I am looking for an at home project to give my kids. I would like for them to show their understanding of the water cycle in some way. Any project ideas or thoughts?
This may be a bit too simplistic - not sure what you're looking for - but I have my students illustrate the water cycle. Then, below each picture they have to label which part of the cycle is shown and write an explanation of that portion of the water cycle.
Or, I haven't done this but I've heard about it. Each child pretends he or she is a drop of water and writes a story about their trip through the water cycle.
Or, make a travel brochure. Each part of the water cycle would be a different travel destination. Like, "Welcome to storage. Here, you'll see lakes, rivers, oceans, puddles, etc. all filled with wonderful, fabulous water!"
I agree. A very long time ago, I designed a water cycle project. It was mostly "water color" illustrated (ha ha) and 3-D as well. I made a house, clouds out of stuffing, a pond... you get the idea. Using the illustration and lable approach would give your artisic one's to grow and allow for arts inclusion as well.
I have used the following with kindergarten and they LOVE it! I make a large poster of the water cycle: ex. pond, grass, sun, sky, fluffy clouds, rain drops (cutesy) - label parts - kids love big words so use them (condensation, precipitation, etc.) Each day we learn about a new word and that part of the cycle. I have simple work sheets that I found on-line that we color each day and then staple together into a booklet that the children can take home. To show the cycle actually working we tie it to learning about plant growth. We plant flower seeds in a large tub, give it some water, slide the tub in a plastic bag, and set it on the windowsill. Every day the kids come running in to see what is happening. They draw pictures of the changes - there will be condensation that forms in the top and on the sides of the plastic (clouds), the clouds are formed when the water evaporates. When the top of the bag is tapped it will 'rain' down on the plants (precipitation). The plants are watered as the water collects on the ground (collection). We start this project in the spring so we can decorate flower pots and send the plants home for Mother's Day. There is also a cute song that ties it all together - I can't remember where I found that but the kids loved it as well. We entered our project in our school science fair last year - along with a tape of the class singing the song. It was adorable. E-mail me if you are interested in 'hearing' more. Have fun! = Maria
Years ago I did an AIMS activity about the watercycle. Students drew the cycle on a zip-loc bag with markers then put gravel in the bottom, added a little water, and hung it up in a sunny location. A mini watercycle was created inside the bag.
Each child will need a piece of gimp or string or pipe cleaner and six beads-light blue for rain, green for grass, dark blue for a puddle, yellow for the sun, clear for evaporation and white for a cloud.
Story: One day the rain started to come down from the sky. It landed on the grass. The raindrops made a puddle. The sun came out and warmed up the puddle. The droplets evaporated and went into the sky. so many raindrops got together that they make a cloud. Then the rain fell from the cloud. It landed on the grass. The children move the beads as the story is told.
I think this is a great idea. So good (or great) which ever one you prefer
I am going to use it for my SCIENCE project!
I am in forth grade,and my teacher asighned a water cycle project,so me and my mom were looking through some websights,and came across you're idea and thought about what we could do. We came up with some great ideas for how I could use it .
10-17-2006, 04:52 AM
Maria
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