About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 5
- Subjects
- science (meteorology, oceanography)
- Provider
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Legal
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The purpose of this lesson is to obtain a better perception of earth's oceans and to understand earth's water cycle. In earlier grades, students learn about weather, oceans, and water as separate entities. As early as kindergarten, students complete exercises such as measuring and keeping track of precipitation. In grades 3–5 through students learn that water can change states: liquid water can evaporate and become a gas, and water vapor becomes liquid due to temperature changes. This lesson starts to bring the concepts mentioned above together with a focus on the water cycle.
The two-fold lesson begins with an experiment that demonstrates water evaporating and coming back down. The lesson is meant to give students a general understanding of earth's oceans. In the end, students should realize that water in the ocean evaporates into the atmosphere and comes back down as precipitation. This lesson is a good introduction to future lessons on weather and earth's climatic changes.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Science (2005)
Grade 5
- Goal 3: The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate technology to build an understanding of weather and climate.
- Objective 3.01: Investigate the water cycle including the processes of:
- Evaporation.
- Condensation.
- Precipitation.
- Run-off.
- Objective 3.06: Discuss and determine the influence of geography on weather and climate:
- Mountains.
- Sea breezes.
- Water bodies.
- Objective 3.01: Investigate the water cycle including the processes of:
