Explanation

**Grade Level: 3** **Duration:** 20 minutes **Objectives:** Students will be able to:
 * Title: Explaining The Water Cycle**
 * understand how the water cycle works
 * understand new vocabulary
 * How to distinguish between the different stages in the water cycle.
 * evaporation
 * condensation
 * precipitation
 * collection


 * 1) **Content:**
 * 2) **Scientific Inquiry:**
 * 3) **Nature of Science:** Science relies on empirical evidence. There is not just one at which science is done.

**Standards:** > > 11.A.1a: Describe an observed event.11.A.1e: Compare observations of individual and group results. 12.A.1b: Explain why similar results are expected when procedures are done the same.12.A.1c: Explain how knowledge can be gained by careful observation. > 1I: Stimulates prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familiar ideas and experiences.2I: Evaluates teaching resources and materials for appropriateness as related to curricular content and each student's needs.2N: Facilitates learning experiences that makes connections to other content areas and to life experiences.
 * 1) **NSES (Teaching and Content)**
 * 1) **ISBE (Goals 11, 12, and 13)**
 * 1) **IPTS**

**Materials:**
 * white board
 * pictures of the water cycle
 * video of water cycle

Rationale: It is important for students to understand how the water cycle works.

**Background Knowledge:** Water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises and cools, condenses into rain or snow, and falls again to the surface. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of rock, and much of it flows back into the ocean.

**Procedure (5-E Model)** Engagement: **Exploration:** **Explanation:** The Earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and around and around and (well, you get the idea) in what we call the water cycle.
 * What is a cycle? //Something that goes in a circle. A bicycle has two circular tires. Something that travels in a circle is a cycle.//.

This cycle is made up of a few main parts:


 * evaporation (and transportaion)
 * condensation
 * precipitation
 * collection

Is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air.
 * Evaporation:**

Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. You can see the same sort of thing at home... pour a glass of cold water on a hot day and watch what happens. Water forms on the outside of the glass. The water didn't somehow leak through the glass! It actually came from the air. Water vapor in the warm air, turns back into liquid when it touches the cold glass.
 * Condensation:**

Occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
 * Precipitation:**

When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes, rivers or it may end up on land. When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the ground water the plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect int he oceans, lakes, or rivers where the cycle starts.
 * Collection:**


 * ALL OVER AGAIN**


 * Water Cycle Video**

Resources

[]