Social Studies · Grade 12 · 5 weeks
Vanishing Waters: Great Salt Lake Policy
Driving question
How should Utah balance human water diversions with preserving the Great Salt Lake?
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
5 parts
- aIntroduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
- bDevelop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
- cUse words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
- dEstablish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
- eProvide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.
TAUGHT IN Week 2, activity 1; Week 2, activity 2; Week 2, activity 3; Week 3, activity 1; Week 3, activity 3; Week 4, activity 1; Week 4, activity 2; Week 4, activity 3; Week 5, activity 1ASSESSED BY Disciplinary Argumentation
Present adaptations of arguments and explanations that feature evocative ideas and perspectives on issues and topics to reach a range of audiences and venues outside the classroom using print and oral technologies (e.g., posters, essays, letters, debates, speeches, reports, and maps) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet, social media, and digital documentary).
TAUGHT IN Week 4, activity 1; Week 4, activity 3; Week 5, activity 1; Week 5, activity 2ASSESSED BY Adapting Arguments for Public Audiences
Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 1; Week 1, activity 2; Week 1, activity 3; Week 3, activity 1; Week 3, activity 2; Week 5, activity 3ASSESSED BY Human and Physical Systems Analysis
© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.
From the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, published by National Council for the Social Studies, Silver Spring, MD (2013).
In this five-week Grade 12 social studies unit, students investigate the socio-ecological crisis of the shrinking Great Salt Lake. Seniors map human water diversions across the Bear, Weber, and Jordan river basins, examine historical water rights and state strategic plans, and gather perspectives from agricultural producers and water managers. After measuring lake retreat data at Antelope Island, students synthesize their findings into evidence-based policy briefs and deliver oral public comments or formal letters to state legislators and water district boards.
The teacher projects a satellite timelapse showing four decades of the Great Salt Lake shoreline retreating, followed by a recent local dust advisory map. Students examine soil samples and airborne particulate data from exposed lakebed dust, then record their immediate observations about public health and ecological consequences.
- Where is the water being diverted before it reaches the Great Salt Lake?
- How do Utah water rights and mineral extraction laws actually work?
- What are the economic impacts on farmers if they reduce their water use?
- What specific targets and actions are in the state strategic plan for the lake?
- Who has the legal authority to change how upstream water is allocated?
Your lessons: 5 a week, 50 minutes.
Week 1
Map upstream water diversions and analyze human-environment interactions.
Analyze historical lake elevation data alongside upstream population growth charts to identify long-term diversion trends.
· 2 lessonsMap the three primary river systems (Bear, Weber, and Jordan) and trace major agricultural and municipal diversions.
· 2 lessonsDraft a systems model explaining how upstream diversions directly impact lake levels and downwind air quality.
· 1 lesson
Supports
Provide annotated basin base maps for multilingual students; offer sentence starters on physical-human feedback loops for IEP/504 students; advanced students can calculate volumetric deficits across specific diversion canals.
Deliverable
Annotated basin diversion map paired with a human-environmental systems causal loop diagram.
Week 2
Evaluate the state strategic plan and Western water law frameworks.
Read and annotate sections of the state's strategic plan for the Great Salt Lake to identify target water elevations. Compare the current shoreline at the Great Salt Lake Marina with old photos of the same spot, and include the Antelope Island causeway drive as the field trip.
· 2 lessonsAnalyze the legal doctrine of prior appropriation ('first in time, first in right') and its impact on water conservation.
· 1 lessonSynthesize key arguments and trade-offs surrounding mineral extraction, agriculture, and urban lawn irrigation in a comparative matrix.
· 2 lessons
Supports
Provide structured legal vocabulary glossaries for multilingual students; chunk policy text into guided reading sections for IEP/504 students; have extension students cross-reference municipal water pricing tiers across Wasatch Front cities. Give students a one-page glossary of water rights terms (acre-foot, prior appropriation, water banking) before they read the strategic plan.
Deliverable
Structured policy matrix evaluating current water rights vs. state strategic plan conservation targets.
Week 3
Gather field measurements and stakeholder perspectives on water use.
Conduct a virtual or in-person panel interview with a regional water conservancy district manager and an agricultural producer.
· 2 lessonsAnalyze shoreline retreat distance measurements from Antelope Island using aerial transects and historical survey marks.
· 2 lessonsDebrief stakeholder interviews, identifying opposing claims regarding water optimization, food production, and lake preservation.
· 1 lesson
Supports
Pre-teach interview protocol and provide question stems for multilingual students; allow recorded interview playback and transcription tools for IEP/504 students; challenge advanced students to quantify agricultural crop conversion savings.
Deliverable
Stakeholder perspective synthesis memo integrated with Antelope Island shoreline measurement data.
Week 4
Draft and critique policy briefs and legislative testimonies.
Draft formal policy briefs introducing precise claims on water management supported by hydrological data and counterclaims.
· 2 lessonsConduct peer critique rounds using standard argument criteria to evaluate the cohesion and evidence in peer drafts.
· 1 lessonModel a public comment live as a class, then have students adapt their written briefs into spoken 3-minute public comment testimonies or formal legislative letters using a three-part structure: who I am, what I saw, and what I ask for.
· 2 lessons
Supports
Provide argumentative transition frames and disciplinary phrasing guides for multilingual students; offer graphic organizers for claim-counterclaim pairing for IEP/504 students.
Deliverable
Draft policy brief and adapted public comment script ready for outside review.
Week 5
Present final arguments to civic audiences and reflect on systemic impacts.
Incorporate outside feedback and polish final written briefs, visual policy handouts, and digital testimony slides.
· 2 lessonsDeliver spoken public comments or present letters to an audience of local civic officials and water board members.
· 2 lessonsComplete a written reflection on water governance challenges, personal civic agency, and systemic lake solutions.
· 1 lesson
Supports
Permit bilingual presentation visual aids for multilingual students; offer oral rehearsal time and cue cards for IEP/504 students; extension students moderate the question-and-answer period with visiting officials.
Deliverable
Final polished policy brief submitted and oral public comment delivered to civic guests.
The end of day 2 in week 4.
Draft briefs undergo a peer review protocol focused on counterclaims and data strength. An invited guest reader (a local watershed coordinator or policy advocate) reviews drafts and provides targeted written feedback before final revisions.
Student reflection
Students complete an individual reflection analyzing how their personal understanding of western water resource management shifted, evaluating the feasibility of their proposed solutions, and rating their team's collaborative process.
What they make
Students write an evidence-based policy brief and prepare an adapted 3-minute public comment or formal advocacy letter recommending concrete water allocation actions.
Options
Students choose their primary target diversion sector (agricultural, municipal, or industrial mineral extraction), their focus basin (Bear, Weber, or Jordan), and whether they present orally at a mock public comment session or send formal written correspondence to legislators.
Who sees it
Members of a local water conservancy district board, state legislative representatives, or clean air advocates on the fourth day of week 5.
Teams
Teams of 3 to 4 formed by student interest in specific river basins and water use sectors.
| Criterion | beginning | developing | proficient | advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Disciplinary Argumentation WHST.11-12.1 · individual | Presents a simple opinion on water use without addressing counterclaims or relying on verified hydrological data. | Introduces a basic claim and cites general lake trends, but counterclaims are weak or disconnected from evidence. | Develops a precise claim with relevant water data, logically addresses counterclaims, and maintains a formal objective style. | Thoroughly defends a nuanced policy claim, anticipating complex legal and economic objections with exceptional cohesion and evidence. |
Human and Physical Systems Analysis D2.Geo.4.9-12 · team | Identifies that the lake is shrinking but fails to connect physical lake changes with specific human diversion systems. | Describes basic links between upstream water diversions and retreating shorelines without detailing reciprocal ecological impacts. | Analyzes specific interactions between upstream diversions, lake levels, and downstream human health impacts like dust storms. | Evaluates complex feedback loops between water appropriation, mineral extraction, urban growth, and regional climate systems. |
Adapting Arguments for Public Audiences D4.3.9-12 · individual | Presents notes or raw text with little adaptation for an outside public comment venue or legislative format. | Adapts the argument into a speech or letter, but struggles to match the tone, time limit, or perspective of the target audience. | Adapts the core policy brief into a compelling 3-minute oral testimony or formal letter clearly suited for civic leaders. | Delivers an evocative, sharply focused public comment that commands audience attention and defends policy points under questioning. |
Disciplinary Argumentation
WHST.11-12.1 · individualbeginning
Presents a simple opinion on water use without addressing counterclaims or relying on verified hydrological data.
developing
Introduces a basic claim and cites general lake trends, but counterclaims are weak or disconnected from evidence.
proficient
Develops a precise claim with relevant water data, logically addresses counterclaims, and maintains a formal objective style.
advanced
Thoroughly defends a nuanced policy claim, anticipating complex legal and economic objections with exceptional cohesion and evidence.
Human and Physical Systems Analysis
D2.Geo.4.9-12 · teambeginning
Identifies that the lake is shrinking but fails to connect physical lake changes with specific human diversion systems.
developing
Describes basic links between upstream water diversions and retreating shorelines without detailing reciprocal ecological impacts.
proficient
Analyzes specific interactions between upstream diversions, lake levels, and downstream human health impacts like dust storms.
advanced
Evaluates complex feedback loops between water appropriation, mineral extraction, urban growth, and regional climate systems.
Adapting Arguments for Public Audiences
D4.3.9-12 · individualbeginning
Presents notes or raw text with little adaptation for an outside public comment venue or legislative format.
developing
Adapts the argument into a speech or letter, but struggles to match the tone, time limit, or perspective of the target audience.
proficient
Adapts the core policy brief into a compelling 3-minute oral testimony or formal letter clearly suited for civic leaders.
advanced
Delivers an evocative, sharply focused public comment that commands audience attention and defends policy points under questioning.
- State strategic plan for the Great Salt Lake document and executive summary.check before use
- Satellite imagery and historical elevation charts for the Great Salt Lake.
- Base maps of the Bear, Weber, and Jordan River watershed basins showing canals and diversion dams.
- Representative from a local water conservancy district or state water resources division.check before use
- Local agricultural producer utilizing irrigation water in the Great Salt Lake watershed basin.check before use
- Historical shoreline survey markers and aerial measurement transects for Antelope Island.