Review of Down the Drain

"Do you think people in other parts of the world use more or less water than Americans? Well, this collaborative project will help you find out the answers to these questions. By collecting data on water usage from people around the world you will be able to see how your water use compares to others and determine what you might do to use less water."

This quote describes the goal of Project Down the Drain. I like the real life data that students collect and share by participating in this project. Students compile information as a class and then submit online. They also are able to review information posted by other classes throughout the world.

One way the project could improve is by getting more information from around the world. An overwhelming majority of reports were from the US.

I think an interesting activity would be for students to use this information to create a map where the size of circles indicates the amount of use. Also, a teleconference between classrooms to discuss differences in water use would be interesting.