Any recommendations for good literature or a website to pull diagrams from to teach this in an effective and engaging way - I plan to also
connect the hemispheres of the earth as well as prime merdian, longitude and latitude - within this topic as well as 97%of the earth's surface is covered by water.
Thanks for suggestions in advance - I plan to begin this unit next Tuesday!
I just started water today in Science. We did a neat intro activity. I wanted them to understand that about 70% of the earth's surface is covered with water(according to our science book). I made a t chart on the board and labeled it water and land. I then threw an inflated globe beach ball to each child. They looked to see where their thumb landed and we keep tallies on the board every time their thumb was on land or water. After all of my students had a chance to participate, we added up the tallies. We figured out the percent which was about 77%. It promoted a lot of good dicussion and really simplified it for them. Tomorrow we ae doing an inquiry to figure out where all of the water on earth is.
about what you do with your class - I will definitely do the beach ball globe acitivity as well as use some of the Magic School Bus materials
(i.e. Water works, etc) - I think I also have a reading comprehension worksheet about two rain drops.......how will you do the inquiry?
Thanks for all your suggestions!
Water cycle bracelet:
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.
This isn't my idea, but thought I'd share.
We did the inquiry today and the kids really enjoyed it. I divided the kids into 5 small groups and gave each group a 2 liter bottle of water, eye dropper, 4 clear cups and a measuring cup. They labeled the cups - glaciers and ice caps, rivers, lakes and streams, atmosphere, groundwater. I gave them a sheet that told them what % of the water went where. I have it at school if you would like it. It's something like 1 drop for the atmosphere, 47ml for the lakes, river & streams. Anyway the gist of it is ...after you divide the water and what is left in the 2 liter stands for the oceans and streams. It was a great cooperative activity and provided a great visual for the kids. Again, I have it at school if you would like the complete instructions.
There is a book called Water Dance and another called Cloud Dance that you might like. Search for those on Amazon and you'll see some titles for some other ones, too. I wish I could remember their names....one has a cartoonish looking "drop" on it and I thought it sounded good when I saw it..
I have seen this mentioned on other posts, so you may already be aware of it. United Streaming is a tremendous resource...check to see if your school subscribes. I used one of the videos on this site when I taught the water cycle. If nothing else, it is an alternative way to initially present the material.
the powerpoint presentation - the file will not open. I have pmed Stephanie Lynn with no answer yet - is there any one else who has been able to download it who could send it to me as an attachment.
Please pm (private message) me if you can - I would like to start the
water cycle on Wednesday November 1......
Thanks in advance for your help!
I did email you the powerpoint to the email you gave me...my email is doyoupinkyswear<img src="images/smil...img" />aol.com. I sent it last week after you pmed me.
If you have access to FOSS kits, there is a terrific one titled "Water". I used it with my 3rd graders last year and they LOVED it. It taught them a great deal about water, the properties there of, and the water cycle.
10-25-2006, 05:14 PM
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