Developmental Lesson Plan

Teacher Candidate: Emma Rissinger Julia McGregor Date: March 6, 2018

Group Size: 20 Allotted Time 1 hour Grade Level 3rd

Subject or Topic: Water Cycle

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

3.3.3.A4 Connect the various forms of precipitation to the weather in a particular place and
time
3.3.3.A5 Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind, speed and direction, and make up the
weather in a particular place

Learning Targets/Objectives:
 Students will be able to break down the parts of the water cycle by illustrating its
process on a diagram.
 Students will be able to identify the four parts of the water cycle by creating a circle
book.
Assessment Approaches: Evidence:
1. Water cycle diagram. 1. Placing the parts of the water cycle in the
2. Water cycle flipbook. correct order.
…. 2. Correct descriptions of water cycle on the
flipbook.

…
Assessment Scale:
1. Diagram
 Four parts of the water cycle on plastic bag- proficient
 < four parts of the water cycle on plastic bag- below basic
2. Flipbook
 4 points – Four parts of the water cycle described correctly.
 3 points – Three parts of the water cycle described correctly.
 2 points – Two parts of the water cycle described correctly.
 1 point – One part of the water cycle described correctly.
 0 points- No attempt made to describe the parts of the water cycle.

Subject Matter/Content: Water Cycle

Prerequisites:
 Understand the water on the Earth moves in a continuous cycle.
  Know that weather affects the water cycle.
 An understanding that the water on Earth is used over and over.
 A basic understanding that there are different types of precipitation.

Key Vocabulary:
 Water Cycle- Continuous movement of water from ocean to air and land then back to
the ocean in a cyclic pattern
 Evaporation – Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the
ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake
or ocean and goes into the air.
 Condensation- Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming
clouds.
 Precipitation- Occurs when the clouds get so heavy with condensed water, the water
falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
 Collection- The water falls back down to Earth as precipitation and collects in oceans,
lakes, rivers, or land.
Content/Facts:
 Song
- Water cycle song that teaches about the parts of the water cycle
 What the water cycle is and describe it’s stages
- Evaporation
- Condensation
- Precipitation
- Collection
 What clouds are made up
- Water vapors that cools and changes into liquid
 How does rain form
- When the clouds get too heavy with condensed water
 Water on Earth moves in a continuous cycle
 Why the water cycle is important
- Important to all life on Earth
- All living organisms require water
- Water cycle describes the process of how water moves through the planet and
provides the organisms with water

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
 To get students excited about learning about the water cycle, we teach them a water
cycle song
 Pass out copies of the water cycle song for students to have to sing along
- Water Cycle Song (Tune: to The Farmer and the Dell)
- Our water is recycled
Our water is recycled
Our water cycle is what it’s called
Our water is recycled
 The sun dries up the water
The sun dries up the water
Evaporation is what it’s called
The sun dries up the water

The vapor forms a cloud

The vapor forms a cloud
Condensation is what it’s called
The vapor forms a cloud

It starts to rain or snow

It starts to rain or snow
Precipitation is what it’s called
It starts to rain or snow

Our water is recycled

Our water is recycled
The water cycle is what it’s called
Our water is recycled
 Pass out white boards and dry erase makers and have students use the song to put
together their best guess of the parts of the water cycle. Students can work in table
groups to make their guesses. Scan the boards to check students guess.

Development/Teaching Approaches
 Today we are going to read a book about the water cycle and see if their guesses were
correct.
 Bring the students to the carpet area with their white boards and markers, to read the
book The Wild Water Cycle by Rena Korb aloud to students. Stop the story to reiterate
different parts of the water cycle. Ask the following questions throughout the book,
then have the students turn and talk, and write their responses on their white boards.
Scan their answers and ask students to share with the whole group.
 Where does the rain come from?
 Where does the rain go?
 When the heat from the sun creates evaporation, what happens?
 What do tiny droplets form?
 Have the students return to their seats and collect white boards and markers. Ask the
students what else they would like to know about the water cycle. Have students turn
and talk to their table groups for 3-5 minutes. While students are discussing get the
video All About the Water Cycle for Kids: Introduction to the Water Cycle for Children
– FreeSchool ready on the promethean board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO9tT186mZw
 Call on students to share their questions about the water cycle. Write student questions
on the white board in the front of the class to see if they are answered throughout the
video.
 Play the video (Approx. 3 minutes). Pause the video at 2:30 and ask students if they
recognize a missing word from the stages of the cycle. If students are unable to come
 up with the word scaffold them through questioning. “After precipitation, where does
the water go?”. Students should get to the answer of collection.
 After the video, go over the student’s initial questions and form responses together.
 Create a class water cycle diagram on the board with premade water cycle vocabulary
words. Talk through what happens in each stage of the water cycle as a class while you
create the diagram.
 Students will then create their own diagram on plastic bags. They will draw a picture
of the water cycle. We will display these at the window.
 Explain to the students that we will be creating a water cycle flipbook. Each page of
the flipbook will have a space for the students to write a description of that stage of the
cycle. Show sample flipbook that has already been created. Students will be able to
refer to the diagram on the board for assistance.
 Students can talk with partners at their table teams to create the flipbook (20 mins).
Walk around the room to monitor progress. Due to time constraints, students will
receive a color copy of the flipbook.
 As the students are cleaning up, collect the flipbooks as the take-away assessment.
 Use the water cycle rubric for assessment.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:
 To bring the lesson to a close, toss a ball and have a student tell one stage about the
water cycle, toss again and have a student tell the definition. Repeat for all four stages.
 Tell students tomorrow we will be learning more about the precipitation and clouds
portion of the water cycle.
 Tell students to think about different precipitation types and clouds they have seen
outside recently.

Accommodations/Differentiation:
 Because student X is an ELL learner, that student will sit at the front of the class and
will be given water cycle vocabulary words with pictures on their own worksheet to
use throughout the lesson. This student will also be at a table working with students
who excel in this subject area.

Materials/Resources:
 The Water Cycle Song handout (20)
 White boards (20)
 Dry erase markers (20)
 The Wild Water Cycle by Rena Korb (1)
 Packs of crayons (20)
 Scissors (20)
 Glue sticks (20)
 Computer
 Promethean board
  video All About the Water Cycle for Kids: Introduction to the Water Cycle for Children
– FreeSchool ready on the promethean board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO9tT186mZw
 Plastic bags (20)
 Sample flipbook (1)
 Flipbook pages (20 sets)
 Special worksheet for ELL student (1)
 Flipbook rubric
 Premade vocabulary words (1 set)
 http://www.kidzone.ws/water/
 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/376754325058904059/
 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Cart


Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

Do the students have enough time to color their own flipbook or should the color version be
provided?
Were the students engaged throughout the lesson?

Additional reflection/thoughts
Did the students have enough background knowledge of the parts of the water cycle to
understand the process itself?
 Water Cycle Flip Book Rubric

4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

The 4 parts of Three parts of Two parts of the One part of the No attempt at the
the water the water cycle water cycle are water cycle is Flip book is
cycle are are defined defined defined correctly made.
defined correctly and correctly and and placed in the
correctly and placed in the placed in the correct order.
placed in the correct order. correct order. Three parts are
correct order. One part is Two parts are missing or
missing or missing or incorrect.
incorrect. incorrect.