MiT Lesson Planning – Science / Water Cycle
Developer: Ryan Campeau Subject/Grade: 4th/5th grade Date(s): 10/23/17
science
Standard(s)/#:
NGSS Practices: Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; Developing and using models
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas: Human impacts on earth systems; Earth systems; the role of water in Earth’s
surface processes
NGSS Cross-Cutting Concept: Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models
What you want students to know or be able to do as a result of the lesson. Students will be able to…
Learning Target(s): I can explain parts of the water cycle! I can accurately represent the water cycle in a diagram
Understandings: phases of the water cycle; sorting; representation of real-world phenomena
How will students learn the understandings/targets? Students will work with their table groups to sort images
of water in various stages of the water cycle. When groups have sorted their images, they will need to provide a
name to represent each group. The whole class will debrief different ways of sorting and naming the groups of
images, describe the groups, and finally make (or learn) the connection to the different phases of the water cycle
and the academic vocabulary used to describe these phases. Finally, students will be asked to explain the phases
and label a diagram with the phases of the water cycle.
How do the learning targets connect to students’ prior knowledge?
Students have probably learned about the water cycle before with their science teacher! Vocabulary is a review!
Unsure if they have labeled diagrams like this in the past… Make sure to assist with clear explanations.
Language demands of the learning objective and lesson:
Language function: describe / explain
Vocabulary: water cycle, evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, accumulation, groundwater
Discourse: labeling scientific diagram of the water cycle, describing/explaining what happens to water during
parts of the water cycle
Considerations: Although some terms will be familiar, I really want students to understand what is happening to
water in each phase – make sure to support through discussion/ writing on the board.
Strategies to support language demand: Many images and gestures to support understanding of vocabulary
Assessment evidence: Students will turn in their graphic organizers at the end of the lesson.
Connections to community and/or students’ Funds of Knowledge: Students have had many experiences with
water, for example during our water quality monitoring field trip, our exploration of the estuary on a prior field trip,
the salmon-specific field trip to the downtown dam… also just during their prior experiences in rainy PNW and in
parks (most parents reported doing outdoors activities with their children.)
Assigning Competence: If applicable, bring forward quality groups for sorting/naming groups.
Student Voice: Ask students for clarifying questions, and ask student(s) to explain expectations/directions before
launching them into the sorting activity.
Accommodations and lesson adaptations for students: Students with IEPs for writing and reading will be
assisted during the end-of-day quiz in small groups by me and CMT
Social Justice/Democratic Education considerations: Rather than asking all students to sit through a lecture,
we are capitalizing on peer strengths and prior knowledge to give some students roles as teacher/leaders.
Materials/Handouts/Texts: Six sets of water cycle images; each set of images has six slips of scratch paper; 26
copies of water cycle quiz
DAILY TEACHING OUTLINE—Procedures:
A. Engagement with transition question, challenge, or problem (1:00-1:10):
- (Have assortment of water cycle images on whiteboard with magnets or tape)
- (Students at desks – have all students put away leveled reading books)
- Draw students’ attention to images WITHOUT naming the water cycle – ask, “What do these images
have in common? How are they different?”
o Have students turn & talk with elbow partners about what they notice
o Circle, listen to student ideas (pre-assessment)
- Explain task: students will work with the group of 4 at their desks to sort images into like groups.
o Expectations: everyone has a voice, everyone needs to participate and agree in how to group
the images.
o Once the images are grouped, you must give a title/name to each group (I will pass out small
pieces of paper with the images)
o Try to limit yourself to six groups, although you could sort into fewer groups.
- Clarifying questions?
- Ask student(s) to explain the expectations in their own words
B. Exploration (1:10-1:20)
- (Pass out images and slips of paper)
- Students work together to sort images
- (Circle, assist groups with cooperative nature of sorting activity)
- Notice/ask questions about WHY students are putting certain images together in a group
o “How would you describe this group of images? What name or title might you give to this group?
Why that title? What in the images is making you think that?”
C. Explanation (1:20-30)
- Call student focus back to the whole group
- Ask specific groups of students (or volunteers, depending on what emerges from group work) to share
how they grouped the images and the names they gave groups
o Arrange images on whiteboard to match student groupings that emerge
o Guide groupings to reflect on the five parts of the water cycle
- Ask students what traits they notice about each group on the board. Write some of their expressed
ideas next to the images.
o Make sure students name the following traits – or suggest myself (do not yet name the parts of
the water cycle):
Evaporation: happens when HEAT is applied to water, the water changes from a liquid
state to water vapor
Condensation: water COOLS DOWN, changing from water vapor to liquid, clumps
together (sometimes into clouds)
Precipitation: rain, hail, snow, sleet – any time water falls from the sky to the ground, in
liquid or solid form
Runoff: too much water for the ground to absorb, moves across surface of Earth toward
rivers, lakes, oceans
Accumulation: large bodies of water, e.g. rivers, lakes, oceans
D. Expansion (1:30-1:35)
- Explain to students that one way to categorize these images is with the water cycle.
- What is one part of the water cycle they know?
- Call on students to suggest one – “Does someone have an image they think shows this part of the
cycle well? Do we think that any of the groups of images on the board represent this phase of the water
cycle?”
- Write academic vocabulary for each part of the water cycle by the associated images, and introduce
students to a gesture that helps them to understand the term in a new way (accommodation)
E. Evaluation (1:35-1:45)
- Project and explain the water cycle quiz
- Explain that I am most interested in seeing how they are understanding what happens to water in each
of these phases.
o Practice writing in complete sentences, except for question 1.
o Labeling the diagram (#5) is really important – make sure you get to this question. Use what we
learned today in sorting images, describing the images, and practicing gestures with these
words, to help you label this diagram.
- (Pass out quizzes, pull students with IEPs for reading and writing to work in small group with me or
CMT)
- (When they finish, have students turn in their quizzes to the In-Box, silently read until all finish.)
- (Students in 4th grade Strings leave around 1:43)
- (Transition to “Choice Time” – I assess evaluations, write comments to clarify/correct when necessary,
and return to students by the end of the day)
WATER CYCLE QUIZ:
Name: _________________________________ Date: _________________________
1. What are examples of precipitation? (list examples) _______________________
________________________________________________________________
2. What happens to water during condensation? ____________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. How are runoff and accumulation related? ______________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4. Why does evaporation happen? ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5. Label this diagram with the five parts of the water cycle.
