Introduction & Song
My class spends 2 weeks singing, acting, painting, and experimenting with the water cycle and the 3 states of matter! It is super engaging and the kids love it!
I start by asking my kids "Why don't the clouds ever run out of rain?"
The responses I get are pretty interesting. Some include:
"There is a button in the sky that says 'rain'"
"God tells the clouds to rain and then they do"
"The sun sends the rain down"
Then I show them a picture (no words). And I take a little cut out water droplet and show them the journey that it takes all around the world! Next we learn our three big words: evaporation, condensation, & precipitation. At the end of our mini lesson we sing our song:
I start by asking my kids "Why don't the clouds ever run out of rain?"
The responses I get are pretty interesting. Some include:
"There is a button in the sky that says 'rain'"
"God tells the clouds to rain and then they do"
"The sun sends the rain down"
Then I show them a picture (no words). And I take a little cut out water droplet and show them the journey that it takes all around the world! Next we learn our three big words: evaporation, condensation, & precipitation. At the end of our mini lesson we sing our song:
There are motions for each part.
Cycles: draw a circle in the air
Evaporation: wiggly fingers from our lap up in the air
Condensation: cup our hands and start small, and then puff out bigger and bigger to form a 'cloud'
Precipitation: rain our fingers down from the sky
We take turns leading it, and the kids love it!
Cycles: draw a circle in the air
Evaporation: wiggly fingers from our lap up in the air
Condensation: cup our hands and start small, and then puff out bigger and bigger to form a 'cloud'
Precipitation: rain our fingers down from the sky
We take turns leading it, and the kids love it!
Acting Out the Water Cycle
The next day we act out the cycle. 4 kids stand on opposite sides of the room holding signs that say 'precipitation, 'condensation', 'evaporation' & 'collection'. A 4th child has a cutout of a sun and stands next to the evaporation sign. Every other child has a cut out of a water drop. Everyone waits until the sun comes out and then the water droplet evaporate (But maybe not every one, maybe some stay in collection) then the sun 'goes away' and the droplets begin to condense etc.
Precipitation Experiment
Supplies:
cotton balls
water
water droppers
construction paper
a place to draw tally marks to keep track of the water drops
The cotton ball represents a cloud. The water represents the condensing water vapor.
1. Predict how many condensing water drops it takes to make a cloud rain.
2. Drip water into the the cotton ball while keeping track of how many are dripped.
3. Continue dripping until the 'cloud precipitates' onto the construction paper.
4. Compare the predicted number to the actual amount it took the cloud to precipitate.
cotton balls
water
water droppers
construction paper
a place to draw tally marks to keep track of the water drops
The cotton ball represents a cloud. The water represents the condensing water vapor.
1. Predict how many condensing water drops it takes to make a cloud rain.
2. Drip water into the the cotton ball while keeping track of how many are dripped.
3. Continue dripping until the 'cloud precipitates' onto the construction paper.
4. Compare the predicted number to the actual amount it took the cloud to precipitate.
Painting the Water Cycle
This isn't a very structured activity - I basically just got out the paints and told them to paint the water cycle. They needed to explain what was what when they were done.
Neat Videos
The video above is a neat song on solids liquids and gasses. The video below ties in the 3 states of matter into the water cycle so perfectly it is like a perfect package with a irresistible bow!
Solid, Liquid, & Gas Experiment
Mixing a solid and a liquid to make a gas
Supplies:
empty water bottle
balloons
baking soda
vinegar
1. Put vinegar into the bottom of the empty bottle.
2. Pur 2 spoon fulls of baking soda into a balloon.
3. Stretch the opening of the balloon over the bottle but keeping the soda hanging on the side of the bottle.
4. Have the students observe the liquid & feel the solid.
5. Pull the balloon up so that the soda falls into the liquid.
6. Watch the balloon fill up with gas!
empty water bottle
balloons
baking soda
vinegar
1. Put vinegar into the bottom of the empty bottle.
2. Pur 2 spoon fulls of baking soda into a balloon.
3. Stretch the opening of the balloon over the bottle but keeping the soda hanging on the side of the bottle.
4. Have the students observe the liquid & feel the solid.
5. Pull the balloon up so that the soda falls into the liquid.
6. Watch the balloon fill up with gas!
Other Activities
I created a foldable and a cut and paste to help the students remember the properties of the 3 states of matter.