Lesson Overview

Students will:

• Use an image to get students thinking about what processes allow water to change location
• Predict, then act as water droplets to simulate the water cycle in a game-model
• Observe differences between hypothesized and actual route, differences between routes other students took, and how the model works
• Consider how much water is contained within reservoirs while participating in an instructor-led demonstration 

Lesson Objectives 

Students will be able to:

• Identify the processes that allow water to change location
• Use a model to describe the cycling of water through the hydrosphere

This lesson is aligned with these Next Generation Science (NGS) Standards.

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Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI)

ESS2 Earth’s Systems 

• (3rd-5th) ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems – The water cycle involves interactions of the four major Earth systems

• (3rd -5th) ESS2.B The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes – ( Most of Earth’s water is in the ocean and much of the Earth’s freshwater is in glaciers or underground.

Science & Engineering Practice (SEP) 

Developing and Using Models

• (3rd-5th) Identify limitations of models

Crosscutting Concept (CCC)

Systems and System Models

• (3rd-5th) A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions

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