WATER CYCLE

Kindergartners learn that patterns are everywhere. Our saying is, "it happens over and over and over." The water cycle is a pattern that happens over and over and over.

The heat and the wind cause the water to evaporate. The water droplets from the evaporation are picked up and gathered into clouds. When the clouds become heavy with water it rains. This is a pattern that happens again and again and again. The water comes from lakes, ponds, pools, rivers, creeks, lawn sprinklers and from cups of water belonging to kindergartners. We put a glass of water out at the beginning of the week. Every day we check our water and put a line along the water level with a permanent marker and write the day's number, day 1, day 2, etc.

The question I ask the kids everyday during this unit is,
"Where is our water going, what is happening to it?"
The students give many different answers.
"The janitors are drinking it."
"Bugs are drinking it."
"God is pouring it out."

I have taught eleven years and have not had a kindergartner solve this problem. It is a mystery to them. It keeps their interest up. They check their cups as soon as they come in the door.

This unit includes a classroom terrarium and numerous activities and experiments to help them understand the concept of the water cycle. The water cycle is a fun and informative unit.
 
 

• Lesson 1
• Lesson 2
• Lesson 3
• Lesson 4
• Lesson 5
• Preparing the Room
• Teaching Information

Time: One week: Daily lesson/approximately 45 minutes per day.
Objective: The kindergartners will connect the concepts of precipitation, condensation and evaporation to the water cycle. They will gain some understanding of the water cycle, they will understand as rain falls and evaporates the cycle starts all over again--never ending.
Assessment: Teacher observation.

The water cycle unit integrates: Science, Math, Reading, Geography and Writing.

The Kindergarten Arizona State Standards used in this unit: