Activities inspired by children’s literature
Wonderful Water
By Christine Anne Royce
W
here does one single drop of water come from, and
what can we do to reduce our water usage? These
are important questions that need to be discussed in today’s classroom. Helping young children understand the
water cycle, the importance of water, and where and how
they use water will allow them to be more informed users
of this precious resource.
This Month’s Trade Books
All the Water in the World
By George Ella Lyon and Katherine
Tillotson
ISBN: 9781416971306
Atheneum
40 pages
Grades preK–3
Synopsis
Through illustrations and whimsical, developmentally
appropriate words, the reader is introduced to how people
use water and how it moves through the water cycle. The
author explains how every drop of water we have now is all
the water we will have in the future.
The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet
By Meredith Hooper
Illustrated by Chris Coady
ISBN: 978-0670876181
Viking Juvenile
32 pages
Grades 3–6
Synopsis
Beautiful illustrations provide a narrative and descriptive
view of the complexity of the water cycle. The story of water is traced from its original formation, with movement
through various geographic locations as well as through
different organisms.
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Science and Children
Curricular Connections
Students may be fairly familiar with water, but they have
probably not given too much thought to the importance
of this non-renewable resource. For the most part, in industrialized countries, students turn on their faucet and
water appears ready for them to drink, play in, or brush
their teeth with. Helping students understand water in
the overall earth system requires explicit instruction and
opportunity for engagement and reflection on the student’s part. Younger students are asked to “[o]btain information to identify where water is found on Earth and
that it can be solid or liquid” (NGSS Lead States 2013, p.
21). In considering where water is found, students may
also start to realize that sometimes water is a scarce commodity and that humans’ use of water affects other systems. However, students “can make choices that reduce
their impacts on the land, water, air, and other living
things” (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 7). Having students
identify ways they can reduce their own water consumption through the use of “I statements” allows them to
be conscious and knowledgeable users of one of Earth’s
most precious resources.
As students get older, they can delve into the complexity of the water cycle and better understand the role of
water in Earth’s surface processes. One of the NGSS performance expectations for this age level discusses that students should be able to “[d]escribe and graph the amounts
and percentages of water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water
on Earth” (NGSS Lead States, 2013, p. 50), which helps
them to understand that water does not always remain in
the same place or state and thus is recycled throughout
the Earth. The activity that accompanies The Drop in My
Drink helps students understand that “[a] system can be
described in terms of its components and their interactions (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 50).” ■
Christine Anne Royce ([email protected]) is a professor at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Grades K–2: Water Is Wonderful
Materials
Purpose
• Pictures of water usage (see NSTA Connection)
• All the Water in the World
• Student data sheets including water droplet
Students describe ways they use water and how they can
reduce their water consumption.
•
template for “I statements” and personal water
usage tracking sheet (see NSTA Connection)
Chart paper and markers
Engage
Show students pictures of different ways that water can be
used in a day. After discussing them, ask, “Where else do
you use water in your everyday life?” List answers during
this brainstorming session, then read All the Water in the
World, stopping at the following points to elicit student
understanding, knowledge, and reaction:
• First stop at the page that asks, “[b]ut where does
water come from?” This allows students to consider
the origin of the water they use (e.g., rivers, streams,
glaciers, and the ocean).
• After the pages that discuss what happens in the
water cycle, ask students about their experiences with
these events. Have they been caught out in the rain,
drawn water from a well, seen water in lakes or the
ocean? These questions help connect students to the
ideas in the text (there is precipitation in the form of
rain, runoff in the form of water moving across the
mountains and land, evaporation of water from the
Earth and into the air).
• After reading the book through once, return to the
pages that discuss where we get our water from and
why it is important. Ask students to connect examples
from their daily lives to information on the pages and
engage them with local information about the use
of water, which will vary from place to place. Some
locations now are in a drought situation, whereas
others have higher-than-normal rainfall.
• The final two-page spread discusses how water is
precious and that we need to not waste it and keep it
clean. Ask students why they think this is important
and how they might accomplish the goal of reducing
their own water usage (CC ELA: Informational Texts
K–5 – Integration of Knowledge and Ideas).
Explore
Using the personal water use chart in Internet Resources
or a modified version limiting choices based on the age of
your students (see NSTA Connection), ask the students to
keep a tally of the number of times of days they do certain
things such as wash their face or hands, brush their teeth,
flush the toilet, or help with washing dishes. Time and at-
tention level depending, they can do this each day for a
week, only a few days, or even a single day. The teacher,
classroom aid, or, if done at home, the parents or guardians, can calculate how much water is used by each student
or the entire class for the determined period of time. As
students are getting drinks, washing their hands, or running water at school, make a point to highlight the point
that they are using water. After students have had a chance
to track how much water they use, show them a gallon jug
filled with water and ask them to discuss how many jugs
they use each day.
Explain
Have students indicate on their student data sheet if they
think they use a lot or a little water each day and compare it
to something such as the amount of water their pet drinks.
Asking them to compare and contrast their use with something else that they are familiar with will help to put their
use in a better perspective. After discussing how much water they use each day doing the actions identified, have them
return to their brainstormed list of where else they use water and begin to consider ways they can reduce their water
consumption. For example, students might identify shutting off the water faucet while they are brushing their teeth,
taking shorter showers, or not filling the bathtub as much
as they do. Ask them to list three ways they can reduce water on their student data sheet and then share their favorite
one with the entire class (CC ELA: Speaking and Listening
Standards K–5—Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas).
Elaborate
After students have heard all potential ideas, distribute
the water droplet template and have the students commit
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to making an “I statement” that demonstrates their recognition of what they can do to affect the world around
them. Have them complete the following phrase in words
or through illustrations: “I can reduce my water usage
by….” While students are writing their statements, ask
them to also explain how what they choose to do can help
conserve water or keep water clean. Once all students have
developed their own “I statement,” create a classroom
bulletin board that includes pictures of how we use water,
where water comes from, and the students’ “I statements”
(CC ELA: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use). By creating
a bulletin board, the “I” statements can be referred to as
the water cycle or human’s impact on Earth is studied.
Students can also be encouraged to report on their own
progress for the goal they have set (CC ELA: Writing
Standards K–5 – Text Types and Purposes).
Evaluate
Using the student data sheet, ask students to include a reason why they will follow the commitment they made for
themselves to reduce their impact on water. Between the
statements and illustrations, as well as the reasoning on
the student data sheet, students can be evaluated on their
understanding of how they use water and can reduce their
consumption.
Connecting to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013):
K-ESS3-Earth and Human Activity
www.nextgenscience.org/kess3-earth-human-activity
2–ESS2-Earth’s Systems
www.nextgenscience.org/2es-earths-systems-processes-shape-earth
The materials/lessons/activities outlined in this article are just one step toward reaching the Performance Expectations
listed below. Additional supporting materials/lessons/activities will be required.
Performance Expectation
Connections to Classroom Activity
Students:
K-ESS3-3 Communicate solutions that will reduce the
impact of humans on the land, water, air and/or other
living things in the local environment.
• identify individual ways that they can reduce
their water usage and create “I statements” as a
commitment to that goal.
Science and Engineering Practice
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
• obtain information from the text as to what happens
within the water cycle.
• collect data about their own water usage and share it
with the class.
• examine their water usage and identify where they
can reduce it.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
• Things that people do to live comfortably can affect
the world around them. But they can make choices
that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air and
other living things.
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
• Water is found in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Water exists as solid ice and in liquid form.
• identify individual ways that they can reduce
their water usage and create “I statements” as a
commitment to that goal.
• identify where water is found on the Earth.
Crosscutting Concept
Cause and Effect
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Science and Children
• explain how their actions help to conserve water or
keep it clean.
Materials
Grades 3–5: The Water Cycle
Purpose
Students participate in a simulation game that helps them
track a drop of water throughout the water cycle.
• The Drop in My Drink
• The Incredible Journey water cycle station cards,
labels, and cubes (see Internet Resources)
• Water cycle tracking paper
• Chart paper and markers or colored pencils
• Student data sheet (see NSTA Connection)
Engage
Show students the cover of the book The Drop in My Drink
and ask them to suggest what the text is about and describe
what they know about the topic. After accepting possible
answers, ask students to consider what they know about
the water cycle. Have them provide ideas about the water
cycle and list them on chart paper. If students draw connections between different parts of the water cycle that are
listed, ask them to draw arrows indicating the direction the
water might travel between those two points. After students have had an opportunity to brainstorm their current
understandings about the water cycle, read the story, stopping at the following points for the questions (CC ELA:
Informational Texts K–5 – Integration of Knowledge and
Ideas):
• On the first page of the book, the author discusses
different things that water can be and what it can do,
ask the students to describe locations or states that
represent each thing mentioned.
• After the first seven pages or so, ask the students to
start to make a list of all the places a drop of water
could potentially be on Earth on a piece of chart paper
and to continue to do this as the book is read.
• On page 11, it states that “the drop in my drink has
been inside millions of living things.” Ask students to
explain what is meant by this statement.
• What is meant by “each drop of water has its own
history” (on p. 23)?
Explore
Using The Incredible Journey Water Cycle Game information (see Internet Resources), set up the stations for the
different locations of water on Earth. Show students each
station, provide an introduction as to how they should
move at each station, and then model the process for
moving from one station to another after the roll of a die
(CC ELA: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use). Modeling
how the students should complete the information on the
student data sheet for their outcomes will also assist in a
smooth transition to the students exploring this process on
their own. Note: depending on where the student is and
the number they roll, they may find that they remain in
one location for multiple rolls of the die, as not all water
moves from one location to another equally. An example
would be groundwater remaining for extended periods of
time as groundwater—in comparison to water found in
a river, which has many different options as to where it
might go next. Ask students to engage in the simulation
at this point by starting at one location randomly assigned
and tracking their movement through 12–15 different trials. Students should record their travels on the student
data sheet. Questions to focus on asking as you circulate
through the room at this point include:
• Do you think water can move to any other location
within the water cycle? Why or why not?
• Why did you remain in the same location for a
number of rolls? How is this similar to the actual
movement of water in the water cycle? Connect this
back to the text using examples such as: The book
discusses water falling from the sky onto land, being
soaked into the ground, and disappearing. Explain
how this could connect to the groundwater station,
where there is only a 50% chance of moving from
there with a roll. Another example about water vapor
says “somewhere, sometime, some [water vapor] will
fall back down from clouds as rain, hail, or sleet.”
Students can explain why there are several different
places that precipitation could fall.
• Do you think that your experience as a water drop will
be the same as others? Why or why not?
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Explain
Using a water cycle diagram (see Internet Resources), ask
students to trace the route that their water droplet took
in the water cycle. After they have explained where their
drop went, ask them to create their own drop’s water cycle
diagram showing the movement that their particular drop
took. Note: most students will not trace the entire water
cycle process but rather a small portion. If students move
from one point to another and back again in the process,
they can indicate their path with different colors for each
part. Once they have drawn their path, ask them to join
with three other students who have a different path and
discuss the differences, which include the station they
started at, where the water droplet was able to travel to
from that station, and where they ended up at in the overall water cycle. Students can also compare and contrast
their drawings with the other students in the group to see
different components of the water cycle.
Elaborate
Ask students to identify the different parts of the water cycle that they are aware of and how water gets to that point
and moves away from that point. These can include evaporation, runoff, condensation, water vapor, freshwater, salt
water, glaciers, transpiration, movement through seepage,
infiltration, or groundwater. Once all of the components
have been identified, divide the students into groups of nine,
with each student having started at a different station for the
explore activity. Then have each student select one particular area that was identified by the station cards where they
started the simulation and create a poster that provides the
following information associated with that part of the water
cycle: Definition of the point in the water cycle; explanation
of where that type of water is found on Earth; two different
locations where that particular type of water can be found
(e.g., for caverns the students could identify two specific
caverns that contain water deposits); and a picture that represents that type of water resource (CC ELA: Vocabulary
Acquisition and Use). After they have each assembled their
part of the water cycle, have them post their posters in an
area where they can then draw the direction of movement
arrows that they found within their own diagrams, thus creating a larger overall water cycle for the group.
Evaluate
After reviewing the group collaborative model of the water
cycle that they assembled, ask the students to use the back
of their student data sheet and identify three examples that
Connecting to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States 2013):
5.Earth’s Systems www.nextgenscience.org/5es-earths-systems
The materials/lessons/activities outlined in this article are just one step toward reaching the Performance Expectations
listed below. Additional supporting materials/lessons/activities will be required.
Performance Expectation
Connections to Classroom Activity
Students:
5.ESS2-2 Describe and graph the amounts and
percentages of water and fresh water in various
reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of
water on Earth.
• participate in a simulated game that assists them in
describing where water is found on the Earth.
Science and Engineering Practice
Developing and Using Models
• create an individual model representing their own
water drops path within the water cycle.
Disciplinary Core Idea
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
• Nearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean.
Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only
a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the
atmosphere.
• identify and describe the different parts of the water
cycle and what type of water is in each component.
Crosscutting Concept
Systems and System Models
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Science and Children
• identify and describe the different parts of the water
cycle and what type of water is in each component.
demonstrate the path that water can make within the water
cycle from travelling from one point to another (CC ELA:
Writing Standards K–5 – Text Types and Purposes). For
example, water in the ocean can evaporate and form water
vapor that condenses into clouds because the Sun heats the
water. Also ask them to identify one path that the water
cannot take and their reason why. An example of this would
be groundwater that is below Earth’s surface not being
able to evaporate to form water vapor. It would first need
to be brought to the surface so that it was in a river or lake
or ocean where the liquid water could be heated by the Sun
and evaporate. The diagram in the activity outline shows
the potential paths that water can take.
For states, by states. Washington, DC: National Academies
Press. www.nextgenscience.org/next-generation-sciencestandards.
Internet Resources
Personal Water Use Chart for older students
www.teachengineering.org/collection/cub_/activities/
cub_dams/cub_dams_lesson01_personalwaterusechart_
v4_tedl_dwc.pdf
Project Wet the Incredible Journey Water Cycle Game
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/education_safety/education/
project_wet/sample_activity.pdf
Water Cycle Diagram
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids-adv.html
References
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and
Council of Chief State School Officers (NGAC and CCSSO).
2010. Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC:
NGAC and CCSSO.
NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards:
Connecting to the Common Core
State Standards (NAGC and CCSSO
2010):
This section provides the Common Core for English
Language Arts and/or Mathematics standards
addressed in this column to allow for cross-curricular
planning and integration. The Standards state that
students should be able to do the following at grade
level.
English/Language Arts
Reading Standards for Informational Texts K–5 –
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
• Grade 1: “use the illustrations and details in a text
to describe its key ideas.”
• Grade 3: “use information gained from
illustrations and the words in a text to
demonstrate understanding of the text.”
Language Standards
Writing Standards K–5 – Text Types and Purposes
• Grade K: “use a combination of drawing,
dictating, and writing to compose informative/
explanatory texts in which they name what they
are writing about and supply some information
about the topic.”
• Grade 2: “write informative/explanatory texts
NSTA Connection
Download the student data sheets and a list of
additional resources at www.nsta.org/SC1510.
in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a
concluding statement or section.
• Grade 4: “write informative/explanatory texts
to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.”
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use is one of the
standards for language. This particular standard
is across grade levels. “Determine or clarify the
meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
and phrases based on grade [appropriate] reading
and content.”
Speaking and Listening Standards K–5
– Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
•Kindergarten: “add drawings or other visual
displays to descriptions as desired to provide
additional details.”
• Grade 1: “add drawings or other visual displays
to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas,
thoughts, and feelings.”
Furthermore, the Common Core for ELA provide a
standard related to the Range of Text Types for K–5
where it indicates that students in K–5 should apply
the Reading standards to a wide range of texts to
include informational science books.
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