Blog Archives

4 - Learning About Surface Water

4/19/2014

Lesson 4: Milk Gallon Demonstration (not pictured) to represent fresh water vs. salt water
Lesson 4: Comparing Bodies of Water on Maps: http://psolarz.weebly.com/72/post/2013/04/comparing-bodies-of-water-on-us-maps-and-arlington-heights-maps-with-a-little-help-from-google-earth.html
Lesson 4: Go Animate Reflection: http://psolarz.weebly.com/41/post/2013/04/go-animate-map-water-reflection.html

Session 1:

Brainstorm some of the bodies of surface water found in the world. Write the list alphabetically here. Use online resources to make our list more complete.

Using sticks, choose a body of water to research and find examples of in the world.

Create a ThingLink image of a map that has a few examples of your assigned body of water on it. Place links to photos, videos, and informational websites wherever their bodies of water are.

Finish, by creating a short video (a few minutes maybe) explaining what you know and what you learned about your body of water. Make sure if you read anything, that you rephrase it in your own words after you read it.

Although mine is not perfect, listen to mine as an example. Use QuickTime Screen Recorder so that you can show visuals while you speak (a screencast).

Students need to create a blog entry on our "Bodies of Water" blog. They need to embed their ThingLink image on a blog entry that is entitled with the name of their body of water.

Read the SRB chapter for this lesson & make any necessary adjustments based on what you read.

Session 2:

Listen to each others' videos and learn about some bodies of water that you don't know anything about!

Add a Quality Booster or Compliment to each one that you listen to.

Session 3:

Sign in to Science Companion Prime.

Using our United States map, find at least two examples of each of the bodies of water listed on the Science Companion workbook. Complete the following page in your Science Notebook on Science Companion Prime. Take screen shots of your answers and post them on a blog entry entitled, "Watery Earth 4.3 - Finding Surface Water."

Using our Illinois map, answer the following questions in your Science Notebook & put screen shots of your answers in the blog entry from above:

Do you see any bodies of surface water in your state that you couldn't find on the United States map? If so, list them below.
Did you find any bodies of surface water on the United States map that you can't find in your state? If so, list them below.
List the names of three bodies of water in your state. Next to the name, identify the type of body of water (river, lake, marsh, ocean, reservoir, etc.).

Using our Arlington Heights map, answer the following questions in your Science Notebook & put screen shots of your answers in the blog entry from above:

Do you see any bodies of surface water in your local area that you couldn't find on your state map or the United States map? If so, list them below:
Did you find any bodies of surface water on your state map or on the United States map that you can't find in your local area? If so, list them below:
List the names of three bodies of water in your local area. Next to the name, identify the type of body of water (river, lake, marsh, ocean, reservoir, etc.).

Reflection:

What bodies of surface water did you find while examining the three maps?
Were there any types of surface water on the Arlington Heights map that you weren’t able to find on the Illinois map? If so, why?
Were there any types of surface water on the Illinois map that you couldn’t find on the United States map? If so, why?
What are some names of the bodies of water in Illinois and Arlington Heights? What bodies of water did you identify?

Session 4:

Class Discussion:

Is there a lot of water on the earth?
Is there any reason why we should conserve water, or is there plenty to go around?
What kinds of things do we need water for again?
To do those things, should we use salt water or fresh water?
How hard is it to convert salt water to fresh water?
How much of the world is fresh water and how much is salt water?

Demonstrate "Earth's Water Model."

When the 10 containers are full, that will represent all of the water that is on the earth.
Use page 112 in the Teacher's Guide to add the correct amount of water to the milk cartons.
I will let you know how much of each of the following types of water is on earth using our model:

        - salt water
        - fresh water on the surface
        - fresh water underground
        - fresh water frozen in glaciers and ice caps
        - fresh water in the air

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3 - Following a Drop of Rain

4/16/2014

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Session 1:

Create a new blog post entitled, "Watery Earth Lesson 3 - Drops of Water on Different Surfaces"

Raindrop Lab:

Get various materials to represent things that rain can fall on.
Get an eyedropper and a cup of water.
Drag in an "Embed Code" element. Later, we will paste the embed code from our ThingLink. (See the example on the right.)
Set up a 4-Column Chart on your blog entry. Look at the sample to the right for guidance. Set up your titles and text the same way.

Choose all of the surfaces that you plan to test and create the drawing that you will use.

Make all of the predictions (use very descriptive language like we practiced with the apple).
Record videos of water dropping on each surface and what happens shortly after. Here is what that looked like last year.
Upload each video to YouTube.
Record what actually happened in your chart. Then, write a reflection sentence for each surface.
ThingLink them to a drawing that we create, take a picture of, and add tags to.
If it rains, we can also try to see this happening outside. Here are some pictures from last year.

Session 2:

Explain what you think happens to a drop of water after it falls as rain. See if you can create a story about this raindrop that ends with it falling to the ground again as rain! Here are some hints to help you draft your story:

What have you seen raindrops do outside?
In your story, does the raindrop fall on a surface or somewhere else?
What happens to your raindrop in the first few minutes after it falls?
As an organizer, you can create a SIMPLE drawing with arrows that shows what your water drop will do in your story.

Big Idea:

Water can be on Earth's surface, underground, or in the air. All water on Earth circulates through the water cycle.

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2 - Exploring Who Uses Water

4/7/2014

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Session 1:

Create a blog entry entitled, "Watery Earth Lesson 2.1 - How I Use Water." Using bullets, list all the ways you use water for:

Drinking and Eating
Keeping Clean
Caring for Pets
Playing
Other

Here is an example, but please don't copy from it!

Publish your post LIVE and look through others' posts. When you have read at least four other students' posts, answer these two questions at the end of your post above:

Click here to go to Science Companion's Sign-In Screen.

Click here to read the SRB pages 21-27 (stop after 27 please!).

Session 2:

Discuss the differences between Man-Made Resources and Natural Resources.

Create a blog entry entitled, "Watery Earth Lesson 2.2 - Natural Resources." Here is an example.

Create a 2-Column Chart with the titles: "Man-Made Resources" and "Natural Resources."

In each column, insert another 2-Column Chart.
Find at least six photographs from Google Images that fit each category and drag them into each column. Make sure that you have the same number of images on both sides when you are done. You cannot search for "Natural Resources" or "Man-Made Resources" on Google; you must search for the items you want to put on each side individually.
Link the photo back to its source (to give credit). Do NOT turn on Lightbox.
Type a caption that describes the picture.

At the bottom of your blog post:

Write a definition for Man-Made Resources (in your own words) and Natural Resources.
Why is "water" considered a Natural Resource?
List three or more Natural Resources that you use daily.

Click here to go to Science Companion's Sign-In Screen.

Click here to read the SRB pages 28-36.

Session 3:

Discuss how plants and animals need and use water. Use what you already know and what you learned from the SRB reading from Session 2.

Assign each student an organism to research by having them sign up on our Google Spreadsheet (pull sticks).

Create a blog entry entitled, "Watery Earth Lesson 2.3 - How _______ Use Water." Put your organism's name in the blank.

Using the bulleted lists from Session 1's activity to:

Write a paragraph or more that describes how your organism needs and uses water. Write in expository style writing (just like our Human Body Research Paper). Here is an example.
Include at least one photo from Google Images that shows your organism. (Link to the source & Type in a caption.)

Below your paragraph, create a 3-column chart with the following titles: "Humans," "________" (Your Organism's Name in the blank), and "Both."

List at least three ways your organism uses or needs water that is different from humans in the proper columns.

List at least three ways your organism and humans use or need water similarly in the "Both" column.

Insert a "Title" element above the columns entitled, "How Humans and __________ Use and Need Water."

As a final reflection, answer the following questions under your 3-Column Chart:
1. Why is water considered a "Natural Resource?"
2. How is water essential (required) to our survival and the survival of all living things?

Session 4:

Finally, find out how important water is to various scientists. Of course, they use water like you and I do, but they also rely on water as part of their daily routine at work. How do the following scientists use water at work? What role does water play for each scientist?

Zoologists
Chemists
Geologists
Meteorologists
Botanists

Create a blog entry entitled, "Watery Earth Lesson 2.4 - How ________ Use Water" (using the Type of Scientist in the blank).

Write about how one type of scientist uses water at work. Do this in paragraph form (Expository style). Here is an example.

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1 - The Wonder of Water

4/3/2014

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Share a personal story that you have had with water by making a blog entry on your ePortfolio & entitle it, "Watery Earth Lesson 1: My Water Story." If you need help coming up with ideas, use this organizer to help brainstorm ideas: Water Stories. You will need to sign in with your Science Companion Prime information.

When you are done, read others' stories and post positive comments for them to read.

Read the SRB Section entitled, "The Wonder of Water." You will need to sign in with your Science Companion Prime information.

Big Idea:

Water is a natural resource that is essential for humans and other organisms.

Lesson Overview:

Students engage in experiences that encourage them to appreciate water, look at it with “fresh” eyes (and other senses), and think about its importance and value in their lives.

Water Scenes:

Lesson 1: Personal Connection with Water: http://psolarz.weebly.com/46/post/2013/04/my-personal-connection-with-water.html
Lesson 1: Sensory Details about Water: http://psolarz.weebly.com/57/post/2013/04/sensory-detail-about-water.html
Lesson 1: Things I Wonder About Water: http://psolarz.weebly.com/46/post/2013/04/things-i-wonder-regarding-water.html
Lesson 1: Weather Proverbs (Reflection): http://psolarz.weebly.com/61/post/2013/04/why-people-make-proverbs-about-water.html
Lesson 1: Weather Proverbs (Example): http://psolarz.weebly.com/55/post/2013/04/water-proverbs.html

Big Ideas in this Unit:

Water is a natural resource that is essential for humans and other organisms. (Lessons 1 and 2)
Water can be on Earth’s surface, underground, or in the air. All water on Earth circulates through the water cycle. (Lessons 3–8)
Water is a natural resource that is essential for humans and other organisms. To use it, we must develop ways to access it and clean it. (Lesson 9)
Water is a natural resource that is essential for humans and other organisms. Sometimes humans use more water than they need. (Lesson 10)
Water resources are limited. It is important to protect and conserve water. (Lessons 11–15)

Consider teaching the Skill Building Activity “Reading Science Books” on pages 266–275 after this lesson.

Students familiarize themselves with the organization and layout of the Watery Earth Student Reference Book. They are encouraged to look through each section before they begin reading so they can use visual and text cues—such as headings, margin notes, and illustrations—to help understand the material and its relationship to what they already know. Ongoing reading strategies to help students absorb new information and vocabulary are included at the end of the lesson.

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Watery Earth

In the Watery Earth Unit, students consider water resources on both a global and a local level. As they learn about the water cycle and the distribution of Earth’s water, students realize that although water is abundant and renewable, it must be protected because there is a limited amount of fresh, clean water available at any given time. This unit offers many opportunities for students to see the relevance and applications of science and technology in their own lives. More importantly, it encourages them to use this knowledge to positively impact water resources through their own choices and actions.

4 - Learning About Surface Water

Session 1:

Session 2:

Session 3:

Session 4:

3 - Following a Drop of Rain

Session 1:

Session 2:

Big Idea:

2 - Exploring Who Uses Water

Session 1:

Session 2:

Session 3:

Session 4:

1 - The Wonder of Water

Big Idea:

Lesson Overview:

Watery Earth

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