College of Education

LESSON PLAN FORMAT

Name: __Sarah Zach________________

Grade Level: __Fourth Grade_________
School: _Colman-Egan School District___
Date: _February 2, 2016_____________
Time: _1:00-1:30__________________

Reflection from prior lesson:

In the prior lessons, the students watched a video on fossils. In this lesson,
they learned about how fossils relate to rocks and soil, which is what we
have been talking about in previous lessons. The lessons are all leading up to
the final lesson on pollution.
Lesson Goal(s) / Standards:
4-ESS2-1 Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of
the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind or
vegetation.
Lesson Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to identify the 4 steps of
the water cycle and how they affect the environment.
Materials Needed:
-

SmartBoard Lesson

Contextual Factors/ Learner Characteristics:

The students are always very eager to answer questions. There are times
when the students blurt out their answer without giving others a chance to
answer the question. There is a variety of disabilities in the classroom
causing the students to need altered tests and some content. The students
really enjoy doing hands on activities, such as labs.
A. The Lesson
1. Introduction (3 minutes)

The Smart lesson will be on the board with a water cycle

interactive visual playing.
In this chapter we have talked about soil, rocks, and fossils.
Today we are going to learn about something that has been
talked about in each lesson but you probably didnt even
realize it. In the rock lesson, it can be used to break down
rocks. In the soil lesson, we used it to test the permeability of
the soil. In the fossil lesson, it helps in making fossils.
Talk to the person next to you about what you think this might
be.
Can anyone tell me what we are going to learn about today?
Today we will be learning about water and the water cycle.
2. Content Delivery (25 minutes)
a. Who can give me a few examples of how we use water in our
everyday life? Drinking it, washing in it, in the lake/ocean,
weather.
b. Water is a necessity in our everyday life. You need it to
survive and to perform everyday tasks. You cannot destroy
water and you cannot make new water. It is in a continuous
cycle. So water you have now was around millions of years
ago when the dinosaurs were around. Can anyone tell me
what the cycle is called that the water goes through? The
water cycle.
c. The first step in the water cycle that we are going to go over
is evaporation. Who can tell me what evaporation is?
Evaporation is when the sun heats the water. As the water
gets warmer it turns into a gas called water vapor. Once it is
in the air what happens?
d. Once the water vapor rises, it cools and turns back into a
liquid making clouds. This stage of the water cycle is called
condensation. Once the cloud gets full of water, it starts to
rain. What is this called? Precipitation.
e. What are some other examples of precipitation that you can
think of? Rain, sleet, hail, snow, etc.
f. When the precipitation hits the Earths surface it takes you
into the next stage in the water cycle. The water is now called
run off. Run off is when water flows over the Earths surface.
What are some examples of water flowing over the Earths
surface? Lakes, rivers, oceans, seas, etc.
g. I will go to the water cycle activity on the Smart
lesson. Now I am going to test your skills with this water
cycle activity. First, when the sun causes water to rise into the

B.

C.
D.
E.

air as water vapor, it is called? ____ please come up and

make the water rise.
h. When the air cannot hold any more vapor and turns into fog,
mist or clouds it is called? ____ please come up and move
the clouds to above the mountains.
i. When air temperature and pressure causes the clouds to
break apart, rain hail or snow falls and it is called?
______please come up and make the clouds rain three times.
j. Next, small creeks and streams form in the mountains and
water then flows into rivers. This is called? ____ please come
up and make the river flow to the sea.
k. I will then go to the Water Cycle Song on the Smart
lesson. I now want everyone to stand up and form a big
circle. First, we are going to just say the words. (Evaporation,
condensation, precipitation, runoff too. Parts of the water
cycle; they continue, yes they do) Now I want everyone to
sing it and do the actions. We will do the dance twice to
help the students learn the steps of the water cycle.
3. Closure (2 minutes)
a. Lets review. What is the first step of the water cycle?
Second? Third? Fourth?
Assessments Used
a. Formative assessment will be used to assess the students ability
to recall the steps of the water cycle. The students will be
assessed while doing the water cycle activity.
Differentiated Instruction
a. For ELL students, the steps can be animated through the
animations on the Smart lesson.
Back Pocket Idea
a. If we complete the activities early, the students will draw out the
steps of the water cycle, labeling each step.
Resources
a. SmartExchange.com
b. Science: A Closer Look