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.