Grade: 4 (from 3rd)
Science
SCI.V.2.2
Strand:
Using Scientific Knowledge in Earth Science
- Hydrosphere
Standard:
All students will describe how water moves.
Benchmark:
Trace the path that rainwater follows after it falls.
Constructing and Reflecting:
SCI.I.1.1 SCI.I.1.2 SCI.I.1.5 SCI.II.1.2 -
Generate reasonable questions about the world based on observation.
Develop solutions to problems through reasoning, observation, and investigation.
Develop strategies and skills for information gathering and problem solving.
Show how science concepts can be illustrated through creative expression such as language arts and fine
arts.
Vocabulary
Context
Precipitation
Examples of water locally:
Flow:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
down hill
to rivers
into ground
See Precipitation (SCI.V.3.E.1):
Bodies of water:
•
•
•
•
•
streams
rivers
lakes
oceans
erosion
See Bodies of water (SCI.V.1.E.1):
gutters
drains
streams
wetlands
Knowledge and Skills
Resources
Rain water, after it falls, follows a downward path.
Coloma Resources:
Students will illustrate the path that rainwater
follows.
Discover the Wonder (Scott Foresman) –
Grade 4
Module B, Chapter 2
Examples of water paths:
• gutters
• playground
• drains
• streams
• wetlands
Note: This is not the water cycle.
Other Resources:
Cole, Joanna Magic School Bus: _Wet all over:
A book About the Water Cycle. Scholastic
1999
Follow a Drip through the Water Cycle
www.epa.gov/students/clean_water_basics.ht
m
Videoconferences Available
For more information, see
www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl or call Janine Lim
471-7725x101 or email jlim@remc11.k12.mi.us
5.2.2
Where’s the Water from the Camden
Children's Garden
Instruction
Benchmark Question: How does water move?
Focus Question: Which way does water flow?
Assessment
Optional Assessment:
The student will draw and label the path of
rainwater from a mountain or hillside to a lake.
Students will work in groups to determine that water (Give students rubric before activity.)
flows downhill. The teacher will ask the students
Scoring Rubric
about their visits to lakes or rivers and what they
have observed about the movement of the water.
Criteria
Apprentice
Basic
Meets
The teacher then poses the Focus Question. The
Accuracy of
Creates a
Creates a
Creates an
teacher sets up the following model of a river (See
drawing
drawing.
drawing
accurate
River Model).
without
drawing
rainwater.
including
ƒ Cut one piece of aluminum foil 24” long.
rainwater,
mountain or
ƒ Fold it in fourths to make a trough.
hillside, and
lake.
ƒ Cut a V-shaped notch out of the top of the
Styrofoam cup fill the cup with water and add 2-4
Correctness Labels a
Labels a
Labels a
of labels
drawing that is
drawing
drawing
drops of food coloring.
lacking a
with an
with an
pathway.
incorrect
accurate
ƒ Put the cup on the table and cradle the aluminum
pathway.
pathway.
foil trough in the V in the cup. This allows one
end of the trough to be elevated.
ƒ Have the other end extend just over the edge of
the table.
ƒ Place a bucket under the lower end of the trough.
ƒ Fill a spray bottle about halfway with water.
Ask the students what each part of the model
represents. (cup-mountain, trough-river, bucketlake, spray-rain)
Spray different parts of the model and observe
where the water flows. The students will explain
how the water flowed on the model. During
discussion be sure to include how water flows down
hillsides or slopes.
Exceeds
Creates an
accurate
drawing
including
rainwater and
other forms of
precipitation.
Labels a
drawing with
more than one
correct
pathway.
Teacher Notes:
Describe how water moves.
The amount of water on the earth is finite and it is important to understand the movement of water. Water
moves as a result of gravitational and wind forces as well as differences in density between warm and cool
water.
Young children should be able to describe water movement, which occurs around them. The teaching of the
water cycle in the elementary years has been successful. However, students should be able to describe how
falling rain either soaks into the soil or runs off into streams, rivers or lakes. Middle school students should
understand more of the dynamics of water movement and be able to explain how rainfall in Michigan could
reach the ocean. Additionally, older students need to understand the dynamics of ground water.
Existing water on the earth cycles through the hydrosphere as ground or surface water, polar ice caps and
atmospheric water vapor. High school students need to be aware of the special importance of ground water,
precipitation that soaks into the soil. Although groundwater moves more slowly than surface water, this
movement is as important as that of the surface water. Water that moves through soils and bedrock is filtered.
As such, this water is an important source for human consumption. Students at this level assume that vast
underground lakes and rivers exist, similar to the ones on the surface.