Social Studies Lesson: Should Dams Be Removed?
Lesson Plan
2 hours 50 minutesGrades9, 10, 11, 12Social Studies
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Written by Theodore Frank
About this lesson
Students use research, evidence, and reasoning to explore the moral and legal issues related to dams, fish stocks, and hydroelectricity, taking into account the impacts of climate change on the environment and communities. To practice persuasive writing skills, students create and present an op-ed video or oral presentation about whether or not dams should be removed.
Inquire: Students examine moral and legal questions about dams, the use of rivers, fish stocks, and hydroelectric electricity.
Investigate: Students learn about fish migration patterns and participate in a jigsaw activity to explore conflicts between differing interests over the removal of dams on rivers.
Inspire: Students create a position paper about how to approach this conflict while addressing the challenges of climate change and ensuring healthy fish stocks.
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Suggestions
- The Investigate and Inspire sections can be extended over several class periods or days.
- This lesson works well in a variety of courses, including but not limited to the following:
- World history or ancient civilization courses when discussing the rivers of the “cradles of civilization,” especially to connect rivers’ past uses to modern uses
- Global issues, global perspectives, or current event courses that explore dam removal conflicts in the news
- Philosophy courses that focus on the moral and ethical issues
- World geography or economics courses that explore further the intentional and unintentional consequences of decisions and actions
- If the research in the Investigate section is done in class, the jigsaw sharing of information can be done during a subsequent class period.
- This lesson focuses on North America, Eastern Europe, South Asia, and South America, but can be extended to include other regions of the world or the Western United States, to explore the basic human right of access to clean energy and sufficient protein.
- This lesson can be taught in conjunction with a lesson on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6.
- There is a Frayer model chart about riparian rights in the SubjectToClimate lesson Rivers and Water Rights.
Prerequisites
- Students should have a basic understanding of the geography of rivers.
- Teacher may need to familiarize themselves with the articles in order to lead class discussions and provide feedback on student work in the Inspire section.
Differentiation
- The Mercury Reader Chrome extension removes all the “extra” from web pages and can reduce distractions for students with challenges focusing on the text.
- Using an open-source app like www.rewordify.com changes the Lexile level of the article without changing the content.
- Advanced students can independently research migratory species not discussed in this lesson, including Irrawaddy Dolphins, Arctic Char, and tropical migratory fish species. They can also investigate one of several proposed dams around the globe and their effect on local fish stocks.
From the scientist review
The effects of climate change on water resources and the effects dam development may have on fish and other aquatic resources in the future are covered in this lesson for students. In order to address issues relating to water use and availability both within and across communities, students will write a position paper to increase awareness of these impacts and solutions. After reviewing the lesson, we found that it passed our credibility check in science.
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About the teacher writer
Theodore Frank
Theodore holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Geography. They have been teaching since 2013, with 13 years of experience specializing in World History, primarily teaching 10th-grade students. They are certified in Broadfield Social Studies, Alternative Education, and Special Education.
