Subject: Earth Science
Topic: Water Cycle/Watersheds
Grade Level: Fifth
Student Lesson name and URL:Watercyles and Watersheds
ctap295.ctaponline.org/~kcoots/student/

      Fifth Grade
      Earth Science

 3.  Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the
      processes of evaporation and condensation.

    As a basis for understanding this concept, students  know: 
        a.  most of the Earth's water is present as salt water in the oceans,
            which cover most of the Earth's surface.
        b.  when liquid water evaporates, it turns into water vapor in
             the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled, and as a solid
             if cooled below the freezing point of water.
        c.  water moves in the air from one place to another in the form of
            clouds of fog, which are tiny droplets of water or ice, and fall to
            the Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow. 
       d.   the amount of fresh water, located in rivers, lakes, underground
            sources, and glaciers, is limited, and its availability can be
            extended through recycling and decreased use. 
        e.  the origin of water used by their local communities. 

Instructional Objectives 

1. Define and apply the vocabulary of the water cycle.
2. Demonstrate understanding of the water cycle by creating a model of it.
3. Define water basin and watershed and give several differences.
4. Compare watersheds and determine their quality. 
5. Explain the the relationship between the water cycle, watershed and quality of your local environment. 
6. Critique watershed/water cycle project on the basis of the designated rubric.

Student Activities

Introduction

• Water Cycle
• Read: poem "Rain" by Brooks Osborne. and/or "Image", Project Wet,  p. 157-160, What would it be like to take a journey as a water molecule?

• Watershed
• Students participate in a field trip to their local watershed: The Sierra Club Foundation's Shasta Alpine Lodge at Horse Camp.   Students will read:  Mountain Wildlife, page 72-73, from The Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia.  They will also read material on Forest and Mountain habitats and exaimine the Northern California Vegetation Transect.   While on the field trip, students will do the following activities from Project Wild, Field, Forest, and Stream and Fallen Logwhich both involve observations of their environment.

Enabling Activities

• Water Cycle
• Read information on the water cycle:  Planet Earth, Curtis & Allaby, p. 16 & 17.Students look up these internet sites which have examples of the water cycle:   TheWaterCycleThe WaterC ycle, EnvironmentalWellness     USGS Water Science for Schools, The Water Cycle Investigate the "Earth's Water" Site of USGS Water Science for Schools, be sure to read the story: Follow a drip through the water cycle.      The Evergreen Project's Water Cycle    The Water Cycle and an experiment
• Project Wet, "The Incredible Journey", p. 161-165:  Where will the water you drink this morning be tomorrow?  Students will chart their journey for later reference.
• Bottle Biology, The Water Cycle, page 69.  This activities uses three 2 liter bottles and demonstrates the processes involved in the water cycle including precipitation, transpiration, evaporation, and condensation.
• Project Wet, "Water Models", p.201-206: Does water move through the water cycle in a desert as it would in a rain forest? or Do the following experiment: Precipitation.
•  

• Watershed
• Students build a temporary model of a watershed to investigate how water flows through and connects watersheds.  or Project Wet "Branching Out!", p. 129-132, Is it possible to cross the Mississippi River in one step. 
• Field trip to the Upper Sacramento River Exchange, Dunsmuir, California.
• Students research their own local watershed and its relationship to their county.  They complete a Watershed Internet Search of the following Internet sites: What is a Watershed?   Freshwater Ecosystem, the Evergreen Project    Surf Your Watershed: California State Information   Shasta River   Sacramento Headwaters     KRIS,Klamath Resource Information System  Klamath River Basin  
• Project Wet, "Color Me a Watershed", p.223-231, "Through interpretation of maps, students observe how development can affect a watershed."
• Students will be read, A River Runs Wild by Lynne Cherry, they will then sequence the book as a group and draw/paint an illustration of their page.
• Students will view videos on water use and distribution in California.  Wild River, Parts I & II,Views from the Merrimack Watershed,and Waterquest.
• Students will go on  field trip to a water bottling plant,  Crystal Geyser, Weed, CA. 
• Students will do the following stream studies on a stream (Boles Creek) in their watershed: Stream Profile, Aquatic Insects, Stream Flow, HOBO temps. PH, and oxygen content.  Adopt a Watershed Project.

Culminating Activity

• Water Cycle
• Students will create their own drawing/painting of the water cycle and write a paragraph describing the "journey" of their water drop using the water cycle vocabulary they have learned.
• Watershed
• Students will write a paragraph describe their own watershed and the uses of the water in their watershed and illustrate it.
• Students will create an original poem or art work to enter in the River of Words contest.

• Pre-test
• Pre-test Key
• For a less structured pre assessment use a KWL Chart to lead a discussion on the water cycle and watershed to discover: what students Know/Want to know/(and after the lesson)Learned.
• Water Cycle Diagram & Paragraph Rubric

Results

• Student Performance Chart

• 
• Where Does Rain Come From?  Will our water run dry?   Water Systems  Water,Water,Water
• The Watershed Game
• 
• Instuctional Elements Chart