthy and fit for training and events.
• Share with the class the active advice facts on slides 11 and 12 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint and
discuss.
Pupil task
• Set the pupils the challenge of devising a magazine advert encouraging people to drink tap water
when they are doing sport.
• Share the advert planning sheet (activity sheet C) with the group to help them in their task.
• Once pupils have had a chance to design their adverts share a few with the rest of the group to see
which advert would encourage them to drink more tap water.
• As an extension task, pupils could be encouraged to create a different kind of advert such as a radio
jingle, plan out a storyboard for a television advert or create an advertisement poster.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Work it Out
Activity 2
Resources
Fit to drink! film
Fit to drink! What’s up with Andy? interactive game
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
Watch the Fit to drink! film to see Olympic rower Andy Triggs-Hodge training and talking about how
much water he needs to drink to keep his body fit for rowing and racing.
Pupil task
• Encourage pupils to play the ‘What’s up with Andy?’ game online to work out how much water
each of Andy’s organs needs to stay healthy when he is doing exercise.
• Pupils can work out how much water Andy loses during training and during races. Discuss with the
class how much he needs to put back into his body after losing it.
• Playing the game will help pupils discover more about the different organs of the body, how much
water they need and what can happen if they don’t get enough water.
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Work it Out
Activity 3
Resources
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
• Share with the class the active advice facts on slides 11 and 12 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint
and discuss them with the class.
Pupil task
• Carry out an active experiment to see if water can help pupils when they are exercising.
• During a PE or science lesson, set up an easy experiment using two teams competing against
each other running relay sprints.
• Each team member has to run a set distance (this could be the length of the school hall or
playground) and then tag the next team member to run.
• Pupils who are not running in the teams are the adjudicators. They oversee that one team are
allowed to drink water during the activity if they feel thirsty and the other team are not allowed
a drink.
• The aim of the experiment is to see if drinking water affects exercise.
Ways to do this include:
• See if the team who can drink water manages to carry on running longer than the team
who cannot drink water.
• Interview the team members to see how they are feeling during the race and at the end.
• Time the members of the teams to see if there is a difference in the speed the different teams are
running at.
• At the end of the experiment discuss with the class what they have found out about drinking
water and exercise.
• Ask if the team who were allowed to drink water did better or found the task easier? Discuss with
the class why this might be.
• Can they think of any other conditions which would mean someone would need to drink more
water e.g. in a hot environment, if they had been ill, etc?
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
3. Make it Clear
Activity 1
Resources
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
Share slides 13-20 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint with the class as stimulus for a whole class
or small group discussion about:
• Where our tap water comes from
• Why and how water is treated to make it safe to drink
• Why not everyone has access to clean drinking water
• Why water is so precious.
You can also share with the group the Thames Water interactive water cycles animation to show
how water is treated to be safe to drink and how waste water is treated to be put back into the
environment. See the animated cycles at www.thameswater.co.uk/cycles/
Pupil task
• In small groups, encourage the pupils to work together to write a list of all the occasions they have
used water so far that day and how many more times they will be using it before they go to bed.
• Ask the pupils if they can think of any ways in which they could reduce how much water they are
using.
To investigate this further, and support the pupils in thinking about water efficiency, visit the Thames
Water ‘Waterwisely’ website which offers lots of water-saving tips, an online calculator and lets users
explore a virtual community to find out ways of using water more wisely.
Visit: www.thameswater.co.uk/waterwisely
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Make it Clear
Activity 2
Resources
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
Activity sheet D – Water treatment crossword
Activity sheet D – Answers
Word glossary
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
Watch the Fit to drink! film to see how Thames Water filters water to make it fit to drink and take
a look at slides 13-17 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint to find out more about the water treatment
process.
Pupil task
Water Treatment Crossword
• Share the Water Treatment Crossword (activity sheet D) with the class for them to complete
by matching the clues with the suggested words at the bottom of the sheet.
• If the class struggle with any of the words, use the word glossary to help them.
• Once the pupils have completed their crosswords, encourage them to use the letters in the shaded
boxes to complete the missing letter statement at the bottom of the sheet, what does it reveal?
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Fit to drink!
Teacher’s Notes
Make it Clear
Activity 3
Resources
Fit to drink! water cycles animation
Fit to drink! PowerPoint
Activity sheet E – Water treatment game
Word glossary
All available online at www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
Starter
Watch the Water Cycles animation to see how Thames Water filter their water to make it Fit to drink!
(visit: www.thameswater.co.uk/cycles/ ) and take a look at slides 13-17 of the Fit to drink! PowerPoint
to find out more about the water treatment process.
Pupil task
• Now challenge the class to play the Water Treatment Game (activity sheet E) in small groups to
help them understand more about the water treatment process.
• If the class struggle with any of the words in the game, use the word glossary to help them.
Further Resources
Thames Water has a range of resources designed to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom
for Key Stage 2 pupils. The range of resources allow teachers to educate children on how water gets to
our taps and what happens to it once we have used it.
Resources can support the teaching of science, geography and citizenship, particularly around water
conservation and the responsible disposing of items into the sewage system through the ‘Bin it-don’t
block it’ campaign.
You will also find free educational resources for primary and secondary schools on our website.
Visit: www.thameswater.co.uk/schools
We hope that you and your pupils have enjoyed using this Fit to drink! resource. Your feedback is
important and will help us improve our educational resources for the future. Please take a few
minutes to complete our evaluation feedback form and let us know what you think.
You can find this at www.thameswater.co.uk/fittodrinkfeedback.
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