The Water Cycle - 3rd
and 4th Grade Science
In the following lesson, students shall demonstrate knowledge of basic science
concepts of earth science through direct experience, including an understanding
of: (a) concepts related to everyday life through…patterns and how they repeat,
and cycles; (b) how the basic needs of organisms are met. Students will have the
opportunity to identify the various ways water moves throughout the earth as
part of the water cycle. This is a great hands-on activity that students will be
Concepts: The water cycle.
Grade Level: 3-4
Students will identify the various ways water moves throughout the earth as part
of the water cycle. Prior Knowledge Learning in stations, or learning centers;
using a KWL
Cup of water
Ball of clay
Chalkboard and chalk
dry erase board and marker
Computer with hookup to a projection machine (if available), or computers with
access to the internet
Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) website:
Blank piece of paper for each student
Tell children slowly and suspensefully, "Let's see if you can guess this
mystery. Listen for a while, and when I ask for ideas, if you think you know
what it is, raise your hand. It's something we're going to learn about this
week. / could be in high in the air, or I could be deep in the ground. You find
me in the ocean. Maybe you 'd even travel to the North or South Pole and see me
there. You also see me here in school every day, and at home,
too. Any ideas?"
If students cannot come up with the correct answer, hint, "It's what makes
rain." These mystery questions also show children where we find water naturally,
and give them a knowledge base so they can reiterate these concepts when the
whole group produces the water cycle later in the lesson. These are conceptual
organizers. Children are less likely to say, "We see water on boots in the
winter," or "There's water in my bathtub."
When one child offers the correct answer, say, "You're right! It's water. Now,
you to think about this." Read what Arabella B. Buckley (1878) basically said
(i.e., some words are modified to suit the audience). Read it dramatically, as
if you are the one originally posing the question to your students.
We are going to spend time today following a drop of water on its travels. If I
finger in this cup of water [teacher dips pointer finger in a cup of water] and
lift it up again
[teacher follows suit], you see a drop of water. Tell me, do you have any idea
where this drop has been? What is its job? Can you remember a time when there
was no water?
1. Introducing the Water Cycle
Discover students' prior knowledge by asking them how they would answer the
in the quote, focusing especially on the first (where water has been). Some may
reiterate the concepts in the mystery question, while some may come up with new
concepts; the latter will demonstrate previous knowledge. Write their answers
down on an overhead or chalkboard.
Build on the responses that are correct by repeating them, then asking for any
missed parts of the water cycle: "Where else do we find water in nature?" Add
these to the list on the board.
Tell children, "Today, we're going to learn that water moves through all of
again and again. There's no Water Factory where water is made. There's a certain
amount of water that just moves around the world in different shapes. It's like
modeling clay. If I made this ball of clay [hold it up] into a pancake [flatten
it], it's still the same clay! And if I made it into a bird's nest [raise the
edges to make one], it's still the same clay. If I sent it to my sister in
Montana, even there it would still be the same clay. Water is like that, too. We
can change the way it looks, or where it's found, but it's still the same
2. Producing the Water Cycle
"Since there is no place where water begins, let's try to at least show how it
between these places. We could call them stations, just like our learning
stations [centers set up in the class, to which students are accustomed]. Let's
work together to organize the stations that we have on the board. Where might we
begin? Ah, with the clouds. How does the water leave the clouds?. . .Where does
this rain go?" Lead the students through the water cycle in this manner,
constructing a circular diagram using both words and pictures. The teacher may
also refrain from suggesting a beginning station and instead begin at any point
in the cycle that students suggest, so it will make more sense to them.
3. Viewing the Water Cycle
After the complete water cycle is constructed, go to
www.projectwet..org/festival/wet.htm on a computer attached to an
overhead projector. Enter the first activity tent, which plays an illustrated
video of the water cycle. Ask children to identify which "stations" of water
they see in the clip. As an alternative, have students gather around a classroom
computer to play the game.
4. Demonstrating and Planning for Learning
The teacher hands out a piece of paper for each student. Working in groups of
two, students fold their paper into three columns and title each one K, W, or L.
They fill out the first two sections: what they now know about the water cycle,
and what they want to know about the water cycle. For the sake of time, these
are handed in to the teacher; if time allows, they may share these with another
pair before submitting them to the teacher (an extension activity if the teacher
finds she has extra time).
To enhance concentration and motivation, introduce the "mystery question" that
they will think about this week; students will get clues to this as they move
throughout various learning stations. The question is the following: "Water can
be really tricky. It can disguise itself in three ways. What are those ways?"
"Start thinking about that during the stations this week, and we'll see if we
can all come up with an answer together on Friday,"
Evaluation is based on the students' KWL charts. The teacher notes how much the
students have "owned" the information presented today (as demonstrated in the
first column), and if they are formulating successful advance organizers to
shape their learning over the course of the week (as demonstrated in the second
column). If these are not demonstrated successfully, the teacher writes
questions she'd like children to think about, or other suggestions, on post-it
notes, which she then attaches to their charts. The charts are then returned to
the students, who will finish the last section (what they Learned) at the close
of the unit.
Lesson Plans To
Please Original Work Only - No Copyright
or Stolen Material
For Comments &