LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Rain, ice, steam: Using reading to support inquiry about the water cycle

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=912

A lesson plan for Grade 2 English Language Arts and Science

Provider: IRA/NCTE

About this resource

Appropriate grades
2
Subjects
English language arts (reading, writing), science (general), thinking skills (information literacy, visual literacy)
Provider
IRA/NCTE

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This unit of study allows students to discover the repetitive cycle of water. Read-alouds introduce the topic of rain and hands-on experiments and classroom centers teach students about the water cycle and how it functions. After introducing the topic of rain to students, the teacher leads them in a discussion about what they think of when they hear rain. Then, students participate in activities related to rain in centers around the classroom. The teacher explains a water cycle chart and engages students in various activities to help them better understand relevant vocabulary. After completing several activities and reading books about rain, students return to centers to learn more about water. In pairs, students discuss water evaporation and the class participates in an experiment using ice cubes and construction paper. Then after discussing their findings, students write about their experiments and the results. Then, students participate in another thinking activity about precipitation and discuss their findings. Once students have reviewed the vocabulary for the unit, they create a play based on the information they learned about rain in the previous class sessions. Finally, students perform the play for another class and write about their research findings. Readwritethink provides links to a variety of helpful web resources that focus on the water cycle.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 2

  • Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
    • Objective 2.02: Use text for a variety of functions, including literary, informational, and practical.
    • Objective 2.03: Read expository materials for answers to specific questions.
    • Objective 2.04: Pose possible how, why, and what if questions to understand and/or interpret text.
    • Objective 2.05: Self-monitor own difficulties in comprehending independently using several strategies.
    • Objective 2.06: Recall main ideas, facts and details from a text.
    • Objective 2.08: Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and maps.
  • Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
    • Objective 3.02: Connect and compare information within and across selections (fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama) to experience and knowledge.
    • Objective 3.03: Explain and describe new concepts and information in own words (e.g., plot, setting, major events, characters, author's message, connections, topic, key vocabulary, key concepts, text features).
    • Objective 3.04: Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and composing texts when responding to literature that is read and heard. (e.g., read aloud by teacher, literature circles, interest groups, book clubs).
  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.05: Respond appropriately when participating in group discourse by adapting language and communication behaviors to the situation to accomplish a specific purpose.
    • Objective 4.06: Plan and make judgments about what to include in written products (e.g., narratives of personal experiences, creative stories, skits based on familiar stories and/or experiences).
    • Objective 4.08: Write structured, informative presentations and narratives when given help with organization.

Science (2005)

Grade 2

  • Goal 2: The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate tools to build an understanding of the changes in weather.
    • Objective 2.04: Identify and use common tools to measure weather:
      • Wind vane and anemometer.
      • Thermometer.
      • Rain gauge.
    • Objective 2.05: Discuss and determine how energy from the sun warms the land, air and water.
  • Goal 3: The learner will observe and conduct investigations to build an understanding of changes in properties.