Importance
of Water and The Water Cycle
Team members: Audrey Smith, Lindsay Husta, and Christine Warzecha
Author: Christine Warzecha
Grade Level: Introduction Biology/Environmental Science
Concepts: Water
is a very important resources needed for all forms of life on our planet. The
water cycle is very important on the planet for the movement of water from one
place to another.
Objectives:
The students will be able to:
·
Recognize that
there is lots of water on Earth, but not much is used for drinking.
·
Learn the
processes that water goes through across the planet.
·
Develop an
understanding of why it is important to take care of our water resources.
TEKS Addressed:
(12) Science
concepts. The student knows that interdependence and interactions occur within
an ecosystem. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze
the flow of energy through various cycles including the carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, and water cycles;
Materials List and Advanced
Preparations:
·
Computer lab
access
·
Library access
·
Projector to
enlarge computer screen in front of class
·
5-gallon aquarium
filled with water
·
Measuring cups
(24 oz.)
·
Food coloring
·
Ice cube tray
·
Dropper
·
Container (at
lease 6 ounces in size) filled with sand
ENGAGEMENT: How
much of the total water found on the Earth is available for us to drink? I
would like the class to split into groups of three and I will give you twenty
minutes to find out the percentage of water on Earth is: ocean water,
groundwater, rivers, icecaps/glaciers, freshwater lakes, inland seas/salt
lakes, and in the atmosphere. You can use any resource that is available to
you.
EXPLORATION:
|
|
|
What the Teacher Will Do |
What the Students Will Do |
Ongoing Evaluation (Questions you will ask the
students) |
Get students back into the classroom |
Students will return to classroom and sit back into
desks. |
What if we did not find all of the information? |
Now that
each group has found the percentages of each type of water found on Earth, I
would like you to calculate measurements for each percentage with a given
total water amount of 5 gallons. Stay in
your groups to figure out these conversions. You have about 10 minutes to
complete this. Write out a few converstion
factors on the board to help with the calculations in each group. Circulate the room to make sure each group is in the
right direction. |
Students will use calculators, computers, or other
objects to calculate the conversions. |
|
Have all
the groups completed their converstions? |
Students will respond to the question. |
|
In front of
you is an aquarium that is filled with 5 gallons. Would one group like to
come up to the front to demonstrate and measure out what percentages they
calculated for each of these water types? |
Choose a group to come up to the front and measure
out their calculations. |
|
As the group demonstrates these measurements,
describe why they are making these measurements. |
Watch the group, listen to teacher explain why they
are measuring the amount of water they are. |
|
Explain to the students that water is very important
resource on our planet. |
Students listen. |
|
Go to website: http://www.observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/earth/hydrocycle/hydrol.html to go through the water cycle and how important
water is for movement throughout our planet. |
Students listen and take notes. |
|
EXPLANATION:
·
Can someone
explain the five stages of the water cycle and why they are important?
(Condensation, Precipitation, Infiltration, Runoff, Evapotranspiration)
·
Why isn’t all the
freshwater usable? (Some of the water is hard to get, especially since most is
held in glaciers or in icecaps.)
·
Why do we need to
take care of surface water/ground water? (Water is important for humans, plants
and crops, and animals. If we waste or pollute it, we find that there is less
and less for us to use.
ELABORATION:
Today
we have learned about the water cycle and how important water is on our planet.
On a sheet of paper, explain what you have learned about water and the
distribution of water on earth and also why they think they should conserve
water and list about 5 ways that they can do so.
EVALUATION:
For
homework, go home and find out how much water you use until you leave for
school again tomorrow. Get an estimate and we will discuss tomorrow.
Next
day: Go through the students findings and discuss them as a class.
Safety: Very safe lesson, but good student behavior must be
used when making measurements for the activity.