LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Your Name: Samantha Peterson

Title of Lesson: The Water Cycle
Grade: 2nd
STANDARDS
NOTE: Please list at least two complete standards your lesson plan covers. [Common Core State Standards
(math and language arts), Next Generation Science Standards (science), Arizona State Social Studies
Standards (social studies)].
W.2.3: Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include
details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a
sense of closure.
MS-ESS2-4.
Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems driven by energy from the sun and
the force of gravity.
LESSON SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Provide an overview/synopsis of the lesson and the topics that it will cover. Make sure to provide a reason
why you selected this to be relevant for a unit on sustainability?
-Students will learn about the water cycle and the sustainability topics that coincide with it (water conservation and
water recycling) by learning about the different forms of water, the different steps of the water cycle and their
specific details, the different ways water is used and also wasted, and the journey just one drop of water takes
through the water cycle.
OBJECTIVES
Describe what you want students to know/be able to do as a result of the lesson.
For example, Students will be able to
S.W.B.A.T. Identify and describe the different steps of the water cycle by creating their own Water Wheel that
resembles the water cycle and its steps in action.
S.W.B.A.T. Explain the process of water cycling through the water cycle, and how water can be conserved by
writing a paragraph from the point of view of a drop of water, that gives specific information on how the drop of
water goes through the water cycle, and specific steps that can be taken to prevent water from being wasted.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
What measures will you use to know if you students met the objectives?
Students will show mastery of being able to identify and describe the different steeps of the water cycle by creating
their own water wheel that has the steps of the water cycle correctly labeled, drawn, and located in the correct
locations.
Students will show mastery of explaining the process of water cycling through the water cycle, and how water can
be conserved by writing a paragraph from the point of view of a drop of water, and being able to accurately describe,
in detail, the exact process that water goes through when traveling through the water cycle, and how water can be
conserved by providing several steps that can be taken to conserve water so it will not be wasted.
PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE
What will students need to know prior to completing this lesson and how will you access their prior
knowledge?
Students will need to know what sustainability is and why it is important.
Students will need to understand how their actions and choices can affect the world around them.
Students will need to know what water is and what different example of water are.
Students will need to know that water is essential to maintain life on Earth.

MATERIALS
List of required materials:Pencils, erasers, diagram of the water cycle, Water Wheel activity worksheets,
scissors, colored pencils, markers, crayons, brads, lined sheets of paper, smart board.
VOCABULARY/KEY WORDS
List of key vocabulary terms.
-Water Conservation: The policies, strategies and activities to manage fresh water as a sustainable resource, to
protect the water environment, and to meet current and future human demand.
-Evaporation: Is basically when a liquid is sitting in one place (maybe a puddle) and its molecules will become a
gas.
-Transpiration: Is basically the evaporation of water from plant leaves. This process is done when moisture is
carried through plants from their roots to their small pores on the underside of their leaves, and it changes to vapor
and is released to the atmosphere.
-Condensation: Is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water. Condensation is crucial
to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds.
-Precipitation: The transfer of water from the atmosphere back to Earth. Some examples of precipitation are: Rain,
Hail, Snow and Sleet.
-Collection: When water falls back to earth as precipitation, and it falls back into the oceans, lakes or rivers, it may
end up on land. When on land, the precipitation will either soak into the Earth, and become part of the ground
water that plants and animals use to drink, or it could fall into the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers
where the water cycle first begins.
TEACHING PROCEDURES
Procedural Steps (Step by step instructions for teaching the lesson):
Introduction: Teacher will asking the students the question, "What do you already know about water?" This
question will get the students engaged in the topic of water and the lesson in general.
*The answers the teacher will be looking for to this specific question are: When water freezes it turns into ice.",
"Water is needed in order to live.", "Water is found and in the form of lakes, oceans rivers, and rain.", or other
answers similar to these.
*The students will then share their answers with the class, and the teacher will guide the discussion and help the
students explore the topic of water further.
*The teacher will then show the students pictures of water in different forms such as:*The students will then share
their answers with the class, and the teacher will guide the discussion and help the students explore the topic of
water further.
*The teacher will then show the students pictures of water in different forms such as: ice, lakes, rivers, oceans and
rain.
*The teacher will introduce the actual concept of the water cycle to the students by showing them a diagram of the
water cycle (Like the one pictured above), and pointing out and explaining the main parts of the water cycle, which
are: Evaporation, Transpiration, Condensation, Precipitation, and Collection.
Activity:
*The teacher will introduce and explain to the students that they will be doing a fun and hands-on interactive activity
to enable them to fully understand the water cycle and its components. The activity is one in which the students will
create a "water wheel" that is made up of two pieces of paper (the top one containing a picture of the water cycle
with holes cut in it where water would be in the picture, and the bottom picture containing pictures of water) that are
connected with a brad and cut into circles. They spin to visually show water going through the water cycle and how
the water cycle is an ongoing cycle.

Reflection (Tie in to Sustainability): The teacher will teach the students how the water cycle is incorporated with
sustainability by teaching and talking to the students about water conservation, and water recycling and how they
relate to the water cycle, and what specifically makes them sustainable.
*To reinforce this idea, the students will watch a short informational video that teaches them more about the water
cycle, and reinforces what they have learned about the water cycle so far to help them fully understand how the
water cycle relates to water conservation and water recycling.
*Link to Brain Pop Jr. Video on The Water Cycle: http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/weather/watercycle/
*The teacher will then share information with the students on how much water is used, on average, in a household,
and what the sources of the water use are. Such as: *Water Leaks = 13.7% of total water use. *Dishwasher= 1.4% of
total water use. *Bath Tub= 1.7% of total water use. *Faucet= 15.7% of total water use. *Shower= 16.7% of total
water use. *Clothes Washer= 21.7% of total water use. *Toilet= 26.8% of total water use. *Other= 2.3% of total
water use.
*The teacher will then engage in a whole class discussion with the students about what they can do to help reduce
water use and prevent water from being wasted.
Assessment: The teacher will determine if all of the students have met the objective of the water cycle unit, and
have learned the content that they needed to learn about the water cycle and sustainability by having students share
what they have learned, and now know, about the water cycle with the class, and by the teacher giving students a
writing prompt such as: "Write a paragraph from the point of view of a drop of water, that drop of water's journey
through the water cycle, and how that drop of water can be saved from being wasted." By the students writing this
paragraph, the teacher will be able to determine if the students fully understand how the water cycle works, and how
water can be conserved in order to have a sustainable future.
RESOURCES
List any references you used to create this lesson. If you borrowed ideas from any lesson plans please note
them here. Use APA format.
brainpopjr.com. (2014, November 09). Brain Pop Jr. Retrieved from brainpopjr.com:
http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/weather/watercycle/
chem4kids.com. (2014, Novemeber 09). Evaporation of Liquids. Retrieved from chem4kids.com:
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_evap.html
cloudinstitute.org. (2014, November 14). The Cloud Institute For Sustainability Education. Retrieved from
cloudinstitute.org: http://cloudinstitute.org/fish-game/
Enchanted Learning. (2014, November 11). The Water Cycle. Retrieved from enchantedlearning.com:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Watercycle.shtml
Facing The Future. (2014, November 11). Facing The Future. Retrieved from facingthefuture.org:
https://www.facingthefuture.org/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx#.VGLWiPnF_bN
Greening USA . (2014, November 11). Greening USA. Retrieved from greeningusa.org:
http://www.greeningusa.org/teacherdb/
kidzone.com. (2014, November 14). The Water Cycle. Retrieved from http://www.kidzone.ws/water:
http://www.kidzone.ws/water/
learningtogive.org. (2014, November 11). Learning To Give. Retrieved from learningtogive.org:
http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit370/lesson2.html
Next Generation Science Standards. (2014, November 11). Next Generation Science Standards. Retrieved from
nextgenscience.org: http://www.nextgenscience.org/

projectwet.org. (2014, November 15). The Water Cycle. Retrieved from projectwet.org:
http://www.projectwet.org/resources/materials/discover-incredible-journey-water-through-water-cycle
sciencekids.com. (2014, November 14). The Water Cycle. Retrieved from sciencekids.com:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/weather/thewatercycle.html
sciencenetlinks.com. (2014, November 14). Models of the Water Cycle. Retrieved from sciencenetlinks.com:
http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/models-of-the-water-cycle/
sustainabilityscienceeducation.asu.edu. (2014, November 14). ASU Sustainability Science Education for Teachers.
Retrieved from sustainabilityscienceeducation.asu.edu: http://sustainabilityscienceeducation.asu.edu/course/topicareas/water/
thirteen.org. (2006, November 11). Planet H2O. Retrieved from thirteen.org:
http://www.thirteen.org/h2o/educators_lesson4c.html
USGS.gov. (2014, November 09). The Water Cycle (Water Science for Schools). Retrieved from USGS.gov:
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycletranspiration.html

Provide a complete explanation of how your lesson plan connects to futures, system, strategic, or values
thinking. Define the way of thinking you selected and used in this lesson plan. Remember, this should be
included meaningfully in the lesson plan.

This lesson encompasses Systems Thinking. This is done throughout the lesson by the students by
how they identify and describe the water cycle, how the water cycle works, and how its components
work together as a system to enable the cycle to continue on. Students will also use Systems
Thinking when they write a paragraph from the point of view of a drop of water, that gives specific
information on how the drop of water goes through the water cycle, and specific steps that can be
taken to prevent water from being wasted. Students will be using Systems thinking when they write
this because they are seeing the interconnected nature of specific elements, and they are seeing
how decisions or actions at one point have an impact on another component within the cycle.