Part 1-The Water Cycle

Objectives:
By the end of the topic students will be able to
● Explain about the water cycle in nature.
● Illustrate the water cycle through a well labeled diagram.
● Describe what role is played by evaporation and condensation during the water cycle.
● Explain the importance of the water cycle in nature.
● Identify the changes of state of water in the water cycle in a given picture.
● describe the processes that take place during the water cycle.

Vocabulary:

sun
forms of precipitation
evaporation
Condensation

RESOURCES:
Cups
Red colour water
Spirit lamp
Ice cubes

Day - 1

Engage - 10 minutes
Sparking Curiosity

Teacher begins by holding up a glass of water and asking students: "How old do you think this water
is?" (This is just a glass of water from the faucet. While I am not necessarily looking for the age of the
water, I want to get them to understand that water on Earth is constantly recycled and this cup of water is
the same water from millions of years ago. This idea will come to light at the end of tomorrow's lesson when
we figure out how water cycles through Earth's systems.)

Teacher waits a few seconds to let students think about a possible answer. After noticing several hands up,
I have them write their ideas in their notebook. Then I ask each group of students to do a turn and talk with
their group.

After some time, I reconvene the class as a whole and let each group share their predictions out loud. As
part of their share, I ask them to provide a reason for their prediction. I want them to be in the habit of
justifying their thinking.

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Once each group shares, I tell them their task is to find out the age of this water.One way to help us find
this out is to find out how water moves through Earth's systems.

Explore - 30 minutes
Exploring How Water Moves THrough Earth's Systems

Teacher displays the term Water Cycle on the board. Teacher breaks down the word into two parts: water
and cycle . I ask students to think of what they know about each word to help us develop a meaning. We
identify water as a liquid substance on Earth. Teacher elaborates a little on this by sharing with them that it
is a form of matter . We then discuss the word cycle. From our discussion, Teacher defined the term on the
board. Teacher does this to support their use of academic vocabulary,

water cycle: The repeated movement of water through the environment in different forms.

Preparing for The Water Cycle Play

With the term displayed on the board, explain to students that we are reading a play about the water cycle
process. Teacher assigned each table a role in the play. I hand out props to create visual replicas of the
role they are portraying.

There are enough roles for all students to have a part.

● Sun ● Ocean water drop 1 ● Ocean water drop 2

● Ocean water drop 3 ● Ocean water drop 4 ● Water vapor 1

● Water vapor 2 ● Cloud Snowflake 1 ● Snowflake 2

● Glacier ice 1 ● Glacier ice 2 ● Stream water 1

● Stream water 2 ● River water 1 ● River water 2

● Reservoir water 1 ● Reservoir water 2 ● Tap water 1

● Tap water 2 ● Water in drain pipe (2 students)

● Sewage processing plant (2 students)

I selected this play because it provides an interactive way of learning. The roles within the play
connect back to the sources of water the students learned about earlier in the unit. The water
cycle can be a complicated process with the many forms water can take and places water can
travel. In addition, this play benefits students who have limited science backgrounds, By bringing
the water cycle to life, students can visually see and hear the process which helps construct a
deeper meaning.

Role Play Link:

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Readers' Theater Script: Water Cycle Adventure

Bringing the Water Cycle to Life

I hand out the script and explain, "when it is your part, please stand up,hold your prop (If you have one) and
read the lines of your assigned role to the class." I emphasize to them that they are acting and need to
become the role. (They have studied plays in ELA and understand what I mean by this.)To allow students
to understand their roles, I give them 5 minutes to scan through the play.

Once all groups appear ready, we begin. I assume the role of the Sun/narrator to keep the flow of play and
clarify along the way if necessary.

Day - 2-3
RESOURCES

Video Link: 20 minutes

The Water Cycle | The Dr. Binocs Show | Learn Videos For Kids

Post watching Questions

1. What is the water cycle and how does it work?

2. How does evaporation occur and what is its role in the water cycle?
3. Can you explain the process of condensation and how it forms clouds?
4. What happens when a cloud becomes too heavy to hold water?
5. Where does the water go after it rains or snows?
6. What is transpiration and how does it contribute to the water cycle?
7. Why does it rain more in places with more trees?
8. What is sublimation and where does it occur frequently?
9. Can you think of any other factors that affect the water cycle?
10. How does understanding the water cycle help us in our daily lives?

Explain - 30 minutes
After reading through the water cycle play, Teacher instructs students to take out their interactive notebook.
I have them pasted in a circle graphic organizer. As we discuss and define each part of the water cycle, I
have them write down details about the process.

Guided Discussion-The Process of Water Cycle

With our notebooks set up, I explain to students that we are going to think about all the interactions that
took place in the water cycle play and describe them in our notebook. They are creating an illustration and
writing a description in each box that correlates to the processes. I continue saying, "you can create your
illustrations in your own way."

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Then, project a water cycle chart displaying a replica of the process. I keep this posted as a reference
point for students as we sequence the steps.

Teacher asked students to think back to the beginning of our play and to find where the water droplet
underwent changes. The first change is when the water droplet changes into water vapor through the
process of evaporation. ask students to think about what caused the water to change from liquid
to vapor. With context clues in the play, the sun's heat energy is identified as the cause for the change
from liquid to vapor. I explain that heat from the sun causes the water molecules to move faster and further
apart changing them into vapor. To make this concrete, I use a Computer simulation to further explain. At
this point I only click on vapor and have it explain this process. It also ties in how water from plants is
evaporated out of its leaves through the process of transpiration. I have them note the term evaporation
and transpiration in their notebook

Interactive Water Cycle Diagram Show on LED

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids-beg.html

https://www.educationsoutheastwater.com.au/resources/natural-water-cycle-game

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 ● evaporation-when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and
turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or
ocean and goes into the air as a gas.
● transpiration-the process by which water evaporates out of plants leaves

Next, students locate the next change in the play. This is when the water vapor condensed into a cloud. I
explain that when the warm vapor meets the cooler air, the vapor changes back into liquid droplets. The
cool air slows the water molecules down and they begin to stick together, forming liquid. I share that this
process is called condensation. Again to make this concrete, I use the Interactive Water Cycle
Diagram to further define. I define it on the board and have students write it in their notebook.

● condensation- As warm water vapor in the clouds cools down it becomes

liquid water again.

We move on to defining the remaining processes. I continue explaining and illustrating precipitation, runoff,
and infiltration.

● precipitation- Water falls from the sky in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet
● runoff- Precipitation runs off the surface of the land, and flows downhill into
streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.
● infiltration happens when water soaks into the soil from the ground level. It
moves underground and moves between the soil and rocks.

Day - 4-5

Elaborate - 25 minutes
Investigating Evaporation and Condensation

Since evaporation and condensation are new concepts for students, I decided to help them develop a
better sense about each one by engaging them in two investigations.

I begin asking: "Have you ever left a glass of water out and came back to it the next day
and realized it was gone? Or how about after leaving your glass out for a while, you begin to notice
water on the outside of it, yet the cup does not have a hole in it. What you have noticed are examples of
evaporation and condensation." I tell them we are setting up a model to observe how these processes
work.

Evaporation Investigation

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I set up a demonstration to show students how Heat causes water to evaporate and change from a liquid
into a gas. I have students circle around a table with their interactive notebook, where I use a spirit lamp
and pan to boil water. As the water boils, I ask students to make observations and record these in their
notebook. We talk about what is happening to the water as it is heated. I ask them:

● What is happening to the water? (Students should observe water bubbling more and faster
as it is heated and steam appears to be rising from the pan.)
● How is it changing? (The water is changing from a liquid to a gas)
● Where is it going? (The water is in the air as vapor or gas)
After my demonstration, I shared that boiling water was one way to make water evaporate. I explain that
evaporation is a natural process within Earth's hydrosphere. And that evaporation changes liquid water into
a gas, is a slow process.

Condensation Investigation

For this investigation, students set up two cups, one with ice and red water, the other with room
temperature red water only. I explain that we are using red water so when it is time to make an observation,
we can clearly identify the water we originally used.
While they wait a few minutes, I have students draw a model of their two containers in their interactive
notebook. After a few minutes, I have students make observations and record them in their notebook and
add any details to their models.
I engage them in a brief discussion on their observations by asking them relevant questions to elicit critical
thinking skills.
● What do you notice about the outside of the cups? (I want them to recognize that the
outside water droplets are clear and the water is red. I guide them in recognizing that the water on
the outside is not the same water as the inside of the container.)

● Is there a difference between the results of the ice water cup and room temperature
cup? Explain why the results were different.

As they share their observations, I explain that the water on the outside of the icy cup came from the water
vapor in the air, not the water in the cup. I remind them the water in the cup is red and the water on the
outside of the cup is clear. I continue, "Water vapor in the air is warm and changed into a liquid because it
came in contact with the cold glass. This is how condensation takes place, warm water vapor comes in
contact with a surface that is colder than the surrounding area. The cold ice water is the cold surface area
that the warm water vapor comes in contact with causing it to change or condense.

Connecting Evaporation and Condensation to the Water Cycle

I connect their observations to the water cycle by pointing out that when water is heated over a period of
time, it will change into a vapor through the evaporation processes. The heat causes the liquid water
molecules to move far apart and eventually become light enough to rise into the air as gas. I explain that
the atmosphere holds this vapor until it condenses back into a liquid. That is when vapor changes back
into liquid, through condensation. The vapor condenses into tiny liquid droplets and forms a cloud, and
when the clouds are too filled with condensed water, they are released back to the Earth by precipitation.

Exit - 20 minutes
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Checking for Understanding

After identifying and defining the processes of the water cycle, I hand out an exit ticket. This exit ticket has
students analyzing a blank diagram of the water cycle. Their task is to label each arrow with a process that
the arrow is illustrating. Then, they use the diagram to answer the questions about it.

I collect this at the end of class and use it as a formative assessment.

RESOURCES

Water cycle day 1 Exit ticket link

Water cycle day 1 Exit ticket.pdf

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