5-E Lesson Plan Template

Lesson Title: “It’s Raining, its Pouring, the Water Cycle is Forming”
Target Concept(s): The water cycle, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

First and Last Name Alexis Panepinto

School Name EDEL 488- Coastal Carolina University

Class/Grade Level Fourth Grade

Standard 4.E.2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the water

cycle and weather and climate patterns.
State
Indicator: 4.E.2A.2 Develop and use models to explain how water changes
Standards/Indicators as it moves between the atmosphere and Earth’s surface during each phase of
the water cycle (including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and
runoff).

 The student will be able to label the parts of the water cycle.
Instructional  The student will be able to identify the parts of the water cycle.
Objectives
 The student will be able to create a model of the water cycle.

Prerequisite Skills &
Misconceptions
The water cycle is a continuous process that never stops. Water is present in
many bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, and oceans. Some water on the
surface of the ocean will evaporate because of the heat from the sun. Once the
water evaporates, it turns into water vapor which then goes into the
atmosphere. The water vapor mixes with other water vapor and gets turned
into clouds. Once clouds get full of water, they drop down back into Earth in
the form of precipitation. Precipitation can take many forms including rain,
snow, sleet, or hail. When the water comes back into Earth, it can go right
back into the ocean, lake, or river. This would then start the water cycle all
over again.

Even before teaching the water cycle, students may believe that water just
comes from the sky, but this is a misconception. However, the water on Earth
gets recycled and has been for 4 billion years! Clouds are made up water
vapor and not cotton balls which is another misconception. Once rain hits
Earth, it will eventually go back into the atmosphere which starts the water
cycle all over again. Rain does not come down and just soak on the ground
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Body of the Lesson
Engage- Think about
and discuss a
situation or answer a
question.
Explore – Investigate
a phenomenon.
© 2000-2007 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
forever, which is what some students may think.
The water cycle is an important part of Earth because it is how water reaches,
plants, animals, and humans. Besides providing water to people, plants, and
animals with water, it moves nutrients in and out of water ecosystems. Plants
would not be ale to survive without precipitation and most importantly all
living organisms require water.
The teacher will then ask the following questions to the entire class. Students
will take turns coming to the board to record answers to the questions on
anchor chart paper:
 Where do you think water comes from?
 Where can water on Earth be found?
 What happens when it rains?
 How does rain form?
The teacher will then read the picture book “The Little Raindrop” by Joanna
Gray.
The teacher will then ask the following questions during the reading.
 “Where did the raindrop come from?”
 “What were some of the raindrops adventures.”
o The teacher can keep track of the location/adventures of the
raindrop by writing where it goes on the whiteboard. This will
help students to see the cycle at the end of the book.
During this questioning, students will practice their comprehension and recall
skills as well as starting to think about water and the water cycle.
The teacher should also engage students in the pictures on each page.
 Divide students into groups and provide them with three cups, water, a
sealed container, an ice cube, shaving cream and food coloring. There
will be three stations.
*Complete the following part of the activity earlier in the day to ensure that
evaporation will take place. *
Station 1: Gone with the Water
 Each student will be provided with a container.
 Students will then place water in the container and place it in the
sunlight or under a heat lamp (depending on the weather). The
container will keep the heat in and increase the rate of evaporation. It
will also trap the water particles on the sides of the container so that
the students can see that water evaporated.
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 Station 2: Water Magic
 Students will then fill up another cup with hot water 2/3 of the way.
Then, another cup will be placed upside down on top of the hot water
cup. An ice cube will be placed on top of the cup that is upside down.
Condensation will begin to form at the top of the upside cup.

Station 3: Pouring down Rain

 Lastly, students will fill their last cup almost full of water. They will
then fill the remaining part with shaving cream and add the food
coloring on top of the shaving cream. Students will begin to notice
that the cloud (shaving cream) is taking in the rain (food coloring) and
the rain (food coloring) is going to the bottom which shows
precipitation.

 In each station, students will record and draw a diagram of their

demonstration/experiment.
o Students will label three pages: one with Station 1: Gone with
the Water, one with Station 2: Water Magic, and the third page
with Pouring Down Rain.
o Students can label their diagram with what happened first,
second, third, etc.

Once the experiment is over, the teacher will prompt students by discussing
and debriefing about what phase of the water cycle is being demonstrated at
each station.
o This will allow the teacher to assess what students take away
from the activity and communicate with other students about
what they have taken away from the experiment.
Explain – Create a The teacher will then display the following video that explains the water
cycle.
model and  “The Water Cycle Song” Video
explanation for a
phenomenon. Students will then complete a graphic organizer.
 On the left side of the organizer are the parts to the water cycle:
evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
o Students will write the definitions of each phase of the water
cycle in the boxes underneath the words “evaporation”,
“condensation”, and “precipitation”
 Students will then write what parts of evaporation, condensation, and
precipitation were took place in the picture book that was read, how
the three phases are seen in each students’ lives, and how the three
phases were present in the experiment.

-The teacher will also discuss how the water cycle is a continuous process.

-The teacher will also discuss and review how each stage of the water cycle
was represented in the picture book.
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 -The teacher will also guide student’s thinking on which station represented
each stage of the water cycle.

The teacher will give students a new set of materials to create their own water
cycle.
 They will each be given a Ziplock bag, a permeant marker, water, blue
food coloring, and clear tape.

Each student will create their own water cycle.

 They will first decorate the bag by drawing the clouds and the sky
Extend/Elaborate – near the opening of the bag.
Apply understandings  Then they will fill a cup with water and food coloring where they will
and explain a swirl it around to ensure that the two have been mixed.
different but related  Students will then place the mixture into their Ziplock bag, seal it up,
phenomenon. and hang the bag on the windows in the classroom with the clear tape.

*This experiment will take time and results will differ from two hours to a
full day. *


Students will then label their bag with the correct terms of the water
cycle that was taught throughout the lesson.
o Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation
The teacher will then ask the following questions:
 What change happened to your bag?
o Some answers may be that the sun hit the bag and that water
disappeared.
 Why did that change happen?
o Teacher should guide students thinking to the water in the bag
is being heated up against the sun. The water turns into a gas
Evaluate- through evaporation.
Demonstrate o In the real world, water vapor goes into the atmosphere, but
since we are using a bag, the water has no where to go, so it
understanding of a ends up sticking to the bag turning back into a liquid as
targeted science condensation.
concept. o The condensed water then goes back into the lump of water in
the bag as precipitation.

The teacher will then ask the following closing question:

 How does water get into the oceans?
o Some answers may include that students will explain the water
cycle process.

Materials and Resources Required Per Student Group

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 -Engage:
 Anchor Chart Paper
 Writing/coloring utensils
-Explore Phase:
 Station 1: water, sealed containers, heat lamp/sunlight
 Station 2: hot water, cups (2 are needed for each student), ice cubes
 Station 3: cups (1 is needed for each student), water, shaving cream,
food coloring
 Provide enough of these materials for multiple groups of students if
needed.
 Science Notebooks
Materials  Writing Utensils

-Explain Phase:
 “The Water Cycle Song” Video
 Water Experiment graphic organizer.
 Writing Utensils

-Extend/Elaborate Phase:
 Ziplock bag, a permeant marker, water, blue food coloring, and clear
tape.
 Provide enough of these materials for multiple groups of students if
needed.
-“The Little Raindrop” by Joanna Gray picture book
Internet Resources
What measures (written, oral, observed, etc.) do you plan to implement to tell
Reflection you, the teacher, if each student learned/understood the content that was
Prompts taught?

In order to see if each student has learned/understood the content that was
taught, I implemented written, oral, and observed strategies. Students would
be required to write in their science notebooks, complete the water
experiment graphic organizer, and label their Ziploc bags. As the teacher, I
would be able to see what students have understood about the water cycle and
what they still need more clarification on. When students are answering the
questions that I will be asking, I will be able to hear how well the content is
getting through to the students and how I can adjust instruction. As students
are working on their experiments during the explore and extend phase, I will
be able to observe students on how well they can construct and create their
own version of the water cycle based on the terms that was taught.

What key components do you plan to look for in student work?

The key components that I am looking for in student work is that they are able
to take the vocabulary of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation to be
able to label the parts of the water cycle. I will also be looking for how well
© 2000-2007 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 5 of 7
 students can identify the parts of the water cycle based on their experiments.

What technologies did you use? How would the technologies make the
content more accessible to all students?

I used YouTube as the main source of technology for this lesson to engage
students in a read aloud. The content was more accessible to students because
all students would be able to look at the pictures. If I would have read the
book, students who were sitting at different angles in the room or who were
farther away from me may have not been able to get a glance at the
illustrations.

Explain how the lesson addresses the need for differentiation in instruction.

This lesson address differentiation in instruction because all three learning

styles are being incorporated which include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
Students are able to perform hands-on experiments and visually see the
changes taking place. Students also obtained the content through discussions
that were presented in an auditory style.

Explain if you would plan this way again. Why?

I would plan this way again because I believe that there is no one right way to
do science. The 5E learning cycle engages students more with science
compared to a standard lesson plan. Students should be exposed to content
more than one time in a lesson and the 5E learning cycle provides students
with the chance to explore the content more than one time.

Do you think a teacher could implement your plan based strictly on the text
provided in the template? Explain.

When creating this lesson plan, I wanted to ensure that anyone who reads it
could implement this plan into their classroom. My lesson plan is easy to
read, takes little materials, and is fun for all ages. My instructions and
directions are very clear, and all materials are provided throughout the lesson.
This lesson can always be changed and adapted for any grade level or any
age.

What connections can you make to your lesson plan from your coursework,
the literature, and any previous lessons or experiences?

This lesson plan connects to language arts through the implementation of the
picture book. Elementary students love picture books because the pictures and
illustrations pull them in and make them more interested. Based on my
observations in my previous field experiences, elementary students also love
hands-on experiments and objects that they can touch, feel, smell, etc. I also
find that students learn through a variety of methods which is why I
incorporated all three learning styles into my lesson. Not all students learn the
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 same, so it is important to cater to the needs of all students.

References Water is Water: 3 Experiments for Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.playfullearning.net/resource/water-is-water-3-experiments-for-
kids/

Thompson, R. (n.d.). How to Make a Water Cycle in a Bag: STEAM Activity

for Kids. Retrieved from https://www.mobileedproductions.com/blog/how-to-
make-a-water-cycle-in-a-bag

© 2000-2007 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 7 of 7