Name of Lesson: The Water Cycle

Meredith Lane

Standards: MS-ESS2-4: Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.

Process Standard:

Science and Engineering: Developing and Using Models

Modeling in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to developing, using, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems.

o Develop a model to describe unobservable mechanisms.

Disciplinary Core:

Earth’s Materials and Systems

ESS2.Co Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via

transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land.

o Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity.

Cross Curriculum:

English Language Arts

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.9o Compare and contrast the information gained from

experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Michigan Grade Level Content Expectation:

E.ES.07.82 Analyze the flow of water between the components of a watershed, including surface features (lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands) and groundwater.

Grade Level: Middle school (grade 7)

Prior Knowledge: Since most students have a basic understanding of the water cycle, this lesson should be mostly review. Students should understand the states and properties of water, including phase changes (solid-liquid, liquid-gas), the effect of the sun on Earth’s water, the properties of gravity,

Lesson Overview: Students will investigate the cycle of water and its changes through the pathways of the hydrologic cycle.

Lesson Objectives: Students will:

describe the stages of the water cycle explain how water enters from one stage to the next know the factors that affect the water cycle (sun, gravity) write a fluent paper on the cycle itself and illustrate it with examples describe how humans affect the water cycle

Length of Lesson: 3 days

Vocabulary:

1. precipitation: water released from clouds in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail.

2. condensation: when met with cooler air in the atmosphere, water vapor in the air is changed to liquid water.

3. evaporation: water changes from a liquid to vapor.

4. transpiration: the evaporation of water from leaves of plants and trees.

5. groundwater: water that has seeped into the earth, which is the source of water in springs and wells.

6. runoff: water from precipitation that flows onto the land surface.

7. infiltration: water on the ground surface seeps into the soil.

8. watershed: an area of land that captures precipitation and funnels it into another body of water, such as a stream or river.

Engage:

Materials: “KWL” (what you know / what you want to know / what you have learned) chart handout, blank “Water Cycle” diagram

TW: hand out “KWL Chart” to students and ask students to fill out anything they know about the water cycle for the first two columns to stimulate background knowledge (“KWL Chart”).

SW: write down previous knowledge and what they want to learn on their KWL sheet, then share and discuss with a partner.

TW: pass out the blank “Water Cycle” diagram and ask students to watch the video carefully and fill in the sheet accordingly. Show this Water Cycle video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iohKd5FWZOE ) and explain the vocabulary, pausing when needed to clarify the diagrams for students.

SW: fill out the blank “Water Cycle” diagram while watching video.

Explore:

Materials: “Water Cycle Crossword” handout, terrarium, Water Cycle poster

TW: bring in a pre-made terrarium with a top. Both of these options will show students a mini-version of the Water Cycle, especially the topic of transpiration.

TW: ask students the following questions:

Why is the soil still wet when I haven’t been watering it? Has the water evaporated from the soil?

o If it evaporated, where did the water go? Did it ever rain in the terrarium?

o How can you tell? What happened in the terrarium? What allows the plants to grow in the terrarium? How does this demonstrate how the water cycle works?

Explain that the Sun is a driving force in the transpiration of these plants and ask what other stages the Sun is a major component in (evaporation).

TW: ask students what other factors drive the water cycle, using the Water Cycle poster for guidance and specifically explaining the force of gravity in the cycle (precipitation, runoff, infiltration). Once students understand the concept of gravity and how it impacts the Water Cycle, the teacher will explain what a watershed is and how it relates to gravity.

SW: participate in class discussion and offer examples when asked.

TW: hand out “Water Cycle Crossword” to students after they have a good understanding of the terms listed above and the stages of the cycle.

SW: work individually or together to complete the crossword worksheet.

Explain:

Materials: “Water, Water Everywhere!” worksheet, The Water Cycle book

TW: share this NASA water cycle video with the students (http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/videos/water-water-everywhere). This video gives a more in-depth view of the water cycle, complete with how humans affect it, and how it affects climate. Before playing the video, the teacher will pass out the “Water, Water Everywhere!” worksheet and tell students to actively listen for vocab words.

SW: fill out the “Water, Water Everywhere!” worksheet while watching the video.

TW: discuss and recap the video once it has been shown (especially geared towards special needs or ESL students who might not have picked up everything in the video) and

ask if anyone needs any clarification on anything. The teacher will ask why students think it’s important to study the water cycle, why and how it is important for sustaining life on Earth, and how it affects climate around the globe.

TW: assign students to read a section of the book The Water Cycle at home (they will either have a copy of the book, or the teacher will photocopy and send home a packet of the assigned reading), and then write down individually at least ten interesting facts from the pages.

The book is helpful for students and the lesson overall because it gives facts about the water cycle in easy-to-understand examples, like saying that all of the earth’s water now is the same as it was billions of years ago, so your teardrops could be the same water that a dinosaur was drinking.

It also gives real-world examples, such as where the water that comes out of our faucets actually comes from.

SW: do the assignment from the day before, and then get into groups to share and reflect with each other what they found interesting from the reading. This activity will not only strengthen reading and writing skills, but also will prepare them for the upcoming project. This is also differentiation – the students who are less comfortable with the material will learn from their peers.

Elaborate:

Materials: 8 ½” x 11” plain white paper, colored pencils

TW: assign a small individual project in which students will follow the path of a single water droplet through the water cycle.

SW: create a small poster, diagram, diorama, comic strip, song, story, narrative, etc. outlining the path of the droplet, using the vocabulary used in class. Differentiation is shown here by giving students a variety of options they can use to create this project so they can show what they learn in a way that they feel most comfortable, as well as gives an option for creativity.

This will deepen students’ understanding of the stages of the water cycle and what is happening in each stage, give them more practice with writing skills, as well as give the opportunity to integrate the information from the assignments, reading, videos, and activities.

Evaluation:

Materials: “KWL” chart from earlier in lesson, “Water Cycle Assessment”

TW: ask students to fill out the remaining column on the “KWL Chart.”

SW: fill out the remaining column on their “KLW Chart,” which will be collected for participation points.

TW: hand out a post-lesson assessment called the “Water Cycle Assessment” of the terms and concepts of the water cycle. The water-droplet-path project in addition to this test will ensure that each individual has mastered the standards.

Science Information:

Water is one of, if not the most, important resources on our planet Earth. It is found in all states all around the globe, from water vapor in the atmosphere to liquid water in clouds in the atmosphere to solid ice in glaciers and snow on land or mountains. Energy from the sun heats water on Earth’s surface, which evaporates as water vapor into the air. Air currents take this and other water vapor transpired from plants higher into the atmosphere where it cools and condenses back into water droplets to form clouds. Once the droplets in a cloud become heavy, gravity forces the drops to fall as precipitation, which can fall as snow and accumulate as ice sheets or glaciers, or rain. Rain can either fall back to Earth to collect in oceans and lakes, or on landmasses, where gravity pulls it down as surface runoff. Whatever runoff doesn’t feed into rivers is soaked into the ground as infiltration.

Works Cited:

"Exploring the Water Cycle Capture Sheet." Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (n.d.): n. pag. Precipitation Measurement Mission. NASA. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/sites/default/files/lesson_plan_files/exploring-water-cycle/Exploring%20the%20Water%20Cycle%20SCS.pdf>.

"Grade Level Content Expectations." Michigan Department of Education (n.d.): n. pag. Michigan.gov. State of Michigan. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/Complete_Science_GLCE_12-12-07_218314_7.pdf>.

"KWL Chart." KWL Chart (n.d.): n. pag. EduPlace. Houghton Mifflin Company. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/kwl.pdf>.

"MS-ESS2 Earth's Systems." Next Generation Science Standards. Next Generation Science Standards, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://www.nextgenscience.org/msess2-earth-systems>.

Neno, Stefanie, et al. "The Water Cycle." USGS (n.d.): n. pag. USGS: Science for a Changing World. US Geological Survey. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/146/pdf/gip_146_poster.pdf>.

"The Water Cycle- How Rain Is Formed-Lesson for Kids." YouTube. Learning Junction, 18 July 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0bS-SBAgJI>.

Trueit, Trudi Strain. The Water Cycle. Franklin Watts, 2002. Print.

"Water Cycle." Water Cycle. YouTube, 28 Apr. 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iohKd5FWZOE>.

"Water Cycle Crossword." Water Cycle Worksheets. Lanternfish, 2006. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://bogglesworldesl.com/watercycle_worksheets.htm>.

"Water, Water, Everywhere!" Precipitation Education. NASA, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015. <http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/videos/water-water-everywhere>.

Nam

e: _______________________________

Date: _____________ Period:

__________

Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________

K – W – L ChartWhat I know: What I want to

know:What I’ve learned:

Water, Water Everywhere!Name: Date:

Evaporation:

1. Water is the only compound that can be found naturally in all states. T / F

2. ______________________ is the source of energy that drives Earth's water cycle.

3. As heat energy is added to the water, it changes state from a _______________________ to a ______________________. This gas is also called ___________________________.

4. When liquid water warms up and escapes into the air as water vapor is called ______________________.

Condensation:

1. The process of condensation is the change of water's state from ___________________ to _______________.

2. Millions of tiny condensed water droplets come together to form a __________________ high in the atmosphere.

Precipitation:

1. When a cloud’s droplets join together and get too big and heavy to overcome gravity, they fall from the cloud as _____________, _______________, ______________, or ______________.

2. Snow can be stored in ________________________ or polar ice sheets.

3. Excess precipitation that can’t be absorbed into the soil will create _____________________.

4. Infiltration occurs when water seeps into Earth's land surface. The water fills pockets of _______________ in the soil and rock. Water infiltrates because of the force of _______________________.

5. Aquifers can replenish streams that feed into ________________ and ___________________.

Affecting the Water Cycle:

1. We humans change the natural process of the water cycle in many ways, one of which is _________________________.

2. The water cycle affects climates around the world by such factors such as precipitation and frequency of ____________________ and __________________.

Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________

The Water Cycle Assessment

Using the diagram as a reference, choose the best answer from the word bank (1-5):

evaporation transpiration the sungroundwateroceans precipitation condensation

runoff1. Two forces drive the water cycle: gravity and energy from __________________.

2. Clouds form by water vapor coming into contact with cooler air and turning back into

liquid water in a process called _______________________.

3. Water molecules on the surface are heated and turned into water vapor in a process called

________________________.

4. Large and heavy water droplets in clouds fall in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail is

called ________________________.

5. Most evaporation comes from water in sources like rivers, streams, lakes, and

________________________.

Choose the one best answer for the following questions (6-10):

6. The only compound that is found naturally in all three phases (solid/liquid/gas) is…

a. hydrogen b. oxygen c. water d. helium

7. Water from precipitations seeps into the soil by a process called…

a. infiltration

b.

c. ocean water

d. snow

8. The leaves of plants and trees release water vapor in a process called…

a. condensation b. transpiration c. vaporization d. evaporation

9. Water that lies below the Earth’s surface is called…

a. soil b. groundwater c. salt water d. polluted

10. Where is water vapor found?

a. in the air

b. volcanic steam

c. in your breath

d. all of the above

True or False (11-15)?

11. The water we have on Earth now is the same water we have always had, for millions and

millions of years.

T F

12. 75% of Earth’s water is fresh water.

T F

13. All living things need water to survive.

T F

14. Puddles form when the soil is completely saturated by precipitation.

T F

15. The water cycle does not affect climates around the globe.

T F

Answer the following questions thoroughly in at least 3-4 complete sentences (16-18).

16. Give at least two examples about how you can conserve water use at home.

17. Explain how a lack of precipitation could affect our climate.

18. Give three examples of what can happen to precipitation after it falls to Earth.