Grade Level: 6,7,8
Goals:
*The students will be introduced to the water cycle.
*The students will understand how water all different aspects of life on Earth.
Materials:
*Overhead/diagram of water cycle
*Paper
*Markers
Content Area:
*Science
*Art
Concepts:
*Water Cycle
*Weather
Procedure:
1. The teacher can begin by asking the students if they know why it rains or where rain comes from. The teacher can allow the students time to brainstorm their ideas and then share them with the class. The teacher can write the students' ideas on the board so they are visible to everyone.
2. The teacher will then describe the water cycle and the terms that are associated with it. If possible, the teacher should show the students a diagram while describing the terms to the students so they can picture it visually. The teacher will define for the students the following terms: precipitation, evaporation, runoff, aquifer, water table, ground water, transpiration, percolation, and condensation. (For these definitions, see attached sheet) The teacher will also discuss with the students why water is important to the world's systems (people, plants, animals, etc.) What would happen if the water cycle did not exist? Would life on the planet be the same as it is now? How are all of the port cities that we are studying, affected by the water cycle? How does water get to all of these different cities if they are so far apart?
3. The teacher will now explain the next part of the lesson to the students. The students will be making an individual drawing of the water cycle based on the terms and discussion that took place previously in this lesson. The teacher should take down the diagram that he/she already used in this lesson so the students create a drawing that is their own. The students should be allowed enough time to create his/her own drawing adding color, etc.
4. The students need to include all of the terms in some way into his/her drawings. The drawing should depict what happens during the water cycle and show the complete process. The terms that may be difficult to draw should be represented in another way.
5. Aside from drawing the water cycle, the students also need to verbally describe the water cycle in a paragraph in a way that shows how well they understand the idea of the water cycle.
Evaluation: The students will be evaluated on their drawing as well as their paragraph. This will be done through the use of a checklist. The teacher should set the criteria for successful performance so the students know exactly what they need to do to succeed.
Approximate Time: 2 hours
Resources:
Internet Sites:
~http://www.uen.org/
Extensions:
-With more time, the students could physically recreate the water cycle or aspects of the water cycle.
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