Models of the water cycle

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/Lessons.cfm?DocID=8

A lesson plan for Grade 5 Science

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science

About this resource

Appropriate grades

5

Subjects

science (environmental science, meteorology)

Provider

American Association for the Advancement of Science

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The purpose of this lesson is to develop an understanding of the cycling of water by building and evaluating two different physical models. Water offers important experiences for students at this level. They can conduct investigations that go beyond the observations made in the earlier grades to learn the connection between the liquid and solid forms, but recognizing that water can also be a gas, while much more difficult, is still probably accessible. The water cycle is of such profound importance to life on earth that students should have many experiences that will in time contribute to their understanding of evaporation, condensation, and the conservation of matter.

In this activity, students will build and reflect on the usefulness of models that demonstrate the cycling of water in a closed system. They will see evidence of condensation and evaporation. Students may have a difficult time understanding the existence of water they cannot see with their own eyes. They may think that evaporated water ceases to exist, or that it can only change into a form they can see, such as fog.