Now that students are familiar with the three states of matter, we were able to dive in and see how water takes each of those forms within the water cycle. We began by discussing the word “cycle” and talking about some cycles we are familiar with like life cycles, season and even bicycles (whose wheel s go around over and over!). Next we read a nonfiction book about the water cycle that introduced us to the basics. They learned the names for each of the four main steps of the water cycle – precipitation, accumulation, evaporation, condensation. We also learned a bonus word – transpiration! This step is when plants absorb water through their roots and then release water through their stomata. Did you know that plants lose around 90% of their water through transpiration? So this step is a big way that water is returned to a gas! Each step has an essential job in the process of recycling water so we can continue using it. Even though those big words are tricky to pronounce, we practiced a few times each and the students did a great job!
Next, we watched a dance and song video about the water cycle from GoNoodle. Movement and music are a fun and helpful way to solidify information in our brains. The song is catchy and helps us remember the idea behind each step in a fun and easy-to-remember way!
After learning the steps, we worked together as a class to illustrate and label the steps of the water cycle. We added an essential symbol to our diagram: arrows! These help us remember that the steps are related to each other and are cyclical.
In the following days, we practiced explaining the steps of the water cycle through projects. First we created a wearable reminder of the steps of the water cycle. First graders created bracelets from pipe cleaners and beads. Each bead was a specific color to represent the steps of the water cycle! We used light blue beads for precipitation (to represent rain, hail, sleet, and snow), dark blue for accumulation (to represent groundwater, oceans, rivers, puddles, and more), green for transpiration (to represent plants), yellow for evaporation (to represent the sun) and white for accumulation (to represent the clouds). Students practiced identifying which step each bead stood for.
Next, they created a chart to explain each step and help them remember what each color was selected for the beads on their bracelet. In future lessons, we will continue exploring the water cycle more deeply, focusing on how each step works, experiencing them in real life, and diving into different types of precipitation.
