Lesson Planning Form - Calvin College Education Program

Teacher: Hannah Hougen & Hope Triezenberg

Date: 1/17/18 Subject/ Topic/ Theme: Science - The Water Cycle Grade: 3rd

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson is the first one of the unit on clouds. Students will be introduced to the water cycle (evaporation, condensation,
precipitation) in order to lay a foundation for them to examine cloud formation more deeply in subsequent lessons.

Learners will be able to: (content & skill objectives)

Content:
- Students will be able to describe each component of the water cycle and how these components
fit together
- Students will be able to explain that the amount of water on earth is constant
- Students will recognize that water can take the form of a solid, liquid, or gas
Process Skills:

- Prediction: students will predict how much water they think is in the pot after boiling the water
before it is poured back into the graduated cylinder
- Observation: students will observe by sight or touch the boiling water and the condensation on
the pie tin, students will observe what happens when they breathe onto a mirror.
- Communication: With their groups, students will create a picture/map of the water cycle and
present and explain their finished product to one another
- Measurement: Students will use the graduated cylinder to measure water

Standards addressed:

Benchmarks for Science Literacy

Before 5th Grade:
-When liquid water disappears, it turns into a gas (vapor) in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled, or
as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water.
-Substances may move from place to place, but they never appear out of nowhere and never just disappear.

II. Before you start

Identify prerequisite It can be expected that students have not yet studied the water cycle. This is the first lesson in the unit.
knowledge and skills.

Outline assessment
activities
(applicable to this lesson)
Pre-assessment (for learning): Students responses during Phase 1 of the learning cycle, during The Mystery
of the Boiling Water (oral and in packet)
Formative (for learning): Students responses (written & oral) to activity: The Mystery of the Boiling Water,
Mirror Activity
Summative (of learning): Student illustrations and explanations of the water cycle

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 -Water Cycle packet - 1 for each student
-hot plates
-pots
Materials-what materials
-pie plates
(books, handouts, etc) do
-graduated cylinders
you need for this lesson
-masking tape
and are they ready to use?
-snow/containers for snow
-mirrors
-Reader’s Theatre Script x2

-During the motivation component, students will sitting in a way so that they are able to see the
board
-During the first activity, two hot plates will be used in each classroom and will need to be
How will your classroom
plugged in.
be set up for this lesson?
-During the activity, students will be divided into two groups and will be able to see the teacher
and what she is doing by standing around the hot plate at a safe distance.
-Students will be sitting in clusters at their desk after the first activity
III. The Plan
Describe teacher activities AND student activities
Time Components for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
“Hello! We are here to help you discover clouds
Motivation
and how they are formed. It is a mystery, and
(opening/
you all are science detectives! Sometimes it
introduction/
might not seem like we’re learning about
engagement)
clouds, but pay attention because there will be
clues at every turn!”

-Write the word cycle on the board -students talk about the word cycle with
-Give students 15 seconds to talk with a person someone near to them for 15 seconds
close to them about the word cycle -students to raise their hands and share what
-Ask the class what they know about the word they think of or know about the word cycle
cycle
-Write students responses on the board
-Pass out investigative packet
-Have students fill out something about cycles -Students record in the appropriate space in their
on the page that says “Day One: The Water packets
Cycle”
-Tell students “Detectives, today we are going to
be learning about the water cycle!”

Phase 1 - Exploration
-Divide the class in half. Each half will go with -Students will listen to teacher instructions and
one of the teachers. cooperate, bringing a pencil and their packets
-Teachers will safely plug in the hot plate. with them to the appropriate area of the room
-Teacher will fill a graduated cylinder with 100
Development ML of water. Mark the water line on the -Students will carefully observe what the teacher
(the largest graduated cylinder with a small piece of tape, is doing
component or and show students.
main body of -Teacher will pour the water into a pot and place
the lesson) the pot on the hot plate.
-After several minutes of heating the water,
steam will start to come off of the water.
-Teacher will hold a pie pan filled with snow
above the pot, but high enough so that the steam
does not appear to be reaching the pan.

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 -Tell students to observe the procedure and -Students write down observations in their
write those observations down in their packets packets.
-Make sure all students are safely able to touch
the bottom of the pie tin to feel what is there
-After several minutes of steam-producing
boiling water, teacher will tell students to make
a prediction of how much water they think will -Students will write their predictions down in
be in the pot now. Students will record this in their packets.
their packet.
-Teacher will CAREFULLY pour the hot water
back into the graduated cylinder. Mark the water
line on the graduated cylinder with a small
piece of tape.
-Teacher will help students read the
measurement on the cylinder -Students will read the cylinder and record the
-Teacher will tell students to talk in their groups, actual number in their packet
have them reach an agreement on what they
think happened and where the water went while
using their packets -Students will discuss and write down their ideas
-Teacher will walk around and listen in on
students’ ideas.
-Bring the class back together and discuss what
observations the students saw. Write these
observations on the board.
Phase 2 -Concept Development
“Now we are perform a very special surprise for
you about the water cycle. Don’t forget to be
looking for clues!”
-Teachers will perform the reader’s theatre
-After the RT, one teacher will call on students -Students will watch the reader’s theatre quietly
to help retell the story while the other draws it
on the board.
1. Where did the water drops start?
2. What happened to them first? -Students will raise their hands and participate
3. Once they left their lake, where did they
go?
4. What made them fall down as
snowflakes?
-After teacher has draw the whole story out on
the board, draw arrows from the lake to the air
(evaporation) from the air to a cloud
(condensation) and from the cloud back down to
the ground (precipitation)
- ask students if any of them remember the
words used in the reader’s theatre for what these
steps are
-Teacher will write evaporation, precipitation,
and condensation on the board at the
appropriate places of the cycle.
Phase 3 - Application
-Teacher will demonstrate to the class how to
breathe onto the mirror (a breathy breath that
contains moisture)
(The breath, which has moisture, condensed on
the mirror and disappeared when the moisture
evaporated. The moisture went into the air.)

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 -Teacher will pass out mirrors to each group and -Students follow the activity and complete the
direct students to the right section of their questions in the packet
packet
-Teacher will mill about the room and oversee
student work
-After students have completed the packet, have
them share the water cycles they drew with each
other

Closure Teacher will bring the class back together and

(conclusion, ask: “Why is water so important for us?” -Students raise hands to answer
culmination, -Call on students to answer, facilitate discussion
wrap-up) -“Great job today, science detectives! Tomorrow
we will be back to discover some more clues
about cloud formation!”
-Teacher collects student packets

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