Elementary Science Lesson Plan
Lesson Identification & Learning Goal
Prepared by: Jennifer Glazier
Name of CT: **
Date (lesson planned): October 22, 2009
Date (To be taught): November 10 and 11, 2009
Curriculum material sources:
Title: Study Jams: The Water Cycle
Publisher: Scholastic
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1075
Unit Title: Weather
Lesson Title: The Water Cycle
Grade Level: First Grade
Learning Goals to be addressed in the lesson from the Michigan Grade Level Content
Expectations (GLCEs) and the related main ideas and practices within those learning goals
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GLCE discipline standards and related main ideas (Michigan State Board of
Education, Straus, President K.N. Michigan Department of Education. Science v.1.09
Grade Level Content Expectations. www.michigan.gov/mde)
E.ES.01.21 Compare daily changes in the weather related to temperature (cold, hot,
warm, cool); cloud cover (cloudy, partly cloudy, foggy) precipitation (rain, snow,
hail, freezing rain); wind (breezy, windy, calm).
o Recognize that water changes from one state to another through evaporation,
condensation, and precipitation
o Understand that clouds are made of tiny droplets of water
o Explain how water moves from state to state in the water cycle
o Students observe the transformation of water through the cycle and are able to
relate it to weather they see outside.
GLCE science process standards and related main ideas (Michigan State Board of
Education, Straus, President K.N. Michigan Department of Education. Science v.1.09
Grade Level Content Expectations. www.michigan.gov/mde)
S.RS.01.11 Demonstrate scientific concepts through various illustrations,
performances, models, exhibits, and activities.
o Observations of the water going through the cycle through video, worksheet,
and demonstration of water in a c up.
o Students label and color in their own illustrations of each phase.
o Students will demonstrate the water cycle by holding up a sun, cloud, rain,
arrows, etc.
o Students will need to know the process of the water cycle and how it evolves
through the stages. They will need to know what happens at each state so they
can fill in what each picture represents.
Central Question For Your Lesson:
What are the parts of the water cycle and how do they work together?
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Elementary Science Lesson Plan
Lesson Objective(s): meshing epe together
In this lesson the students should be able to accomplish knowing the separate parts of the
water cycle and what their functions are. Students should be able to explain how water
goes from the ground and transpires into the atmosphere. Students should take this
information and interpret it on their individual paper. Students should recognize that
water is recycled through this process and that it is neither lost nor gained. Students learn
about the water cycle by watching an animated video. Students reinforce that knowledge
by creating a water wheel to illustrate each phase of the water cycle. Students apply
knowledge of the water cycle to real-life examples. (Scholastic).
Assessment
Task:
Students will watch a video about The Water Cycle. After each phase in the cycle is talked about
in the video students will illustrate on their paper about that phase. After the video is completed
students will have a circle filled in with illustrations or condensation, precipitation, and
evaporation. Then the students will be asked questions about the different phases of the water
cycle and will place their arrow on the correct phase and hold it up. I will record who many
students put their arrow on each phase for the answer. On the second day of my lesson students
will have a worksheet with questions about the water cycle that they will fill in.
Diagnostic Features:
During the assessment I will look for the students awareness of the steps to the water
cycle. Going deeper into the understand of the cycle and what each step means, instead of just
memorizing the vocabulary. I will look for each student being able to identify each phase, and
what happens in that phase.
Knowing Your Students
1. Commonly Held Ideas:
I started by asking the students if they enjoyed science. They replied clapping their hands
and saying yes. I was excited to see this reaction out of both boys and girls at the first grade
level. I brought in a picture of the water cycle and proceeded to ask them questions more specific
to the water cycle. I asked them if they knew what I was showing them. They pointed out the
parts of the cycle such as the sun, cloud, and rain. I asked them what the arrows meant. They did
not give me a concrete answer and just showed the cycle with their fingers and said A goes to B,
and B goes to C, etc. I then revealed to them that this was called the water cycle. I asked them if
they had every heard of the water cycle before and they replied yes. When I asked what they
knew about the water cycle one student shouted out “condensation!” while another student said
rain. I asked them what they thought about the water cycle. The student did not know or explain
what condensation meant. They shouted out clouds, rain and sun. Student A told me that she
knows the water falls from the clouds into the ocean and then goes up into the sky and then
repeats. I asked the students how there answers were different from each other. They all
proceeded to then answer that they had the same ideas. I asked the students if they wondered
anything about the water cycle or they could tell me things they were curious about. They all
replied with they wondered how the water went around in a circle. They wanted to know how the
water got from the ocean into the sky and back down again. I then asked the students if they
thought the Earth had the same amount of water today as it did 100 years ago and they replied
no. When I asked them why they said because it is drier now. Then one student interrupted by
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Elementary Science Lesson Plan
saying that plants and animals need water to live. Next I asked what it was called when water
went from the sky to the ground. They all replied, “rain”. I next asked what they thought clouds
were made of. One student responded, “air” and another child responded, “water”. Then the
third child told me what the sun was made out of, hot gas. I then asked why the sun was included
in the water cycle. One student said because it cools the water to send it up to the sky.
I will use this to build on the answers that the students gave.
2. Previous Experiences and Funds of Knowledge:
The previous knowledge these students have with this topic are weather related units
from Kindergarten and from books, TV shows, and things heard from friends or family. Previous
experiences the students may have with water is from observing different forms of precipitation,
observing different weather patterns, observing clouds in the sky, seeing evaporation on the side
of a glass, observing a wet side walk become dry after it has been in the sun, observe different
kinds of clouds, and share experiences of different weather patterns if a student lived in a
different place.
3. Linguistic, social and academic challenges, resources and supports:
Specific student challenges and resources that have been taken into account for this
lesson is using a variety of different techniques to explain the content. As a teacher I understand
that every student learns differently and therefore the lesson needs to have different aspects that
cater to different learning styles. There is a song for students who learn by song, there is a
worksheet with a coloring aspect to it for those who learn from colors and from drawing
themselves, and there are cut out pictures with labels for those students who are visual learners.
The social and academic supports that have been provided for this lesson is that I was
able to look at the classroom materials from my CT to know the content that was relevant to
teach. As well as being provided with the cut out materials for the visual aspect of the lesson.
Being able to look at the classroom materials that my CT has been using for the previous science
lessons on weather helped me know where the students are at, and what they do not know.
Instructional Approach - Activity sequences with rationales*
The lessons that came before the lesson on the Water Cycle were other related weather lessons.
These included lessons on air and how it moves, the sun and its effect on different things in the
environment, different types of clouds and what they mean, and different weather patterns such
as snow, thunderstorm, sunny, windy, etc. In previous classes the students have been exposed to
all types of weather patterns, been visited by a meteorologist, made wind streamers, learned
about different types of clouds, and different types of precipitation. My lesson is the last lesson
about weather the students will be learning. Up until now the students have learned a little bit
about each section of the cycle and know the parts involved in each phase of the cycle. By
having this pre knowledge about the different parts that have to do with the water cycle I feel the
students will be able to grasp the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation better
because they will already know the parts involved. Students will need to know about clouds and
how they form, condensation, and how rain, snow, sleet, etc comes out of the clouds. They will
*
How the activity sequence and the lesson activities help your students meet the learning goals.
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Elementary Science Lesson Plan
know this from past experiences and through previous lessons taught. The students will have
learned how the sun warms things up and will be able to compare that to how the sun warms up
the water, which is evaporation. My activity sequence will help put all the concepts the students
have learned together. All the topics that have been discussed previously relate to the larger idea
of the water cycle. The students will be able to apply what they have learned into the water cycle
lesson. Students will be able to watch a video and see real life examples of the water cycle and
then be able to illustrate their own. Students will also get to create their own experiment by
placing a cup with water in a window sill and observing the change in water level a couple of
days later due to evaporation.
Materials Needed:
Teacher Materials:
 StudyJams! video
 Computer
 TV/projector screen
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Student Materials:
1 paper circle per student
1 arrow per student
1 brad per student
Crayons or colored pencils
Paper cup
Black marker
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Elementary Science Lesson Plan
Lesson Procedures Table
Learning Goals:
 Compare daily changes in the weather related to temperature (cold,
hot, warm, cool); cloud cover (cloudy, partly cloudy, foggy)
precipitation (rain, snow, hail, freezing rain); wind (breezy, windy,
calm).
 Demonstrate scientific concepts through various illustrations,
performances, models, exhibits, and activities.
Objective: In this lesson the students should be able to accomplish knowing the
separate parts of the water cycle and what their functions are. Students should be able
to explain how water goes from the ground and transpires into the atmosphere.
Students should recognize that water is recycled through this process and that it is
neither lost nor gained.
Activity
Element
& Time
Procedures and management
Activity 1
(20 min,
video
length
about 4
min)
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
Transition
(5-10 min)

Activity 2
(15 min)

Students
Pass out papers to students
with a divided circle and
labeled parts of the cycle
on it.
Watch Scholastic video
about The Water Cycle.
Pause the video after each
section and students will
illustrate their own ideas of
the phase.
Have adults in the room
help punch in brad and
arrow in the students
divided circle.

Address questions about
the water cycle and have
the students turn their
arrows to the correct
answer (label and
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5
Students will
watch the
video, and
illustrate the
phases on their
worksheet.
Color and
illustrate their
own drawings.
Students will
then have a
divided circle
with an arrow
that moves to
show the
different
phases.
Students will
turn their own
arrows to the
answer they
individually
Academic,
social &
linguistic
resources
and
support
I-AIM
Connection
(only for
activites, not
for
transitions)
Exploring
phenomena
for patterns
(water
cycle)
Explore
phenomena
about
patterns.
The “water
Students
wheels” will explain
have already patterns.
been
completed
Elementary Science Lesson Plan
illustration).
choose.
Transition
(5 min)

Ask for volunteers to hold
cut outs of the water cycle
for the demonstration.

Students will
be excited to
participate in
demonstration
activity.
Activity 3
(10 min)

Give each table a cup of
water. Have the students
mark with a marker where
the line of the water is.
Then students will put their
names on the cup and place
it by the window. During
the next lesson students
will collect their cups and
be able to observe the
change in the level of
water, through evaporation.
Cups will be covered so the
students cannot look at the
level of water before the
next lesson.
Ask the students what they
think will happen to the
level of the water next time
they look at the cups.

Students will
actively get to
participate in
an evaporation
experiment.
Each table will
have a
represented cup
with water in it.

Conclusion: 
Activity
Element
& Time
Procedures and management
Activity 1
(15 min)
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6
Explore
phenomena
for patterns.
Students will
be able to use
the information
they just
learned to
predict what
will happen to
the water in the
cup.
Students
Have a student who is being 
quite from each table go
and get their tables cup
from the window.
by the
students
individually.
Students will
get to see first
hand how
evaporation
Academic,
social &
linguistic
resources
and
support
I-AIM
Connection
(only for
activites, not
for
transitions)
Exploring
phenomena
for patterns
(water
cycle)
Elementary Science Lesson Plan


Transition
(5-10 min)

Draw a new line on the cup
where the water is now.
Talk about as a class what
happened to the water and
where it went.
Have adults in the room
help pass out water cycle
cut outs to students who
want to volunteer.


Activity 2

(15-20 min)


Transition
(5 min)

Activity 3
(10 min)
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Conclusion: 
works. They
will be able to
visualize that
evaporation
took place.
Students will
get to
participate in
reenacting the
water cycle.
The students
will get to see
the motion of
the cycle
through the
student
demonstration.
Cut outs
Students will
provided by
say out loud
what phase they CT.
are.
Student acted out water
cycle demonstration.
Make sure every student
who wants to participate
can.
Students will have a label
around their neck that says
what phase they are as well
as holding up a
corresponding symbol of
that phase.
Pass out worksheet with 5
questions on it.

Worksheet will be passed
out and all the students will
have a word bank at the top
with the answers they can
choose.
Worksheets will be
collected by the teacher to
assess the understanding of
the students.
Have the students share
their thoughts about the
water cycle.

Student will get
to demonstrate
what they have
learned from
this lesson.

Students will be
able to share
what they
learned from
this lesson.
Explore
phenomena
about
patterns.
Students
explain
patterns.

7
Apply to
near and
distant
contexts
with
support.
Elementary Science Lesson Plan
I-AIM connection developed by Kristin L. Gunckel, Christina V. Schwarz, Edward L. Smith and
Beth A. Covitt
Michigan State University
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