The Water Cycle
Rachel Page
Spring 2015
1st Grade
Evaporation- when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean
and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the
river, lake or ocean and goes into the air.
Condensation- when water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into
liquid, forming clouds
Precipitation- occurs when so much water has condensed that the air
cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to
the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.

Technology Integration Rationale
Technology in the classroom is crucial for effective learning.
When teaching about the water cycle, there are endless ways
to engage the students. Students are able to watch
informative, grade-appropriate videos, participate in
interactive water cycle activities, and read blogs about the
different steps in the water cycle.
Most students have experienced some form of the water cycle in
real life but these videos and activities allow them to see each
cycle. These websites allow for differentiated learning which
is essential for the success of all students.

Evaluation of Internet Content
All of these websites are age
appropriate and the information
provided on them is reliable. The
technology included can effectively
be used to teach the children about
the water cycle.

Bl
o
g
s
• http://www.turtlediary.com/grade-1-games/science-games/the-water-cycle.html
The Water Cycle is an interactive science lesson, designed to teach kids
all about the water cycle. Kids will be taught how all water is naturally
recycled to form a water cycle. They will be introduced to the concepts
of evaporation and condensation and will learn about different water
bodies (oceans, rivers, etc) and water forms (rain, vapor, etc). The lesson
is followed by 2 practice exercises. In the first, kids have to label the
diagram of a water cycle. The second exercise is a question-answer
round which will help reinforce kids' concept of the water cycle.
What is TurtleDiary.com? It's a
unique collection of
interactive and fun
educational games. Children
learn important concepts that
focus on specific skills that are
challenging, yet age
appropriate.

Blogs…
Growing With Science Blog
http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2013/07/exploring-the-water-cycle/

Podcasts
http://blip.tv/untamedscience/the-water-cycle-5715349

YouTube
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQKdkponoZM

Internet Resources
• United States Environment Protection Agency
– The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment.
They tell us about the different bodies of water, protect our drinking
water/systems, actively research and monitor water quality in your
area. This is a great way for children to realize how important
protecting our water is and how it affects the water cycle.
• United States Geological Survey
– The website provides information on many aspects of water, including
pictures, data, maps, and an interactive activities that assess your
water knowledge.
• Geography for Kids, Study of Earth
– This website provides more than nine lessons, covering topics such as
our planet, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. It breaks down
each chapter to further specify the fundamentals.

Teaching Resources
I chose to make a graphic
organizer with this layout because
it enables the students to
understand the three different
parts of the cycle. The arrows
symbolize the flow from
evaporation to condensation and
precipitation. The large arrow on
the side shows the students that
the cycle is continuous and brings
the chart from precipitation back
up to evaporation. Since there are
no lines in the boxes, it enables
the students to draw or write the
individual steps- allowing the
activity to be differentiated for
the first graders still struggling
with their writing.
Earth’s Water Cycle

Teaching materials
Great hands on activity for the
kids!

Teaching materials continued

Water Cycle App!!
Education-
“Children are going to learn a lot about the
importance of water and how water moves
throughout the world for us to use it. In
addition to correctly laying the puzzle pieces
so the clean water moves through the cities
and is cleaned appropriately before returning
to the ocean, the developers have included
some great information about what a water
cycle is and how water should flow through
our city as well as explanations for what
evaporation, condensation, precipitation,
runoff, and infiltration are. Overall this is a
great educational app that can be used in the
classroom or at home
(http://bestappsforkids.com/2014/water-
cycles/).”

Subject-specified Internet-based
resource
http://www.scientificamerican.com/search/?q=water+cycle&x=0&y=0&display=search
•Scientific American has numerous resources available pertaining to the
water cycle. They offer these to teachers, which I find reassuring because
it does an exceptional job of thoroughly explaining the cycle to adults. As
a future teacher, I will use this website as a resource so that I can
confidently know I’m teaching my students the correct information
•If I were teaching older students, it would also be a great resource since it
has articles that date back to 1970. It would enable me to show the
students how things have changed or remained the same over time.

Uses of the Internet
• This presentation is available on Slideshare.

Web 2.0
• http://www.drippytheraindrop.com/DrippysWo
rldTrialStories/ToMountainsAndBack/Page3.ht
m

Web 2.0
• http://www.kidzone.ws/water/
• http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/e
ss05.sci.ess.watcyc.watercycle/water-cycle-
animation/