Water and the Water Cycle

Name: Kathy Franceschini    

Date: March 24, 2010

Unit Topic: Water and the Water Cycle

Lesson Topic: How Water Interacts with Different Materials

Target Concept(s):  property, observe, absorb, bead, water, transparent, materials

Essential Question(s):   What are the properties of water that we can observe?  Why does water act differently when dropped on different materials?

Focus Question(s) for Lesson:   How does water act on different surfaces? 

Target Competencies (Addressing Standards): 

Science Standard 1 - Scientific Inquiry:

S1.1a Observe and discuss objects and events and record observations

Science Standard 4 - The Physical Setting:

3.2c - Changes in the properties or materials

of objects can be observed and

described.

ELA Standard 1:

Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.

Sequence of Student Performances:

1.  Students brainstorm descriptions of what they know so far about water.  (What does it look like?)  The word property is introduced and added to Science Word Bank.

2.  Students look at four different materials (aluminum foil, wax paper, paper towel and writing paper) and make predictions about whether water will act differently when placed on each of the materials.

3.  Pairs of students work together to place a drop of water on each of the materials and observe and record how the water acts on each material.

4.  Student groups share with the class how they observed the water act on each material. (3 groups will share about one material, so that every group shares one of their observations)     

5.  Groups’ observations are recorded on the SMART Board.  As students describe the water the words “absorb” and “beads up” will be introduced and added to the Science Word Bank.

6.  Based on what they just observed, students will discuss how water acts on different materials. 

7. Students individually answer in writing how water acts on different surfaces.

8.Teacher plays water properties video clip from http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=

Water_Properties&video_id=117051

Class discussion on video.

Materials: SMART Board, water, droppers, cups, wax paper, aluminum foil, paper towels, writing paper, student papers, pencils

Assessment: 

v     Students’ written responses to the final question, “How does water act on different surfaces?” will be assessed for an understanding that water acts differently on different materials.

v     Students’ written and illustrated observations of how the water acts on different materials will be assessed.

v     Students’ group work and verbal responses will be informally assessed.