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Water Cycle Lesson

This document outlines a lesson plan for teaching 3rd grade students about the water cycle. The lesson uses hands-on activities like melting ice cubes and a water cycle simulation to teach the concepts of collection, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Formative and summative assessments are included to check student understanding.

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92 views

Water Cycle Lesson

This document outlines a lesson plan for teaching 3rd grade students about the water cycle. The lesson uses hands-on activities like melting ice cubes and a water cycle simulation to teach the concepts of collection, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Formative and summative assessments are included to check student understanding.

Uploaded by

api-269984318
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT


LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Teacher Candidate: Steffani Trivelpiece

Date: February 20th, 2015

Cooperating Teacher:

Coop. Initials

Group Size:

25

Allotted Time 45 minutes

Subject or Topic: The World Around You Unit

Grade Level 3rd grade


Section Water Cycle

STANDARD:
3.3.3.A4.- Connect the various forms of precipitation to the weather in a particular place
and time
I. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
A. The students will be able to discuss the parts of the water cycle by outlining
them in a student created diagram.
II. Instructional Materials
A. 12 glass jars
B. 12 metal lids
C. Large bag of ice
D. Inquiry sheet for each student
E. Brainpop Water Cycle video
III. Subject Matter/Content (prerequisite skills, key vocabulary, big idea, outline of
additional content)
A. Prerequisite skills
1 Students will need to have minimal knowledge of water and what it
looks like.
B. Key Vocabulary
1 Water Cycle- the cycle of processes by which water circulates
between the earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving
precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and
return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration
2 Liquid- flowing freely but of constant volume
3 Evaporation- the changing of a liquid into a gas
4 Water Vapor- water in its gaseous state
5 Condensation- water that collects as droplets on a cold surface when
humid air is in contact with it
6 Precipitation- the fall of water in any form.

Collection- the action or process of accumulating someone or


something

C. Big Idea
1 Water is essential for the world.
D. Additional content
1 No additional content
IV. Implementation
A. Introduction
1 The teacher will hand out a baggie with three or four ice cubes in it
to each group students.
a. The teacher will ask the students if they know what ice is.
i. The teacher will talk about the fact that ice is a solid,
frozen form of water.
ii. The teacher will ask where the students think they can
find ice in the world.
iii. The teacher will use a globe to show major parts of the
world where ice is found (the artic).
b. The teacher will ask the students what has happened to the ice
as they are holding it.
i. The teacher will lead a discussion about the ice melting
into water.
1. The teacher will introduce that now the water is
in a liquid form as a result of being heated by
the students.
c. The teacher will ask if any of the students have a prediction on
what would happen to the water if it kept being heated.
B. Development
1 The teacher will draw a cloud, ocean, and mountain on the board.
a. The teacher will ask the students what happened to the ice first.
b. The teacher will lead a discussion about ice melting to form
liquid water.
c. Next the teacher will ask the class where they think all of the
melted water will go.
d. The class will work together to decide that it will collect in the
oceans.
i. The teacher will tell them that this is one of the steps of
the water cycle, collection.
ii. The teacher will label this on the diagram they have
drawn on the board.
e. Next the teacher will ask the class what they had decided
would happen to the liquid water if it was heated even more.
i. The class will work with the teacher to reach the
conclusion of evaporation.
1. The teacher will explain that evaporation is
when liquid water is heated up and turned into
gas.

2. The teacher will explain that this is the next step


of the water cycle.
3. The teacher will draw and label this on the
diagram on the board.
f. The teacher should ask the class what happens to all of the
evaporated water.
i. The teacher will discuss with the class that evaporated
water travels into the sky.
ii. After the water is in the sky it collects to make a cloud.
iii. The teacher will tell the students that the water cools as
it collects in the cloud.
g. The teacher should ask the students what they think happens
when the water cools down in the sky.
i. The teacher will discuss with the students that the water
would be going through condensation.
1. The teacher would explain that condensation is
when water vapor (water in a gas state) cools
down to form a liquid.
2. The teacher will help the students understand by
giving them the example of a cold glass of water
in the summer.
a. The water will form condensation
around the outside of the glass because
the water is cold in the glass and hot
outside of it.
3. Next the teacher will tell the students that
condensation is part of the water cycle.
4. The teacher will then label the board
appropriately with condensation in the cloud.
h. The teacher will ask the students if they know what the last part
of the water cycle is.
i. The teacher will ask the students how they knew the
answer if they did know it. If they did not know it they
will guide the students to the answer.
1. The teacher will ask the students what happens
when the clouds get full of water and cannot
hold anymore.
2. The teacher will tell the class that there will then
be precipitation.
a. The teacher will ask the class if they
know what precipitation is.
b. The teacher will explain that
precipitation is when water falls back to
the ground.
c. The teacher will ask the class if they
know any other names for precipitation.

d. The teacher will guide the students to the


idea that precipitation includes rain,
snow, hail, and others too.
ii. The teacher will label precipitation on the board
accordingly and draw rain or snow coming from the
cloud.
i. The teacher will walk through the entire water cycle with the
students.
i. Collection, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
The teacher will tell the students that we are going to create our very
own water cycles in class today.
a. The teacher will place the students into 11 groups of two and 1
group of three. These are the groups that they will perform the
inquiry in.
b. After the students have their group they will be given a glass
jar, a metal lid, a few ice cups, and the teacher will come
around and pour hot water in the jars.
c. The teacher will model the set up with the students as they
complete it.
i. The students will put the jar of hot water into the
middle of their group.
ii. Next the class will place the lid upside down on the top
of their jar.
iii. The class will then put the ice cubes in the top of the jar
lid.
iv. After, it is set up the class will watch the water cycle
before their own eyes.
1. As they are watching, they should be filling out
the attached inquiry sheet given to them by the
teacher.
d. After the students have had time to complete the inquiry sheet
and have seen the water cycle, the teacher will go over the
inquiry sheet with the class and discuss what they saw.

C. Closure
1 The teacher will wrap up the lesson by showing the Brainpop video
called Water Cycle.
2 The teacher will ask the students to share one thing they learned in
todays lesson when the video is over.
D. Accommodations/Differentiation
1 The student with ADHD will be allowed to move around the room as
needed, or stand at their seats during the lesson.
2 In addition, the students can use an inquiry sheet that is more filled
in to help them better focus on the lesson than filling out the paper.
E. Assessment/Evaluation Plan
1 Formative- the students will complete an inquiry on the water cycle
that will be collected to ensure they understand the content

presented. The teacher will also track their participation in the


lesson.
2 Summative- there is no summative assessment with this lesson.
V. Reflective Response
A. Report of Student Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives (Reflection on
student performance written after lesson is taught, includes remediation for
students who fail to meet acceptable level of achievement)

Remediation Plan
B. Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective
answers to question recorded after lesson is taught)
1
Did the students understand the different steps of the water cycle?

Were the students able to see the steps of the water cycle in the
inquiry?

Did it help the students to play the video at the end to solidify the
content in their minds?

VI. Resources (in APA format)


https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/watercycle/

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