Flooding Lesson 1 - The Water Cycle

Themes:
Knowing our Dangers
Deciding What to Do
Reducing our Dangers
Learning to Respond
Practicing and Improving
Sharing and Taking Action / Subjects:
Language Arts
Science and Mathematics
Social Studies, History, Geography
Fine Arts & Performing Arts
Life Skills
Afterschool Clubs / Year Level:
Early Childhood
Early Primary
Late Primary
Early Secondary
Late Secondary
Time to teach: 1 hour. Please note that all timings are approximate and flexible based on the age and ability of your teaching group.

Purpose:

  • In order to understand why floods occur it is essential to understand how the water cycle operates. This lesson aims to ensure students understand the basic water cycle.

Learning Outcomes:

  1. To understand the different aspects of the water cycle
  2. To learn and develop new vocabulary important to understanding the scientific principals of the water cycle.

Materials & Preparation:

  • Workbook and pen/pencil for each student. Red and blue pencils for older students.
  • Blackboard and chalk
  • Water cycle song/poem.
  • Depending on age group being taught, copies of resources 1a and 1b for younger students or for older students 1c and 1d.
  • Scissors and glue if available.

Steps

Starter activity
  1. Teacher to read through/sing through the water cycle song/poem.
  2. After this has been read or sang, ask students what they remember. Are there new words they have not heard before? Teacher to write these on the board. Explain that we will learn what these are as the lesson progresses.
    (10 mins)
Main Activity
For younger children
  1. Using the water cycle song/poem, children take a series of images and try and match it up with the words to create their own water cycle. Using Resources [NOTE: These images need to be created by graphic designer: Clouds, Sun, Rain drops, Puddle, Pond, Lake, Stream, River, Sea, Trees, Arrows]It is important thatstudent progress is monitored and the teacher is available to help or answer questions as the task is being carried out.
    (25 mins)
  2. Check that they are correct and ask students to cut out each part of the song and its matching picture and create a water cycle diagram on two pages of their work-books.
(15 mins)
For older children
  1. Ideally use double page in students work-books. Stick picture from Water Cycle resource 1c into centre of page.(5 mins)
  2. Look carefully at the picture together and identify all the different parts of the diagram such as hills/mountains, rock, rivers, sea/lake, clouds. (5 mins)
  3. Use Information cards from Water Cycle resource 1d to annotate (label) the diagram.If no scissors available, students to identify the correct information and write it around the diagram. (20 mins)
  4. Students to add a title to diagram.
  5. Students to add colour to show sun-powered movement in red and gravity-powered movement in blue. (5-10 mins)

Evaluation

For younger children:
To end the lesson, draw a simple water cycle diagram on the blackboard and ask students to add the correct labels to the diagram. When complete go through song together again and ask a child to point out the correct part of the diagram on the blackboard.(10 mins)
For older children:
Using Resource E, cut or tear up rectangles with a definition and keyword. Match the keyword to the correct definition. The answers for teachers is also provided so that you can see what the correct order is! (10-15 mins)