Time for a Change
Overview:
Re-enacting the water cycle and its changes of state both inside and outside the classroom with viewing video, hands-on experiments, and direct observations from both inside and outside the classroom.
Grade Level: 2
Strand and Topic: Understanding Earth and Space Systems: Air and Water in the Environment
Inquiry Focus:
Water has a way of changing and air helps that to happen.
The time required depends on students’ background knowledge, skills set, level of interest, and any additional time required for completion of student work.
Big Ideas:
Change and Continuity / Sustainability and Stewardship
· Air and water are a major part of the environment
· Living things need air and water to survive
· Changes to air and water affect living things and the environment.
· Our actions affect the quality of air and water, and its ability to sustain life
Teacher Tip: need to be careful and not preach doom and gloom about poor water quality; spend more time on what we can do to help the environment.
Teacher Tip: Sublimation is the change from solid straight to gas and the reason there is fog in winter when there is snow on the ground and a fast defrost is happening.
Overall Expectations:
Science and Technology
1. assess ways in which the actions of humans have an impact on the quality of air and water, and ways in which the quality of air and water has an impact on living things;
2. investigate the characteristics of air and water and the visible/invisible effects of and changes to air and/or water in the environment;
3. demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which air and water are used by living things to help them meet their basic needs.
Language
1. listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes
2. use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes
3. reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations
Mathematics: Measurement
- estimate, measure, and record length, perimeter, area, mass, capacity, time, and temperature, using non-standard units and standard units
- compare, describe, and order objects, using attributes measured in non-standard units and standard units
Mathematics: Data Management and Probability
- collect and organize categorical or discrete primary data and display the data, using tally charts, concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots, simple bar graphs, and other graphic organizers, with labels ordered appropriately along horizontal axes, as needed
- read and describe primary data presented in tally charts, concrete graphs, pictographs, line plots, simple bar graphs, and other graphic organizers
- describe probability in everyday situations and simple games
The Arts: Visual Arts
· D1. apply the creative process (see pages 19–22) to produce a variety of two- and three-dimensional art works, using elements, principles, and techniques of visual arts to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings
· D2. apply the critical analysis process (see pages 23–28) to communicate feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of art works and art experiences
Specific Expectations:
Science and Technology
· 1.1 assess the impact of human activities on air and water in the environment, taking different points of view into consideration and plan a course of action to help keep the air and water in the local community clean
· 1.2 assess personal and family uses of water as responsible/efficient or wasteful, and create a plan to reduce the amount of water used, where possible
· 2.4 investigate the stages of the water cycle, including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection
· 2.5 investigate water in the natural environment
· 3.2 identify water as a clear, colourless, odourless, tasteless liquid that exists in three states and that is necessary for the life of most animals and plants
· 3.4 identify sources of water in the natural and built environment
· 3.5 identify the three states of water in the environment, give examples of each, and show how they fit into the water cycle when the temperature of the surrounding environment changes
Key Concepts:
Solid, liquid, gas, water cycle, evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection, air transportation, water particles
Prior Skill Sets:
- Use of inquiry tools: ruler, thermometer, photo capture materials
- Use of story books and reference books
- Finding the answers to questions using a variety of sources and modalities
Prior Knowledge:
Grade 1: Understanding Earth and Space Systems
1. assess the impact of daily and seasonal changes on living things, including humans
2. investigate daily and seasonal changes
3. demonstrate an understanding of what daily and seasonal changes are and of how these changes affect living things
Materials and Equipment:
· projector and internet access
· books, movies, images of water in its states and stages
· graduated cylinders
· beakers
· thermometers
· sidewalk chalk
· paint brushes
· pails
· water source
· Water’s Way by Lisa Westerberg Peters
Resources:
http://esciunits.uregina.wikispaces.net/Grade+2
http://www.developingaglobalperspective.ca/wp-content/assets/lessonplans/gr2/The_Importance_of_Water.pdf
Safety:
· safe usage of tools
· follow established safety procedures for boundaries when exploring outside
For more guidance, please see the safety outlines indicated in sections 4.1.3 Studying Animals, 4.1.4 Studying Plants, and 4.4.1 Nature Study, located in the document: Safety in Elementary Science and Technology: A reference guide for Elementary School Educators, located at: http://stao.ca/res2/unifElemSafety/
Instructional Planning and Delivery:
Engage -> Explore -> Explain -> Extend -> Evaluate
Type / Structured or Directed / Guided / Coupled / Open or FullParticipant / Teacher Initiated and Performed / Teacher Initiated, Students Performed / Teacher Initiated / Student Initiated
Path to Inquiry
Engage (I SEE) I notice
Activity 1: Water Comes and Goes
1. After a storm event, go outside and find where the puddles are on the hardtop of the school yard. Use sidewalk chalk and draw the perimeter of the puddle and monitor for changes in area. Document with pictures or video.
2. Discuss where the water went. How fast or slow did that happen?
3. Have the students make observations over time with pictures and/or photographs, and redraw the lines as the puddle gets smaller over time until it’s gone or it rains again…
Ask: Who uses the puddle while it’s here? [People, wildlife or both?]
Once the students seem to understand the role of solar energy [heat] in changing states of matter, try discussing these questions:
· Does the same thing happen with snow?
· What could we do to make the water go away faster?
· How could we protect the puddle without adding more water?
· Can they act out the water cycle and include the role of the sun in their actions?
Teacher Tip: If there is heat and no rain, have students draw with JUST water and CLEAN paint brushes on the walls of the school so they can watch the sun steal the art. Where can the painting live the longest [coolest wall]? Where can the paint disappear the fastest [the hot spot]?
Questioning (I WONDER)
Teacher-led / Student-led· Do you worry as a rain drop about changing into a snowflake?
· Once water is dirty, how do we get it clean again?
· Who at home uses the least water and the most?
· How can people make a water cycle without going outside?
· What stage of the water cycle is your favourite?
· Where is the closest water to the school? How safe is it to explore?
· Which plants and animals use the most water? Which use the least?
· Why does water have no taste?
· Where do we find water in the school? In the schoolyard? In the neighbourhood?
· Where do you not want to find water [basement, sandwich, inside shoes]?
· How do seasons slow down or speed up the water cycle? / In a knowledge building circle (inside the classroom or outside), the students are asked open-ended questions to inspire their own questions for further inquiry. This is also the time to reference comments and questions, taking into account the influence of each season we have.
Activity 2: Three Stages of Water inside the Classroom
1. Read Water’s Way by Lisa Westerberg – Peters and see how the story shows the water changing inside and outside a house. How can we get this to work inside our classroom?
2. Set aside an area of the classroom for the demonstration and discuss what students need in order to be safe.
Teacher Tip: The demonstration could be done by students if coached carefully or have upper grade students [grade 8 water study] come in as guest scientists and do the demo for the younger students.
3. Start with a pot of cool water and a hot plate [or cool water in a kettle] and a dish towel.
4. The pot of water is the lake; when you add a heat source, evaporation or steam occurs.
5. Collect the steam in the dish towel [students should wear oven mitts or have teacher hold it]. You can make a cloud by collecting the condensation in one place.
6. Wring out the towel and you can have it “rain” back into the water source or pot/kettle.
How is this similar to the story? How does a different season change how fast or slow the states of matter show themselves?
Re-read Water’s Way by Lisa Westerberg – Peters to see how the experiment reflects the story and shows water changing inside and outside a house. Draw parallels to how this works outside. Retell what just happened and watch the school yard for parallels to the story.
Indigenous Perspective – What legends are about water and how the states of water change?
Read stories that connect to the medicine wheel and the role water plays in Indigenous culture.
Indigenous Connections:
Water legends -
https://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=BA5125BF-1
Water relationships videos -
http://www.sacredrelationship.ca/videos/
Explore / Inquiry activity: (I DO)
Activity 3: Water Exploration
1. Go to a local water source in a green space, park, or outdoor centre and see water in as many places and states as possible depending on the season. If access is an issue, look online for water body movies [wetlands, rivers, lakes, or oceans] to observe instead.
2. If access to water is available, use nets and buckets to figure out who lives in the water. If access is not available, you can build a pond with 4 pool noodles duct taped into a square and a white plastic shower curtain as “pool liner”; bring in a bucket of aquatic insects for observations. At the end of the day, release them where you got them from.
3. Watch how they move, what they were found near, and what they could be.
Ask: How can you tell if water is clean [e.g., - colour, smell, who is living in it, etc.]?
If a lot of garbage is found, discuss how students can help or get help to clean it up [local conservation area, earth day committee, etc.].
Once the students see what lives in the water, discuss how the changes in the states of matter can affect their survival. Try discussing these questions.
Teacher Tip: The mystery of “Can you drink it??”, when water is clear? This question needs to be addressed. Clear is not microbe-free and all water needs to be clean before tasting. Trying different types of water from different water sources is a great challenge as most students can’t tell the difference from fancy water to tap water. A blind taste test is always fun.
Explain
Activity 4: Waste Not
1. How can we save water at school? Look for the drips. Where are the leaky taps and water fountains? Tell custodians.
2. In the school yard, make maps to show where large puddles are so action can be taken to fix drainage. It helps to show size and depth of puddle. [One school had a kayaker in the puddle and students with lifejackets around the puddle edge to show how deep the problem was in picture sent to board office.]
3. Where can water be saved in school : reusable bottle refill stations, not water fountains: taps in bathrooms, low flow toilets, etc.?
As water patrol for school, show how water can be saved inside and outside the school. Stream of
Dreams and Yellow Fish Road are programs to help make the community aware of water conservation beyond the school area.
Teacher Tip: The idea is to be nice and not blame water wasters;they might not know about saving water in the school or community. There are websites to show amounts of water used in different cultures in homes. Challenge kids to find ways they can save water and who in their family uses the least amount of water.
Extend / Redesign
Activity 5: Snow Days
1. Gather 3 clear plastic cups of snow per group
a. one lightly packed
b. one hard packed
c. one as natural as the snow is on the ground
2. Use tape to label each sample set [a, b, c] and to draw a line where the students predict the line of water will be when the snow melts.
3. Put cups on window sill to melt or use microwave to melt snow faster to see how the volume changes when the state of water changes.
Questions as starting points to go further on this topic:
· What does this tell you about when the school yard snow melts?
· Where will all that water go?
· How can we be safe with spring flooding?
Extend – Design and Build
Students can make various devices to catch and record rainfall. A small weather station can be developed as a class activity and placed in a location where daily changes can be observed and recorded. Explore different types of weather instruments and incorporate these ideas into the models. Discuss the use of materials to be sure that the station can withstand different conditions. Make connections to math curriculum.
Teacher Tip: Check with your local conservation authority for the spring flood program for grade 2 which helps to ice and flood proof the students for community safety.