LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Water Cycle and Water Conservation
ENGAGE (indoors or outdoors)
1 class period
best done on a sunny day
 Provide each student with a cup of water. Invite them to “paint”
pictures on different surfaces in the outdoor classroom using the
water in their cup and their finger.
 Ask students to watch their pictures and describe in their journals
what happened to the pictures they painted with the water.
(Students will be able to see their pictures disappear as the water
evaporates).
 Bring class together to discuss what they observed. Students will
have seen their water pictures slowly disappear. Engage them in
a discussion about what they believe happened to their water.
Where did it go? What caused it to disappear? (Allow students
to share their answers regardless of accuracy. An explanation is
not needed yet).
Grade
Kindergarten
Timeframe
1 – 3 class periods
Materials
 Student journals/pencils
 Small cups, one per student
 Bucket of water or access to
a water faucet
 Hand trowels, one per
student
 Clear plastic (used produce
bags work well), one per
every 2-3 students
EXPLORE(outdoors)
2 class periods
Day 1
 Ask students to think about the water pictures they painted. Where did the water they used come
from? (A faucet). Do they think they could get some water out of the soil?
 Tell students that there is a way to get water out of the soil that has been used as a way to obtain
fresh, drinkable water when none can otherwise be found. They’ll be working in groups to create
something called a “water still”. Note: see figure 1 as a guide for what students should complete in
their groups.
 To construct their water stills, divide students into groups of 2-3 and provide each group with a shovel
(hand trowels will work okay), and a small cup. Instruct groups to dig a hole that is at least 1 ft. deep
and 1-2 ft. wide. (Note: holes should be small enough that the clear plastic can be spread across the
top with at least 3-6 inches of the plastic overlapping the entire circumference). Make sure students
are digging in a location where no one will accidentally trip and fall into the hole.
 When finished digging, tell students to place their cup in the bottom of their hole, making sure it is
sitting on a flat surface. Provide each group with a piece of plastic large enough to overlap the opening
of their hole by about 3-6 inches.
 Students should stretch the plastic across the surface of the hole and hold it in place using the soil they
dug out, making sure all edges are sealed. After the plastic is secure, each group should place a single
rock (~1-2 inches in diameter) in the center of the plastic so that a slight cone shape is formed with the
point (location of the rock) hanging above the cup in the hole.
 Leave holes for several hours (should be a sunny day).
Day 2
 Students should check the water stills they created for any water that might be on the underside of the
plastic or in their cup.
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

Bring students together – did they find water in their cup? Was there water on the underside of the
plastic of their still? Ask students to sketch the water still in their notebook and try to come up with an
explanation as to how the water got into their cup and onto the plastic of their water still.
(Note: figure 1 helps to explain the process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation that
provides the water that ends up on the plastic or in the cup).
EXPLAIN(indoors or outdoors)
1-2 class periods
 Use the water still to introduce (or review) the water cycle, including evaporation, condensation, and
precipitation. Use the diagram of the water still students created in their journals (or figure 1) to
clarify their understanding of the concepts.
 Ask students to explain the source of the water they found in their water stills. (Water in the soil most
likely came from recent rain or irrigation of the area).
 Ask students to think about what caused the water to evaporate more quickly in their water still (the
sun). Would water on the surface of soil evaporate more quickly or more slowly on a sunny day?
(more quickly)
 Bring students to the outdoor classroom and have them look around for evidence of water and
evaporation. For example, students may find a pile of leaves that are dry on the surface but wet
underneath. Bare soil may be dry but soil underneath plants may be wet. They may dig a hole and find
the top 1-2 inches are dry.
 Bring students back together to share what they discovered about water in the outdoor classroom.
(They should come to the conclusion that there is less moisture in areas directly exposed to the sun
and more moisture in areas that are underneath objects like rocks, leaves, plants, mulch, etc.). Why do
they think there is more moisture in those areas? (The process of evaporation is slowed).
 Lead class in a discussion about why they might want to slow the process of evaporation in their
outdoor classroom. (Guide students in thinking about the importance of conserving the water that
they use. The more quickly it evaporates, the more often the plants need to be watered, and the more
water that needs to be used).
ELABORATE (indoors or outdoors)
1-2 class periods
 With students working in small groups or as a whole class, design an experiment to test the effect of
mulch on the rate of evaporation in the outdoor classroom. Students may use mulch that already
exists in the outdoor classroom or collect leaves to use.
 There are many ways an experiment can be set up to test the effect of mulch, but the most basic
option is to set up two sunny locations – one with mulch and one without. Students can check
periodically for depth of moisture in the exposed and covered soil.
 Students should research “best practices” for water conservation in their region. They are likely to
learn more about the importance of keeping a thick layer of mulch around plants to help slow the rate
of evaporation – especially during hot summer months.
 If available, students should observe and diagram a rain barrel in their outdoor classroom. How does it
fit into the water cycle? (catches precipitation) How does it help to conserve water?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Water Cycle and Water Conservation
EVALUATE (indoors)
1 class period
 Students should identify and explain the different stages of the water cycle.
 Provide students with a diagram of a water still and ask them to label/explain how it works.
 In 2-3 sentences, students should explain how mulch can help to conserve water in their outdoor
classroom.
Figure 1
Source:
Modern Survivor Magazine
OBJECTIVES
Science
4.8 B - describe and illustrate the continuous movement of water above and on the surface of Earth
through the water cycle and explain the role of the Sun as a major source of energy in this process.
Copyright  2014 REAL School Gardens