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San Fernando Valley Science Project Summer 2001 Nakia Leto Olive Vista Middle School A) CSP Lesson/Major Concepts This lesson was derived from the CSP workshop by Dr. Virginia Vandergon about Ecology on July 19, 2001. Websites used in developing this lesson plan include: BBC Education Landmarks: Good for simple graphics http://www.bbc.uk/education/landmarks United States Geological Survey: Good for complex graphics and content knowledge http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu University of Washington, Department of Atmospheric Sciences K-12 Education: A complete unit on the water cycle http://www-K12atmos.washington.edu/k12/pilot/water_cycle/teacherpage.html Science Court: Great hands-on activities http://www.teachtsp.com/classroom/scicourt/watercycle.html ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education:A complete unit on the water cycle http://faldo.atmos.uiuc.edu/w_unit/LESSONS/evaporation.html B) Objectives The concepts that will be addressed are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and also how these interact to complete the water cycle. The students will be able to: 1. Understand that water moves in a continuous cycle, which is powered by the sun. 2. Name and describe the stages of the water cycle. These concepts and objectives will help students meet California State Science Content Standard 4a: Students know the sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on Earth’s surface: it powers winds, ocean currents and the water cycle. C) Materials and Equipment Day One One large piece of chart paper A clear jar or plastic container for each student Potting soil Small gravel Water Lima bean seeds Plastic wrap Rubber bands Masking tape to label containers Markers Day Two One white Styrofoam plate for every three people One purple, orange and black crayon for each group Water Day Three Two clean, clear plastic two liter bottles with caps A box of wood matches A temperature strip (available at fish stores) An eyedropper Tape Day Four Mirror Kettle Heat source Water Pot holder Ice Cubes A sponge for every two students A plate for every two students Day Five A piece of colored paper for each student Colors D) Outline of Lesson Day One: Introduction to the Water Cycle 1) Warm Up (10 minutes)  The teacher will put on illustration of the water cycle on the overhead.  Students will describe in their science log what they think is taking place in the picture.  Students will pair-share their response and then share out to the class. 2) Introduction (5 minutes)  After today’s lesson the students will be able to identify the parts of the water cycle. 3) Discussion (15 minutes)  Teacher will review with students the ideas previously covered when learning the rock cycle and scientific method. Both of these concepts will remind students to connect new learning to prior knowledge.  Teacher will introduce the water cycle by identifying the parts of the warm up illustration.  A KWL chart will be developed by the class by answering the questions, “What do you Know about the water cycle?” and “What do you want to Learn about the water cycle?”.  The teacher will keep this chart so that it may be revisited at the end of the week.  The teacher will explain the culminating task of writing a paper entitled “The Life of a Raindrop”. Identifying this at the beginning of the unit will help the students focus. 4) Activity (20 minutes including clean-up)  The teacher will explain that each student will be setting up their own terrarium to show the process of the water cycle. It will be much quicker if the teacher prepares all the materials prior to class.  The students will carefully follow the procedures. They will place a check next to each step as they complete it. 1. Place 30 mL of gravel at the bottom of your jar. 2. Put HALF your soil into the jar. 3. Sprinkle 10 seeds on top of the soil. 4. Pour the other HALF of the soil on top of the seeds. 5. Pour 20mL of water into the jar. 6. Place plastic wrap over the top of the jar. 7. Wrap the rubber band around the plastic wrap to hold it in place. 8. Label your jar. 5) Summary (5 minutes)  Students will complete the first entry on the Terrarium Data Sheet answering the following questions. 1) Date 2) What is happening inside the jar? 3) On which part of the jar do you see water? 4) Is there anything new happening in the jar? 5) Other observations. 6) Homework  Students will find the definitions for the terms evaporation, condensation, precipitation and saturation using the glossary in their Prentice Hall Science Explorer, Focus on Earth Science, California Edition 2001 Textbook. Day Two: Evaporation 1) Warm Up ( 10 minutes)  Students will complete the second entry on the Terrarium Data Sheet 1) Date 2) What is happening inside the jar? 3) On which part of the jar do you see water? 4) Is there anything new happening in the jar? 5) Other observations. 2) Introduction (5 minutes)  The students will be able to: 1) Explain the process of evaporation. 2) Describe factors in the environment that contribute to evaporation. 3) Discussion (10 minutes)  The teacher will wipe a wet sponge across the blackboard.  The students will watch the water disappear.  The teacher will ask questions to the class, “Where did the water from the black board go?”, “What happens to puddles after it rains?” and “Have you ever seen clothes hung out on a line to dry in the sun and the wind?”  The teacher will explain that in all these cases the water is evaporated back into the atmosphere. 4) Activity (15 minutes)  Each group of four students will get one plate.  First they need to make a 20 mL puddle of water on their plate.  Next they draw a circle around their puddle using the purple crayon.  Third they find somewhere in the classroom to store their plate. Encourage a group of students to put it in a closed cabinet and another group to put it in direct sunlight for more diverse results.  Last the students will form a hypothesis about what will happen to the water on their plate. 5) Summary (15 minutes)]  As a class popcorn read pages 284-286 of the Prentice Hall Textbook. 6) Homework  Students will complete an experiment at home form page 284 in the textbook. 1. Fill a glass with ice cubes and water. 2. Set the glass aside for five minutes. 3. Observe the outside of the glass and the surface it was sitting on. 4. Think it over. Where did the water on the outside of the glass come from? How do you think it got there? Day Three: Condensation 1) Warm Up (10 minutes)  Students will complete the third entry on the Terrarium Data Sheet 1) Date 2) What is happening inside the jar? 3) On which part of the jar do you see water? 4) Is there anything new happening in the jar? 5) Other observations. 2) Introduction (5 minutes)  The students will be able to: 1. Explain that air pressure and temperature contribute to condensation. 2. Describe why it rains when a cloud is saturated. 3) Discussion/Teacher Demonstration (30 minutes)  Students will revisit their puddles and draw a new circle with the orange crayon.  Students with share if their results matched their hypothesis.  The teacher will point out that the puddles in warm areas evaporated faster than those in cool areas because heat increases evaporation.  Teacher will conduct an experiment showing how air pressure affects temperature. Procedure 1. Tape the temperature strip into the bottle. 2. Screw cap on tightly. 3. Lay the bottle on it’s side so you can read the temperature strip. 4. Read and record the temperature. 5. Use both hands to squeeze the bottle as hard as you can. 6. After one minute read and record the temperature. 7. Stop squeezing the bottle. 8. After one minute read and record the temperature. 9. Ask questions. What happened to the temperature when the bottle was squeezed? What happened to the temperature after the bottle stopped being squeezed?  Procedures for making a cloud-in-a-bottle 1. Open bottle and pour in a few drops of water. 2. Screw cap on tightly. 3. Swirl the water around inside the bottle so most of the bottle is wet. 4. Squeeze the bottle and observe the temperature again. 5. Lay the bottle on it’s side. 6. Open the bottle. 7. Push down to flatten the bottle to half it’s normal size. 8. Have someone light a match and blow it out. 9. Put the match in the bottle while it is still smoldering. 10. Quickly release the sides of the bottle and put the cap back on. 11. Squeeze the bottle tightly for one minute. 12. Let the bottle pop open. Results: Students will see a cloud. In this experiment water molecules should condense into a cloud in a bottle. When the bottle is squeezed the air pressure and temperature is increased. The warm air causes the water in the bottle to evaporate, which is not visible. When you let the bottle pop outward the air pressure and temperature in the bottle suddenly decreases. This causes the water molecules to condense into the cloud. 4) Summary (10 minutes)  Students will copy down the following questions. 1. What makes air warm? 2. What happens to warm air? 3. What makes a cloud? 4. What happens to cold air? 5. What are clouds? 6. How are clouds made? 7. What three things are necessary to form clouds? 5) Homework  Students will answer the summary questions in their own words. Day Four: Precipitation and Saturation 1) Warm Up ( 10 minutes)  Students will complete the fourth entry on the Terrarium Data Sheet 1) Date 2) What is happening inside the jar? 3) On which part of the jar do you see water? 4) Is there anything new happening in the jar? 5) Other observations. 2) Introduction (5 minutes)  The students will be able to: 1. Define the terms saturation and precipitation. 2. Describe why it rains. 3) Activity ( 30 minutes)  Teacher will ask, “Does anyone know what precipitation Means?’  Teacher will complete a demonstration showing how to make rain. 1. Put ice cubes on the mirror to make it old. 2. Bring water in the kettle to boil. 3. When the water is boiling, hold the mirror so that the steam (water vapor) is hitting it. Use a pot holder. Steam can burn. 4. Discuss what you see.  Procedure to describe saturation as a small group activity. 1. Start with a dry sponge. 2. Hold the sponge in the air over the plate. 3. Pour 10 mL of water on the sponge at a time. 4. Record how many tablespoons you added when it started to drip. Questions What is happening to the water? Where is it going? Why is water dripping from the sponge? Is there a word for when something is full of water like the air or the sponge? 4) Summary ( 10 minutes)  Questions What is rain? How does rain happen? 5) Homework  Students will complete the questions 1-3 on page 287 of their Prentice Hall textbook. Day Five: Assessment and Performance Assignment 1) Warm Up ( 10 minutes)  Students will complete the last entry on the Terrarium Data Sheet 1) Date 2) What is happening inside the jar? 3) On which part of the jar do you see water? 4) Is there anything new happening in the jar? 5) Other observations.  Students will dispose of their terrarium. 2) Introduction (5 minutes)  Students will be able to: 1. Illustrate the entire water cycle. 2. Creatively describe the water cycle in writing. 3) Discussion (10 minutes)  Review 1. What are the parts of the water cycle? 2. What part of the water cycle did we show with the puddle experiment? 3. What part of the cycle did we see in the cloud in the bottle? 4. What part did we see in the sponge activity? 5. What parts of the water cycle were you able to observe in your terrarium?  The class will complete the KWL chart by answering the question, “What did you Learn about the water cycle?” 4) Activity (30 minutes)  Students will make a poster displaying all parts of the water cycle. 5) Homework  Students will write a one page story about the life of a raindrop. |