Day One Procedures
1. Teresa enters classroom on a unicyle, followed by Jenny dressed to demonstrate uses of water.
2. Discuss Cycles. What is a unicycle? What is a water cycle? What else is a cylce? Include discussion about the cycle of a day and the cycle of the seasons.
3. Discuss the uses and locations of water. Where is water? How do we use water? Convey these points: All living things contain water, water is naturally found as solid, liquid, and gas, 3/4 of the planet is water. Make a comprehensive list on the chalkboard to illustrate the uses and location of water.
4. Explain the water cycle game.
5. Play the Water cycle game.
6. Wrap up. Explain the words evaporation and precipitation. Ask the students where they traveled as water and how they got there during the game. Encourage the use of the words evaporation and precipitation.
Day Two Procedures
1. Review previous lesson. Ask students if they remember the big words they had previously learned.
2. Have students illustrate evaporation and precipitation on the evaporation worksheet, assessing understanding of previous lesson.
3. Set up centers (this was actually done during discussion). Put students in groups and explain that they will visit and observe each center.
4. Discuss safety in centers.
5. Have students rotate through centers.
Center 1: The water cycle columnCenter 2: Transpiration
Center 3: Condensation
Center 4: Absorption
Center 5: Percolation
6. Wrap up discussion. Allow for student questions and teacher questions. Discuss each center asking the students about what they investigated, how they were like scientists, what they needed to find out, how they found out and what explanation they have for the result. See National Science Standards Content Area A, Science as Inquiry.
Day Three Procedures
1. Review previous lesson with water cycle column center. Discuss how water travels around making sure to hit the points that water never goes away, nor is new water made.
2.Read A River Ran Wild.
3. Discuss story. What did the people in the story do to the river? What happened to the river? What did they do to fix it? Could this happen to our rivers? What can we do to stop it? How should we treat our water? Is it okay to throw things on the ground if it isn't near water? Students may not need questions to make these conclusions. Students are likely to realize that we should not pollute our water or our land.
4. Have students fill out Earth's prescription for dirty water.
5. Give students water wheel worksheet to demonstrate understanding of the water cycle.
6. Wrap up with students sharing their ideas on their worksheets.