ECE250 Activity Plan #2

Water Cycle In A Bag (for ages 3-7 year olds)

Objective:
During this activity, students will observe evaporation, condensation and precipitation by
enclosing water in an airtight bag and leaving it in a warm area.
Materials:
 Black Sharpie (to draw clouds and waves)
 Ziploc Sandwich Bag
 ¼ Cup of Water
 Blue Food Coloring
 Painters tape
Scaffolding: (child's prior knowledge this activity is building on)
 Rain falls from the sky
 How to follow directions
 How to interact with their peers
 Language skills
 Basic writing skills
Procedure: (in detail - how to carry out the activity)
You want to first begin the experiment by drawing clouds around the top and water around the
bottom of the plastic bag. This will serve as a visual aid of the water cycle and how it works.
Next, fill the plastic bag with ¼ cup of water, and add about 4 drops of blue food coloring. Seal
the bag shut, and hang it in a window. Now it’s time to let nature run its course! Check on the
bag periodically over the next 2 days and notice how much condensation the baggie collects over
time.
The Science:
In nature, the sun’s heat causes water to evaporate from streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans. As the
water vapor rises, it condenses to form clouds when it reaches cooler air. When the clouds are
full of water, or saturated, they release some of the water as rain. Then the cycle starts over
again.
Over the next few days, you will se that they water has warmed in the sunlight and evaporated
into vapor. As that vapor cooled it began changing back into liquid, just like a cloud. When
enough water condensed, the air couldn’t hold it anymore and the water fell down in the form of
precipitation.

DAP support: (page and short quote)

Page 200; The first five to seven years of life are a sensitive period for brain development; the b
rain is especially responsive to stimulation, which prompts a massive wiring of neurons and
ECE250 Activity Plan #2

sculpting of brain regions. The brain is more malleable than it will be later, making kindergarten
an optimum time for learning and effective intervention with all children.
Open ended questions for children: (questions to make a child think)
1. What will happen to the water if the bag was left in the sun?
2. Who can tell me what the water cycle is?
3. Why does it rain?
4. How long does the water cycle take?
5. How are clouds made?

Self Evaluation:
1. What would I change and why?
 I would change it to an individual activity instead of a class so that the children could see
various water cycles in a bag. Students could compare their water cycle to their
classmates.
 I would have the children journal in a notebook about their experiment/activity. Have
them ask their classmates what they thought about the activity and write it in their
journal.
 Add dirt and a mister and less water to the activity and let the children observe how the
water evaporates from the dirt.
2. What would I keep and why?
 I would keep the water cycle because I would like for children to understand the process
and know the meaning of the words evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
 I would also keep the blue food coloring because it shows realistically the rain. The blue
food coloring you can see better rather than just leaving the water as is. The children have
a better visual of the water.