Kutztown University

Elementary Education Department

Professional Semester Program

Teacher Candidate: Ashley Livering____________

Date: November 14-17, 2014

Cooperating Teacher: Dr. Varano

Coop. Initials: ________

Group Size:

20__

______

Allotted Time: __45 minutes__

Subject or Topic: __Lesson 4: Water Cycle ________

Grade Level: __Second__

Section: _EEU 205__

Standard(s):
3.3.2.A4: Explore and describe that water exists in solid (ice) and liquid (water) form. Explain and
illustrate evaporation and condensation.
I.

Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

A. The students will be able to identify parts of the water cycle and explain what is
occurring in each by matching stages to their definitions and explaining them in their
own words.

II.

Instructional Materials
A. Clear plastic cups (2 per group)
B. Sharpie
C. Shaving cream
D. Blue food coloring
E. Water
F. Readers Theater
G. Smart board
H. Water cycle worksheet
I. Science Journal/inquiry sheet
J. Pocket chart
K. Water cycle jingle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3NeMVBcXXU
Subject Matter/ Content
A. Prerequisite skills
1. Identifying the three states of matter
B. Key Vocabulary
1. Evaporation - Process where the suns heat turns liquid into gas.
2. Condensation - Forms droplets of water as water vapor cools to liquid form.
3. Water Vapor - Gas formed when water evaporates.
4. Precipitation - Falls to the Earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
5. Water cycle - Process where water moves from the ground to the sky and back
to the ground.

III.

IV.

C. Big Ideas
1. Understanding and knowing the water cycle and where the three states of
matter fit into the water cycle
Implementation
A. Day 1
1. Introduction
a. The teacher will ask students if they remember what evaporation is
from the previous day.
b. Students will give a thumbs up/thumbs down; the teacher will call on
one student with their thumbs up to tell the class what they remember.
c. With evaporation in mind each group will receive a cup of water that
they will fill about half way with water. Once the water is in the cup the
students will draw a line at the water level.
d. This will then be set aside until the following day to be used with the
inquiry.
e. The teacher will then introduce students to the topic of the water cycle.
2. Development
a. The teacher will use a pocket chart to introduce vocabulary words and
their definitions.
a. First the teacher will read aloud a word to the class and ask
students if they have an idea of what this word means or
examples of this word.
b. After the students have given their ideas the teacher will read
aloud the definition and place the card next to vocabulary word
in the pocket chart.
b. Teacher says: Today we will be reading a Readers Theater skit to begin
thinking about the water cycle. The teacher will hand each student a
copy of the readers theater.
c. The teacher will assign parts to each student in the class.
d. The students will read the readers theater as a whole class
e. When finished reading, the teacher will discuss the key parts of the
water cycle.
f. The teacher will have the students explore the water cycle all together
by completing a water cycle worksheet.
g. The teacher will begin by placing the worksheet on the smart board.
h. The students will have the same worksheet in front of them.
i. Using what they learned through the Readers Theater students will
complete the worksheet as a class by filling in each bubble with the
corresponding.
3. Closure
a. The teacher will have students think-pair-share about with the person
sitting next to them about different forms of precipitation and
accumulation.

B. Day 2
1. Introduction
a. The teacher will play a water cycle song in the beginning of class to
review what was discussed the previous day.
b. The teacher will ask for volunteers to come to the board and match
vocabulary words to definitions. The students will place the word and
definition next to each other in the pocket chart.
2. Implementation
a. The teacher will then introduce the inquiry to the students.
a. Teacher says: Today we will be doing a mini lab where we will
see the water cycle in action. Every group has a cup filled with
water to start. Each group will then add shaving cream and fill
the top half. You will then receive blue food coloring and will
place 5-6 drops on top of the shaving cream. You will then
write down your observations on your inquiry sheet and label
the part of the water cycle that is occurring under step 1. We
will then look at the cup of water that we filled in the beginning
of class and look what has happened. This observation and part
of the water cycle will also be labeled on your inquiry sheets
under step 2.
b. Students will then be given time to complete the inquiry in their groups
and discuss what they observed and how this fits into the water cycle.
c. The teacher will then go over the observations as a class and will ask for
volunteers to share what they saw happening.
d. The teacher will ask each group to come up with one what if question.
a. What if we used something other than shaving cream?
b. What if we used something instead of water?
e. The students will then complete a paragraph in their science journals
where they will write the steps of the water in cycle in order and explain
what happens during each. (Journals will be collected at the end of
class for grading)
3. Closure
a. The teacher will review vocabulary by saying a word aloud to the
students and then having students explain it in their own words.
b. The teacher will explain to students that they will be taking a quiz. The
teacher will explain that it will be matching 7 vocabulary words to their
definitions.
c. The students will complete a vocabulary quiz.
d. The teacher will end the lesson with playing the water cycle jingle from
the beginning of class.
C. Accommodations/Differentiation
1. Vocabulary quiz definitions and words will be read aloud
D. Assessment/Evaluation Plan

V.

VI.

1. Formative Day 2: The students will be completing a short writing assignment

that goes along with the water cycle investigation. They will write a paragraph
explaining the steps of the water cycle in their own words. All four parts of the
water cycle must be used. The students will receive a point for every vocabulary
word explained correctly.
2. Formative Day 2: The students will complete a vocabulary quiz where they will
match the step in the water cycle to the description. The vocabulary words
included are: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, accumulation, water
cycle, and water vapor. *See attached document for quiz.
Reflective Response
A. Report of Students Performance in Terms of States Objectives
B. Personal Reflection
1. If I were to reteach this lesson, what would I change? What would I keep the
same?
2. Were my students engaged during the whole lesson? What did this look like?
3. How did I adapt the lesson from the textbook and why?
Resources

Readers' Theater Script: Water Cycle - EnchantedLearning.com. (n.d.). Readers' Theater Script: Water
Cycle - EnchantedLearning.com. Retrieved October 27, 2014, from
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rt/weather
The Water Cycle Rap (with lyrics). (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3NeMVBcXXU
Weather In A Cup - Water Cycle. (n.d.). Teachers Pay Teachers. Retrieved October 27, 2014, from
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weather-In-A-Cup-Water-Cycle-205976