The Water Cycle!

1. Topic: Water Cycle Grade Level: 3rd 2. Essential Question(s): a. Do students understand how water is constantly moving? b. Do students understand each stage of the cycle? c. Are they able to correctly label the water cycle? 3. Standards: Standard 5.1 Science Practices Will Be Embedded Into Each Unit Through Instructional Activities Understand Scientific Explanations Generate Scientific Evidence through active investigations Reflect on Scientific Knowledge Participate Productively in Science 4. Learning Objectives and Assessments Objectives SWBAT describe how the water cycle works and is constantly moving. SWBAT describe the various components of the water cycle. SWBAT map out the water cycle. Assessments After the beginning activity students will be able to identify that water is constantly moving. Writing the journey of a water droplet. Trifold activity and worksheet.

5. Materials: Water Up, Down, and All Around Weather journals Trifold Plastic Bags Writing Prompt Stations for water wonders Water Sharpies

6. Pre-lesson assignment and/or prior knowledge: The day prior students learned about individual parts of the water cycle. They should be familiar with evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Students should be able to define these terms. 7. Lesson Beginning: Students will begin with an activity called water wonders during this activity they will take the journey of a rain droplet. They will travel between seven stations that give them instructions on what happens to them. Students will be asked at the end of the activity what they realized about a water droplet. If they are unable to come up with the answer it was always moving they will be prompted further. 8. Instructional Plan: On the board I will have each station listed I will have 2-3 students share how they got to that destination. I will have two discussion questions: Was anything similar to the journeys each student took? Which station seemed to be visited the most? What can we infer from this? The students will gather on the rug with their learning journals and pencils. I will read to them Water Up, Down, and All Around We will talk about the water cycle and how the water is constantly moving To reinforce this concept the students will watch a short clip from the magic school bus. After the short clip we will discuss the order in which the water molecules moved. We will review the water cycle poster so students can see what is happening throughout the water cycle and review the order of the cycle. We will then break into 3 centers: trifold, plastic bags on windows, and writing a story about the journey of water drop. At the trifold station students will match definitions of each phase of the water cycle (condensation, precipitation, and evaporation). After this activity students will map out the water cycle. Students will then complete a fill in the blank worksheet that reviews vocabulary. They will also fill out a map of the water cycle to include in their learning journals. At the plastic bag experiment the students will draw a cloud, a sun, and a body of water on the bag. They will then fill the bag with water and food coloring. Students will then be asked to make a hypothesis about what is going to happen in the bag. Students also have a list of 4 questions to make predictions about what is going to happen in their journals. At the writing center students will use their scorecard of their journey from the lesson beginning to write about their journey as a water drop. This will be the formal assessment to make sure students comprehend the water cycle.

At each of the centers there will be a collection folder We will then rejoin at the center of the room.

9. Closure: I am going to review how the water cycle moves. The water droplet journey writing will be assigned for homework. !