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SCIENCE INQUIRY LESSON/ACTIVITY

Sara Keyes
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Activity Name or Title: Water Cycle

Purpose of Activity:

The purpose of this activity is to become familiar with how the water cycle works and where ground water goes
after it rains. This activity will also help to explain how temperature changes affect the water cycle. Students will
ideally make observations regarding the water cycle through the course of this lesson. If there is no precipitation,
students will watch a video and think back to their own experience with precipitation and puddles. Students will
make predictions based on their observations and through an activity be able to tell if they made the correct
prediction(s). Students may often think that puddles and other excess water only get absorbed into the ground.
We will address that through explaining evaporation. Students may also not know why rain and other
precipitation occurs which will be addressed as well through the use of the water cycle bags.
Misconceptions: Many students are unsure of where rain comes from and where it goes. They often think that
everything that falls from the sky is new rather than recycled. This lesson will address those misconceptions.
Inquiry Question: How does temperature affect the water cycle?
Objectives: Students will learn that water on and around the earth is recycled. Students will learn the vocabulary
and process of the water cycle.

Target Learning Group


This activity is appropriate for third grade students.

Approximate Time Involved:


Teacher preparation: Approximately 20 minutes for set up (ice cubes will need to be made a few hours in advance
on the day of that observation). Four Ziploc bags per student or group will need to be purchased ahead of time as
well.
Student involvement: The first day of the lesson will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Each subsequent
day may be 5-20 minutes depending on the stage in the activity. (The time is flexible on this based on the needs
of the students. Allow more time as needed for students to record their observations and get set up. It is better to
have students understand what they are doing rather than rush through just to complete the activity.)

Science Content Background Information for Teacher with Reference(s):


Relevant vocabulary:
o Precipitation: water falling to the earth in the form of rain, hail, mist sleet, or snow
o Condensation: Water changes from a gas to a liquid, occurs when water vapor gets cold
o Evaporation: water changes from a liquid to a gas, occurs more rapidly at warmer temperatures
o Transpiration: water travel through a plant and evaporation of water from the leaves, flowers and stems
o Runoff: water that does not absorb into the ground and travels across it
o Atmosphere: the gases that surround the earth
o Collection: water that falls as precipitation comes together in bodies of water such as oceans, rivers,
lakes, and streams, or underground
WaterResourcesoftheUnitedStates.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch2,2015,from

http://water.usgs.gov/

(n.d.).RetrievedMarch2,2015,fromhttp://learningin
action.williams.edu/opportunities/elementaryoutreach/sciencelessons/3rdgrade
weatherunit/

Accommodations:
Reference:Stefanich,G.(Ed.).(n.d.).ScienceTeachinginInclusiveClassrooms:Models&
Applications.RetrievedMarch16,2015,fromhttp://www.uni.edu/stefanic/STIC_ModelsApps.pdf

IchosetomakeaccommodationsforstudentswithADHDand/orotherbehavioraldifficulties.Bothof
thesecanvarygreatlyfromchildtochild.Somemayjusthavetroublefocusingandsittingstill,somemaybe
disruptivetootherstudents,andothersmaynotbeabletograspinformationasquicklyasothers.These
studentsmayavoiddifficulttasksduetotheirinabilitytoconcentrateforanylengthoftime.Theymayalsodo
theirworkcarelesslybecausetheycannotfocusonthedetailsneededtocompleteanassignmentcorrectly.
Smallgroupworkcouldbehelpfulforsometohelpthemstayontaskbutitcouldalsobedetrimentalifthey
becomeoverlytalkativeandrambunctious.Asimpulsecontrolcanbeanissueforthesestudents,theymay
oftenblurtoutanswersorstartworkingonactivitiesbeforethedirectionsarecompleted.Thiscanresultin
frustrationforboththechildandtheirclassmates.Sciencelessonscanbeproblematicforthesestudents
becausetheyoftenrequireverydetaileddirectionsandcaninvolvealotofopenworktime.Thisopentimecan
leadtomanydistractionsanddifficultyinfocusingonthetaskathand.

PlacestudentswithADHDandotherbehavioraldisorderswithmoremotivatedstudents.Thiswill
ensurethatthestudentcompletesthetasksandhasamentortohelpthemfollowdirectionscompletely
togetthebestresults.
Provideachecklistofproceduresforthesestudentstohelpthemcompletetasksandstayfocusedboth
withsettinguptheactivityandrecordingobservationsintheirsciencenotebooks.
ChildrenwithADHDandotherbehavioraldifficultiesoftenneedtobeshownhowtodosomethingas
wellasbeingtold.Whenexplainingprocedures,besuretohavethematerialswithyouandshowthe
entireclasshowtosetupeachpartoftheactivityasyouareexplainingverbally.
Bystartingthelessonwithbasicobservationquestionsstudentswhomayfeelhesitantaboutspeaking
upinclassorparticipatingcanfeelconfidentthattheyknowtheanswerstothequestionsbeingasked.
Besuretotakeadvantageofthisandaskthesestudentstheopeningquestionstogetthemengagedin
thetopicandfeelconfident.
Allowingsomegroupsmoretimetogettheexperimentsetuporrecordobservationscanhelpthemtake
morecarewithwhattheyarelearningratherthanjustrushingthroughwithoutunderstanding.
Explanation of the Water Cycle:

TheWaterCycleforKidsHowitWorksDiagram&Facts.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch2,2015,from
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/weather/thewatercycle.html
Heat from the sun causes water on Earth to evaporate. This water vapor collects in the sky in the form of clouds.
The water vapor in the clouds begins to cool down. As it cools it condenses into liquid/frozen water again. As
condensation increases, water begins to fall from the sky in various forms of precipitation including: rain, sleet,
snow, or hail. The water that has fallen to the ground can is collected into the ground, lakes, rivers and other
bodies of water or if there is too much, it will run across the surface of the land until it can collect. Collected
water is then heated up by the sun and evaporated to start the process over again. Water that is soaked up by
plants can also be evaporated back into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration.
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NGSS Performace Expectation Involved:


NGSS Lesson Objectives:
3-ESS2-1: Represent data tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected
during a particular season.
Science and Engineering Practices

Represent data in various ways to reveal patterns and relationships.


Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
Scientists record patterns of the weather across different times and areas so that they can make predictions
about what kind of weather might happen next
Crosscutting Concepts:
Patterns: Patterns of change can be used to make predictions
Cause and Effect: Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change
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Materials and Advance Preparation:


List all required materials
o Ziploc bags (4 per student or group)
o Ice cubes (1-2 per student/group)
o Water (approx. 1 cup per student/group)
o Window with sunlight
o Tape
o 1 pipe cleaner per child
o 1 of each color bead listed per child (white, clear, yellow, light blue, dark blue, brown, green)
o **If done in groups, have 2-3 students per group
o 1 Science journal per student
Students can prepare their own journals if not in a notebook form. Page titles include:,
Predictions and Questions, Data and Observations, Vocabulary terms/important information,
conclusions.

Lesson References:
Water Cycle Activity Handout from SCI 513
Stewart,M.(2014).Water.NationalGeographicChildren'sBooks.

9. Safety Considerations:
There are no specific safety considerations with most of this lesson. Be sure to not touch the bulb of the heat lamp when
in use.
SCIENCE ACTIVITY
1

Procedures
Students should be placed in groups with 2-3 students that can work well together and all have equal opportunities to
participate. Be sure to monitor groups to be sure that all members are participating as equally as possible and staying
on task.
Engage & Pre-assessment: Start by reading Water National Geographic Kids. Take a look out of the
classroom window or take a walk outside to look at puddles. (If there are no puddles either ask them to think
about puddles. Do we always have puddles? Where do they come from? Where do they go? In your science
notebooks, write down where you think puddles come from and where you think they go (pre-assessment). Have
some students share their predictions. Asking more timid students questions at this time would be appropriate as
these are just predictions with no right or wrong answer. Be sure to let students know that it is safe to make a
guess in science as we learn from testing everything, whether we think it is right or wrong does not matter.
Explore: We are going to make our own puddles right here in our classroom to see if we can figure out what
happens to our puddles and find out where they come from. Explain and demonstrate these directions. You will
each have 2 bags, please be sure to put your name(s) on both of them. Fill each of the bags to the line that are
drawn on them. The water we add to the bag will be our puddle and the bag will be the ground. One bag we are
going to close up completely. We are going to leave a little bit of air in the bag to act like the air all around us (in
the atmosphere). The other bag we are going to leave open half way. We will tape them onto our sunny window to
see what happens to a puddle outside, right in our classroom. Now that you have taped your bags to the window,
in your science journal, describe and draw a picture of how your bags look. Be sure to write down todays date
and time. Repeat this observation process over the next few hours or days. After 5 observations, have children
hold an ice cube to the bag to see what happens. They should notice drops of water forming on the inside of the

closed bag. The open bag should be left for a few days to notice evaporation. A checklist of these procedures
may be provided for students who need help staying focused and on task.
Explain: Have the children communicate their findings to the group. What happened to the open bag? What
happened in the closed bag? What happened when we put the ice on the closed bag? Give the students the
appropriate vocabulary terms to go with their findings and have them record them in their science journal. Look
back to their predictions to see if they were correct about where puddles come from and what happens to them.
Translate the vocabulary terms applied to their experiment to the water cycle and their observations outside and in
the activity. Draw the diagram on the board as you go through each section with them, labeling with the
appropriate vocabulary. At each stage that they noticed in their bag, have the children note their observations
again verbally and on their diagram. Does all water evaporate into the sky? If not, where does it go? (collection)
What happens if we get too much rain? (runoff) This discussion will help lead them into the topic of natural
hazards with rain including flooding and erosion. What soaks up water that has collected into the ground? (plants).
Water vapor can be released into the air from plants as well. It is a special form of evaporation called
transpiration. Do not rush through the explanation. Be sure to allow plenty of time for students to record
information in their notebooks and to ask questions as needed.
Elaborate: To further explore the effect of temperature on the water cycle have the children label their other two
bags with Heat Lamp and Room Temp. The will mark a line about an inch from the bottom on each bag and
fill each bag to that line with water. Place heat lamp bags (half open) in a tray under a heat lamp. Place the room
temperature bags (half open) on a tray in a cooler corner of the room far enough from the heat lamp and window
as to not skew the results. In their science notebooks have children record their observations of the water level in
both of their bags every 10 minutes. Students should notice that the water level is decreasing more rapidly in the
bags under the heat lamp than in the classroom. Discuss the results and reasoning behind why this happens. (Heat
causes evaporation to take place more quickly.) You could even connect this to explain why the air is so dry in the
winter when it is below freezing. The moisture on the ground evaporates much slower than it does during the
summer because of the difference in temperature. This is also why boiling water on the stove evaporates more
quickly than a room temperature pot of water.
Evaluate: Now that the children know the steps of the water cycle have them make their own water cycle bracelet
in the correct order to see if they remember the order and use it as a study tool. Have them use the bracelet to
explain the water cycle to their table partner.
o White = condensation
o Light blue = precipitation
o Brown = ground/ collection
o Dark blue = runoff
o Green = transpiration
o Yellow = sun
o Clear = evaporation

Real-World Connections: Does your backyard ever get flooded when it rains a lot? Do you notice it while driving with
family? Why does it just sit there? Does it stay there forever or does it go somewhere else? Talk about these in class
add any new information to your science journal.

Post-assessment Use the word bank to fill in the water cycle diagram. Then write a paragraph to explain the water
cycle. Be sure to use all of the words in the bank one time and explain them thoroughly in your paragraph.

WordBank:Condensation,Evaporation,Precipitation,Runoff,Collection,Transpiration
Vocabularyterms
1paragraphexplanationofthe
watercycle

YouGotIt!(5pts.)
Allvocabularywordsareinthe
correctblanks.
Thecorrectdefinitionsareusedto
explainthewatercycle.Thecycle
isexplainedinorder.

NiceTry!
Vocabularytermsarenotinthe
correctblanks.
Definitionsareincorrectand/or
cycleisoutoforder.

TeachersPayTeachers.com.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch2,2015,from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/WaterCycleLabelingWorksheet1528814

WordBank:Condensation,Evaporation,Precipitation,Runoff,Collection,Transpiration

AnswerKey:

Condensation

Precipitation

Evaporation
Runoff
Collection

Transpiration

WordBank:Condensation,Evaporation,Precipitation,Runoff,Collection,Transpiration
Explain:
Heat from the sun causes water on Earth to evaporate. This water vapor collects in the sky in the form of clouds.
The water vapor in the clouds begins to cool down. As it cools it condenses into liquid/frozen water again. As
condensation increases, water begins to fall from the sky in various forms of precipitation including: rain, sleet,
snow, or hail. The water that has fallen to the ground can is collected into the ground, lakes, rivers and other
bodies of water or if there is too much, it will run across the surface of the land until it can collect. Collected
water is then heated up by the sun and evaporated to start the process over again. Water that is soaked up by
plants can also be evaporated back into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration.

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